Documentary compares Jews, Christians to Muslim terrorists

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=57288


FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU

CNN airs 'one of the most distorted programs' ever

Documentary compares Jews, Christians to Muslim terrorists

Posted: August 23, 2007
12:18 p.m. Eastern



By Aaron Klein


© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – A CNN special series airing this week entitled "God's Warriors" – produced and anchored by the network's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour – is "one of the most grossly distorted programs" ever aired on mainstream American television, according to a media watchdog report.

"God's Warriors" takes up six prime-time hours on CNN this week, airing in three parts at 9 p.m. EST. It started Tuesday and concludes tonight.

The first part of the series, "God's Jewish Warriors," compared Jewish and Christian "radicals" to Muslim supporters of suicide terror, presented anti-Israel commentators with no counterbalance, falsely labeled the West Bank as Palestinian land, and minimized Jewish rights to the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site, the critics said.

During Tuesday's program, Amanpour also conducted a friendly interview about Israel with former President Jimmy Carter, whose most recent book, "Palestine: Peace, not Apartheid," criticized the Jewish state's treatment of Palestinians. The book was slammed for a series of falsehoods and was widely labeled anti-Israeli by multiple media critics.

(Story continues below)

"[The CNN series] is false in its basic premise, established in the opening scene in which Jewish (and Christian) religious fervency is equated with that of Muslims heard endorsing 'martyrdom,' or suicide-murder. There is, of course, no counterpart among Jews and Christians to the violent jihadist Muslim campaigns under way across the globe," stated the report by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.

Amanpour's CNN documentary "God's Warriors" describes itself as focusing on religious fundamentalism among Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Tuesday's segment started off comparing "Jewish terrorists" to that of Muslims, specifically focusing on the few instances of violence or attempted violence by religiously motivated Jews against Muslims. It told the story of Baruch Goldstein, an American-born Israeli physician who killed 29 Arabs in the West Bank city of Hebron in 1994. Goldstein's actions were widely condemned by Israelis and worldwide Jewry. The organization he was a part of was outlawed in Israel.

States the CAMERA report: "While in reality Jewish 'terrorism' is virtually non-existent, the program magnifies at length the few instances of [Jewish] violence" comparing it to "violent jihadist Muslim campaigns" when indeed there is no such comparison "either in numbers of perpetrators engaged or in the magnitude of death and destruction wrought."

Amanpour: Martyrdom 'quite noble'

While discussing Islamic suicide attacks, Amanpour painted "martyrdom" as "quite noble."

"To the West, martyrdom has a really bad connotation because of suicide bombers who call themselves martyrs," Amanpour stated. "Really, martyrdom is actually something that historically was quite noble, because it was about standing up and rejecting tyranny, rejecting injustice and rejecting oppression and, if necessary, dying for that."

Amanpour's feature moved on to interviews with critics of Israel without providing pro-Israeli voices.

The feature repeatedly falsely referred to the West Bank as "Palestinian territory."

"It is also Palestinian land. The West Bank – it's west of the Jordan River – was designated by the United Nations to be the largest part of an Arab state," stated Amanpour.

The West Bank contains some of Judaism's holiest sites and biblical Jewish cities, including Hebron, home to the oldest Jewish community in the world. The territory was recaptured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War after Jordan, which controlled the West Bank, ignored Israeli advice to stay out of the conflict.

The U.N. labels the West Bank as "disputed," not Palestinian territory.

'Pro-Israel lobbies against U.S. interests'

Several guests, including former Sen. Charles Percy and University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer, who co-authored Carter's book on Israel, state in Amanpour's documentary pro-Israel lobbies in Washington force American lawmakers to support Jewish expansion in the West Bank and promote causes contrary to U.S. interests.

Carter is interviewed claiming no American politician could survive politically while calling for cuts in aid to Israel unless the Jewish state ceases expanding West Bank Jewish communities.

"There's no way that a member of Congress would ever vote for that and hope to be re-elected," stated Carter.

Contradicting Carter's sentiments, CAMERA notes critics of Israel's West Bank policies have thrived politically, including Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd and Reps. James Trafficante, Dana Rohrabacher, Nick Smith, Fortney Pete Stark, Neil Abercrombie, David E. Bonior, John Conyers Jr, John D. Dingell, Earl F. Hilliard, Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Barbara Lee, Jim McDermott, George Miller, Jim Moran, David R. Obey, Ron Paul and Nick J. Rahall II, among others.

Amanpour suggests West Bank settlements are the cause of Arab anger.

"The Jewish settlements have inflamed much of the Arab world," she says.

Multiple guests describe West Bank settlements as being the cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But CAMERA points out multiple Arab wars and acts of violence were waged against Israel long before the settlements were first established in 1967.

"The Arab world was just as anti-Israel (actually more so) before the settlements were built," stated the CAMERA report.

Documentary misrepresents Ronald Reagan

Amanpour claims all U.S. presidents since 1967, including Ronald Reagan, deemed Israeli settlements "illegal."

But U.S. policy did not deem settlements illegal.

Amanpour quoted Reagan as stating, "the United States will not support the use of any additional land for the purpose of settlements."

But the documentary failed to produce the rest of Reagan's quotes, in which the late president stated West Bank settlements are not illegal.

"As to the West Bank, I believe the settlements there – they're not illegal," stated Reagan.

Amanpour minimizes Jewish rights to Temple Mount

Amanpour moves on to holy sites in Jerusalem, where she minimizes Jewish rights to the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – and exaggerates Islamic claims, critics said. Muslims say the Mount it is their third holiest site.

"It was from here [the Temple Mount], according to Muslim scripture, that the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven around the year 630. But Hebrew scripture puts the ancient Jewish Temple in the same location, destroyed by the Romans in the year 70."

The Quran doesn't once mention Jerusalem. Islamic tradition states Mohammed took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Jewish Temple is described throughout biblical sources as the center of religious Jewish worship. The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.

Amanpour interviews the Muslim Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who offers an Islamic perspective on the importance of the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa Mosque to Muslims, but no Jewish religious figure is presented to discuss the paramount religious importance of the Mount to Jews, noted CAMERA.

Amanpour's feature also claimed a visit to the Temple Mount by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2000 instigated the Palestinian intifada which began that year, even though multiple intifada planners and Palestinian leaders admitted the violence was pre-planned and that Sharon's visit was used as an excuse.

The intifada was launched after Arafat returned from U.S.-mediated peace talks at the Camp David presidential retreat during which the Palestinian leader turned down an Israeli offer of a state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

“Whoever thinks the Intifada broke out because of the despised Sharon’s visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque is wrong…This Intifada was planned in advance, ever since President Arafat’s return from the Camp David negotiations,” admitted Palestinian Communications Minister Imad Al-Faluji to an Egyptian daily newspaper.

Arafat himself spoke of planning the intifada months before Sharon’s visit, as did Marwan Barghouti, a jailed Palestinian parlaiment member and one of the chief architects of the intifada.

Multiple senior terror leaders involved in intifada admitted during numerous WND interviews Sharon’s visit to the Mount did not spark the intifada.

The CAMERA report concludes: "Whether wittingly or not, Amanpour's program, with its reliance on pejorative labeling, generalities, testimonials, and a stacked lineup of guests, is a perfect illustration of classical propaganda techniques. Unfortunately propaganda is the opposite of journalism, the profession Amanpour is supposed to practice."
_________________
"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't." -General George S. Patton

Psalm 82-8: Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You inherit all the nations.

Fitzgerald: The point of CNN's religious fundamentalism series

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/017854.php

Christiane Amanpour has at least one parent who was part of what one would have hoped to describe as the intelligent secular ancient regime. They were the people pushed out by Khomeini and his epigones, and therefore, one would have thought, comprehending the nature of Islam. Well, it turns out that not everyone who has fled Iran quite has that necessary understanding. Some like to pretend that Khomeini is a sport, when the real sport was the Shah and his father, in their de-emphasis on Islam, their emphasis on the pre-Islamic past of Iran, and their willingness to limit the power of the mullahs -- and, above all, to give the non-Muslims of Iran, the Christians, Jews, and Baha'is, reasonable security and even something akin to legal equality.

But Amanpour does not realize that. Nor, in her aggressive climb through the media ranks, has she stopped to study Islam. She has not stopped to find out what happened to the Zoroastrians or what happens to them in Iran today. She has not stopped to find out why, even in the 20th century, a Jew could be killed for going out in the rain (where a drop might ricochet off him and hit an innocent Muslim with this raindrop of najis-ness, thus contaminating him).

She might, that is, have begun with the history of Islam in Iran and considered the treatment of non-Muslims, and how Shah Abbas II overnight ordered the conversion of all the Jews and Armenians in an Iranian city (possibly Tabriz), and why the real, as opposed to the Iranian exile's dreamy fictional history of Iran, is full of such episodes. She might have gotten hold of E. J. Browne's work on Persian literature, and studied Hafiz and Sa'adi. She might have read Omar Khayyam, and come to realize just how un-Islamic he was. She might have read the Shahnameh of Firdowsi, and seen how his literary talent was put to work preventing the linguistic and cultural imperialism of the Arabs from successfully coming to damage and then overwhelm the Iranian culture. She might have done a special program on Islam as a vehicle of Arab cultural and linguistic imperialism, and used Iran as an example of one place where it did not succeed as it did elsewhere.

Oh, there are many things that raw-boned massive Christiane Amanpour might have done, if she had allowed herself the leisure to think, and be something more than one more media star, one more mere reporter incapable of making sense of what she reports on.

But she did none of it. She clawed and clawed to the top. She entered into a mariage blanc, a white marriage of grayish convenience, with James Rubin. She travels, she reports from here, she reports from there. She is like so many of them, with their fabulous salaries, their baseless self-assurance, their inability to convey anything difficult, anything that requires instructing us rather than feeding us visual and verbal pablum.

If you have seen the presentation of those "Christian fundamentalists" (read: Fanatics), then you will observe how carefully the cameramen have captured those flags, and taken shots of hands uplifted in prayer or hallelujahs to make sure the viewer gets the impression of a Nuremberg rally, with these "Christians" heil-hitlering all over the place. Very carefully done, very artfully and deliberately done. She, Christiane Amanpour, is of course determined to make this group of Christians look as bad as possible, and then to convince us that they represent a huge number of people, and to do the same, when their time comes, to those wild-eyed fanatical Jews, those "Biblical settlers" who think -- imagine that! -- that the Land of Israel, that gigantic land, practically the size of Connecticut or is it Massachusetts, was given in a Covenant to the Jews. What a terrible thing, what a thing so utterly comparable, is it not, to the view in Islam that the entire world belongs to Muslims, and that they must by right dominate everywhere?

Do you see a little something not quite symmetrical in her view, in her presentation, or that of her crew, so willing to play ball? Meanwhile, one wonders how she can stand herself. And why CNN so obviously insults us, in reducing the menace of Islam, the menace that only a fool could ignore, and the full scope of which, based on immutable texts, becomes clearer to the intelligent every day, to something like the non-existent menace from those wild-eyed Nurembergian Christians, with Amanpour as their recording Riefenstahl, or those crazy "West Bank" settlers, in their trailers, choosing to live among a million Arabs -- "Palestinians" -- who of course have every right to be there, because...well, isn't the Middle East the same thing as the Arab World, after all? Where do those pesky remnants of Jews, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Copts, Maronites, Mandeans, Yazidis, Armenians, and all the others come from? Why don't they go back where they came from? The "Arab World," the "Muslim Arab World" -- now that's more like it. That's just the ticket.

Because, you see, Every Group Has Its Crazies. And those crazies, you see, are exactly alike, in what they want, and how they act, and the size of the demands they make on the rest of us. But exactly.

That's the point of this series. You didn't think there was another point, did you?

_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

CNN - Christiane Amanpour's God's Jewish Warriors

From a forward.

For anyone who missed it:
God's Jewish Warriors on CNN

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkKhPLAyDsM

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g47YAGodTs0


Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN0S0FsE_ Sw


Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPa9Q6YN9HU


Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1QKb7Sp40o


Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAAmhFkZvkE


Part 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch v=j9HnqC541l0


Part 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdFir1MOVKg


Part 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIjUP7Xw_ 3Y


Part 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsgrG-84nBo& NR=1
_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

Last edited by Alien2thisWorld on Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:57 am; edited 2 times in total

Christiane Amanwhore's Hit Piece on the Jews

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/08/christiane-aman.html

CNN, the Crescent News Network's star dhimmi reporter, Christiane Islamiane Amanpour six-hour €œtelevision event God's Jewish Warriors€ (to be following on successive nights by God'€™s Muslim Warriors and €œGod's Christian Warriors) aired this evening and it is hard to imagine but this unabashed Jew hater, outdid herself.

Moral inversion packaged tres sophisticay. Jihadist translates into "God's Warrior." One sided would imply there might be another side and clearly in this useful idiot's world, there is only Islam.

It began with a lie, and went downhill from there. Who does Amanpour think she is? Who died and made her queen of antisemites?

Amanpour speaks to the usual Jewicidal suspects ie Shimon Peres and world class Jew haters Jimmy Carter and Protocols of Zion devotee`John Mearsheimer." Prominent political scientist," my ass. Yes, that bad.

Pearls like "Jewish settlers turned to terror" (without mentioning the Israeli government arrested Jewish Underground plotters and imprisoned them for long periods of time) thereby equating self defense to terror.

And Israel's "plot to destroy Islam's holiest sites" There are no people on earth that have gone to such extraordinary measures to preserve religious and archaeological sites than the Jews. Islam, OTOH, is notorious for destroying any and all non Muslim archaeological and religious artifacts and has gone so far as to issue a fatwa against religious statues.

"The major obstacle to peace is the settlements." "The Jewish settlements have inflamed much of the Muslim world." Not Islamic jihad, not the legacy of Islamic antisemitism. Not Israel itself. The Arab narrative "OCCUPATION!"

Six thousand miles away in New York, "defiance of international law comes dressed in diamonds"


Its all about the tricky, crafty, sneaky Jews defying their government, defying the US, defying international law by supporting settlements. INTERNATIONAL LAW aka the UN. Amanpour evokes the Islamized UN repeatedly.

"Why not withhold Israel's foreign aid?" she asks Jimmy Carter (of all people.)


She goes on to say the building AIPAC --the Zionist lobby, is located in is "more powerful" than the Foggy Bottom.

"Some might say that this building became the most powerful arm of American foreign policy, more powerful than foggy bottom, State department."

If this is journalism, I'm the Pope.

I can already see the spate of lawsuits going after Jewish charities for supporting settlements that contravene US policy and international law. Ed Lasky, an email exchange added;

......the basic lie that it is the settlements that inflame the Arab world (and not the existence of Israel) ; the canard about Jewish money and power in America, the ominous music on cue as the "documentary" then segues to the White House, the reliance on Jimmy Carter and Mearsheimer and then using criticism who merely label them as anti-Semitic and not the experts (like Rick Richman) who point out the lies in their work, no wherein the Koran is Jerusalem mentioned-the Shrine on the Temple Mount was placed their by a local Arab ruler envious of tourist dollars going to Mecca and Medina-he propagated the story that Jerusalem is the spot from which Mohammed rode the horse heavenwards.

Islamiane Amanpour pulls every Jew hating canard out of that crappy little bag of hers. The old dual loyalty is regurgitated. "I was never fully American, I was Jewish!"

One example of many of using a non-representative sample of people to represent a group. Same woman , when referring to Christian supporters-we have to take advantage of our friends. Wonderful quote--not. (Lasky)

The second hour gets worse. The Jews are to blame for everything. Israel displaced Palestinians from the Arab quarter in East Jerusalem and confined them to wretched refugee camps strewn with garbage and sewage, where they suffer still decades later despite billions in US and EU aid but no mention of that. She blames Israel yet again for Lebanese Christian massacre in Sabra and Shatila. No mention of how the Pali Arabs destroyed Lebanon and its Christian community.

Christian Zionists are depicted as foolish puppets manipulated by those crafty, sneaky Jews. "Their [the Christian Zionists] money builds parks, childcare centers and music therapy centers. Projects that make Jewish life her more comfortable and more permanent."

She equates Jews soliciting support and donations for Israel with Muslims terror funding jihadists who murder Israelis while deliberately and willfully ignoring the crucial difference between savages and civilized men, between terrorists and sovereign nations.

Amnapour talks about Christian antisemitism and the Jew as Christ killers. The Jooooooooooos, every time she says it, it is dripping with contempt.

She then spends twenty minutes on a some tiny fringe group that was going to target a Pali school years ago but was busted by Israeli police and went to jail without ever launching an attack. Even so Cgristian devotes a whole segment to this. This group represents Israel much the way the Unibomber represents your typical American. Rockets rain on Jewish schools (kindergartens) in Sderot daily and not a peep from this ignoramus's mouth about that very real horror.

Al Jizz is going to run this "special" on an endless loop.

Tomorrow night: Muslim Warriors
Just as she used a tiny fringe of Jews to represent the Jewish people, I am sure she will invert this on Muslim warriors. She will show the millions of jihadists worldwide as a "tiny fringe" of the religion of peace and the thousands of Islamic attacks since 9/11 as mere blip on the screen.

UPDATE: Fitzgerald: The point of CNN's religious fundamentalism series

UPDATE: Loved this from Lawyn;

I admit that the errie music accompanying the presentation of that DIABOLICAL PLOT of American DIAMOND MERCHANTS using their own money to BUY, DO YOU HEAR ME, BUY REAL ESTATE FROM PALESTINIANS is an outrage none should bear. Sure that most of the ARABS selling are laughing up their sleeves, thinking...."Got over on you Jooooo, soon you will be in the sea and I will have my house/land back. In the meantime I'll go visit with the widow of our great leader in Pareee"

UPDATE: Richard Baehr rips it to shreds. Hysterical.

UPDATE: And Director Blue: Christine Amanpour's exposé on religious killers

CNN's Christine Amanpour is hosting a series of exposes on religious warriors . Each show in the series focuses on the aspects of a single religion:

* Yesterday: the Worldwide Jewish Cabal
* Tonight: Misunderstood Muslims
* Thursday: Christian Crusaders
* Friday: Killer Quakers
* Saturday: Antagonistic Amish
* Sunday: Bloodthirsty Buddhists
* Monday: Homicidal Hindus

Amanpour is certain to offer a detailed comparison of the number of terrorist attacks broken down by instigating religion. And the number of deaths associated with those attacks. As well as the number of slaves currently held by each religion.

_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

Reporters quiz CNN's Amanpour

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/08/22/amanpour.answers/

Story Highlights
Amanpour: World needs "committed" leaders to tackle tough issues

Amanpour says, "We are in an age of religious politics"

Christians, Jews and Muslims she spoke with didn't express hate at each other

CNN's Christiane Amanpour says she believes the world has entered an "age of religious politics."


LONDON (CNN) -- The world needs courageous, committed leaders with a "genuine desire to reach compromise" to tackle the world's most thorny issues, especially where religion and politics intersect, CNN's Christiane Amanpour says.

CNN.com asked users to send questions to Amanpour as part of "CNN Presents" documentary, "God's Warriors."

Here, Amanpour answers your questions:

Jack Wilson of Cannes, France: How can you even begin to compare Islamic extremists with Christians or Jews? How can you even put them in the same sentence?

Amanpour: We're not comparing. We're showing that each faith has their committed and fervent believers, and we're showing how each of those are active in the political sphere in today's world. Go behind the scenes with Amanpour in Amsterdam »

Robert Preece of Rotterdam, Netherlands: Dear Christiane Amanpour, You are a voice in the world that many people trust, sometimes considerably more than their politicians. In your experience and insights, have you seen clear and effective ways that can significantly improve the situations in relation to "God's Warriors" and extremism?

Amanpour: Robert, there are all sorts of ways. For instance, I've seen religious conflicts that are really political -- but masquerading as religious -- having been solved, such as between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, between Muslims and Christians in Bosnia, and between the Kosovar Albanians and the Serbs there.

But it takes leadership. It takes a real committed, courageous and determined leadership to get beyond an individual's religious or ethnic or special interest. That's the only way these things are going to be solved.

Terrorism is a different thing. Terrorism has to be defeated. But terrorism is a symptom of other things, and it's very hard. It's been shown that the war on terror can't just be fought militarily. It has to be done in many, many different ways -- hearts and minds, financial, good intelligence, good policy and all the rest of it.

Susan Moore of Clayton, Georgia: ... Did you come away eased and heartened, or with the feeling that this is an insolvable, permanent human condition?

Amanpour: I don't believe it's an insolvable, permanent human condition. But I do think that we are in an age of religious politics or political religiosity, and it could last for some time. This is not to say that good politics, good policy and good diplomacy can't soften the edges of some of the extremism we see.

But that's going to take committed and courageous leadership. And it's going to take not pandering to those who believe that only they can interpret God's word and to those that believe politics should reflect religion.

Regina Bowling of Charleston, South Carolina: I believe we are watching the gathering up of energy worldwide in the form of religious intolerance for the "perfect storm" of global holy war. Do you see any compromise one could offer to calm these hysterical masses and avoid ultimate disaster?

Amanpour: I don't see right now the potential for global holy war. It's true that way back centuries ago that daily life -- including politics, governance and kingdoms -- were ruled with religion as one of the bases for power. And, of course, today we've come to expect that a modern, progressive system of government is one that is political and secular.

But what we're seeing is that because there's so much alienation around the world ... [and] people are reacting to a world they seem afraid of, many people have turned back to religion. In some cases, it's the only form of politics and the only form of political expression. In other cases, it gives them a sense of identity. Still other cases, it's a reaction based on fear of the culture they see around them.

But as far as I'm concerned, as long as people believe that only their holy book or only their holy word matters and is relevant, then there will be no solution. And that's why it takes committed and courageous leadership to provide an answer and solution that addresses the greater good for all.

Don't Miss
In Depth: God's Warriors
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Christians, Jews in Holy Land alliance
One man's journey to faith
Rachel Ford of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Christiane, you were raised in an environment where you were exposed to multiple religions. You have spent your career discussing and reporting on religion and politics. Doing this report, looking at the world through the eyes of those who see God in such extreme ways, are you afraid of where we are going?

Amanpour: I am slightly today, because I don't see good leadership, and so that does frighten me. I think it's a real problem today that a lot of the political crises, which are religious in flavor, could be solved by better and more inclusive political leadership -- and a genuine desire to reach compromise. It also takes a genuine desire to be brave and look at a real solution to a problem, rather than pander to the special interests on any given issue.

Asnawi Maamor of Manila, Philippines: The three religions -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- believe in God but why is it that Islam, the successor of the first two, is always misunderstood for being the odd one?

Amanpour: Well, because the world's focus has been on Islam, particularly Islamic extremism and terrorist violence, mostly because of September 11, 2001 -- because of those attacks on the United States. And so there have been many reactions to that: fear and anger, as well as in other quarters a desire to try to understand and figure out what is behind all this.

At the same time, I think we need to be very careful because while this strain of al Qaeda-ism and terrorism is an unacceptable expression of any kind of action, there is a difference between terrorist violence and those who believe that religion should be the basis for political life -- whether they be Muslim or others. And we make that distinction in the documentary.

Marcos T. of Sacramento, California: If the majority of fundamentalists in any religion are peaceful and do renounce violence against people of other religions, why is it that the radical minority has dictated what has been happening for the past 100 years and the majority are unable (or perhaps unwilling) to stop them?

Amanpour: I do think that is a problem that afflicts society very often -- that unfortunately the very vocal minority often dominates the political stage. As some have said, it is the extremes -- whether on the left or right -- who are so committed as to be motivated and mobilized to go out and shout the loudest and work the hardest to get their points and their rhetoric across.

And that's why I again say it really does take very courageous and committed leadership to get solutions that benefit society that are based on justice and equal rights for all. It can't be a solution that involves the dictatorship that involves either the majority or the minority.

Dennis Huston of Warrington, Pennsylvania: Can we still negotiate with God's warriors or is it too late?

Amanpour: Dennis, it's not too late, and it depends on the type of warriors. I don't think there's any negotiating to be done with al Qaeda. I think these people have to be defeated. But they're not necessarily going to be defeated militarily. They have to be defeated by removing the conditions that lend them support among certain masses, and that means solving some of the world's most intractable problems, particularly those that involve thorny religious issues.

There are many so-called God's warriors who are really frightened and disgusted by what they see as a militantly secular society. I think that many, particularly Christians in the United States, feel that religion has become sort of a dirty word in society -- that faith has been banished from the public sphere. So their reaction is against what they call a militant secularism.

Donna J. Wert of Spirit Lake, Iowa: What are the positive concepts in the Christian faith that would build "a bridge" with other faiths?

Amanpour: Actually some of the Christian right have been extremely successful in persuading their government to help, for instance, to try to bring peace in the Sudan, between the northern Islamic Sudanese government and the southern rebels. They've been fighting for more than 20 years there, and it was the Christian right that persuaded the government of George W. Bush to get involved and help provide a political solution to this.

I think the Christian right, some of whom we featured in our program, have decided that they need to get involved and get Christians involved and mobilized on the environment -- that this is the Earth that God created and, therefore, we as human beings need to look after it. That's very positive and, of course, it's a big issue of our time.

I also believe that many of the Christian right pastors we talked with said citizens, especially Christians, should mobilize against poverty at home and that they should mobilize against injustice and racism, as well as look very carefully at some of the deep social afflictions that are present in the United States.

Roberta Briffa of Montana: As a theology student I am really looking forward to watching "God's Warriors". What I really appreciate is the fact that you chose to discuss and report on all three faiths and not just concentrate on one or two.

My question is this: How do you manage to remain calm when you confront dangerous situations in the countries you visit or when you research and report on delicate issues such as those on "God's Warriors"?

Amanpour: Experience helps. Knowing many of the countries that we visited and having been there before helps. Knowing that I have a reputation as a fair, objective, fact-based correspondent gives me a certain credibility with whom I'm interviewing.

David Blackburn of Fayetteville, Arkansas: Despite the fact that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all require worship of the God of Abraham and have the doctrine of loving other people, many followers of one of the above faiths hate the others. Do you think that this hatred stems from a lack of knowledge about what the faiths have in common?

Amanpour: One of the things we asked a lot of the people we interviewed was: What do they think about the other religion?

We're talking about very fervent fundamentalists of all faiths, and we asked them about the other two religions. They were all very careful in what they said. We didn't really hear much hatred. They all talked about the dignity of the other religion. So I think there is a respect by each religion to the other religions.

But I think where it gets really tricky is when politics gets involved and when it's a questions of war and peace and land and other such things.

Tracy Goordman of Oak Ridge, New Jersey: What have you learned from the average person in these countries about their feelings towards women and their role in society?


Amanpour: Tracy, I would just say in general, fundamentalism of any religion is not good for women. Fundamentalism is a patriarchal system and it does not seek to empower women. There are differing degrees of that between the different religions.

But fundamentally, in many of the religions, there are not serious leadership roles for women, and it is a patriarchal system. Women's rights are something that each and every woman all over the world has to be very careful to lobby for and protect. E-mail to a friend

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Sound Off: Your opinions and comments

Bernie
updated 31 minutes ago
I don't for one minute believe this problem is founded in religion. It is founded in the instant creation of the State of Israel in 1948-49 by western governments without regard to the rights of others. When you steal territory that belongs to someone else and displace the inhabitants of that territory, how can you not expect problems. Terrorism is a last resort backlash of a frustrated people. Terrorism is the price to be paid for not respecting the rights of others.
OK, one more time, The land of Israel belongs to the Jews and has belonged to them for a very long time. It was stolen FROM them by the Romans in 70 A.D. (C.E.) and the destruction of the temple and then they where scattered throughout the known world in what is commonly known as the "Diaspora". It was "regiven" back to them in 1948 by the UN. Don't like it, argue with God about it!




S. Mehbod
updated 31 minutes ago
Congratulations Christiane. Great Journalism, absolutely great insight and fair portrayal of religious fundemantalism in the world.



R King
updated 32 minutes ago


History history history. I don't think there was enough focus on the historical evolution of the various religions. For instance, Christianity, an older religion as compared to Islam, had very similar "terrorist" tactics in it's past-crusades, inquisition to name a few. Perhaps religions/peoples evolve, much like science has proven in all other parts of our natural world. If we don't ALL learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.
OK everyone, what's wrong with what the poster was saying here?)




Lianne O'Brien
updated 50 minutes ago


I hope I'm not being too sensitive, but why are "Christians" ONLY described as being on the RIGHT? I am a devout Christian, as is my family. There are "Left-wing" Christians too. I am eagerly awaiting the "God's Christian Warriors" segments to see if any of the quieter main-stream religions, (ie Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican) are given the same play as the Pentecostals, and the hell-fire and damnation Baptists. Thank you , again Ms. Amanpour.
Again, what's wrong here?)



Sarah Bent
updated 52 minutes ago


Very sobbering series. Ignore religous fundamentalists at your peril. My problem with the religous right (of all 3) is that their verdant beliefs should be imposed on the rest of us. That their interpretation of their particular holy book is the only valid one; the fact that women have very few rights under these beliefs. These books are viewed as being the word of God but few remember that they were written by mortal men. Throughout the ages these books have been rewritten, re-interpreted and have been translated into many languages. I have many issues with fundamentalist religion but I think that the biggest thing to remember here is that religous extremism is about control of people. The way these religous leaders keep control is through fear and intimindation. And they have various ways of acheiving this goal. I think it is very important the voices of the moderate leaders in all 3 of worlds great religions to be heard. They need to step up and the media needs to allow them to be heard. We have heard enough from the extremists.
OMG! Are you reading this? This is what the world is saying about Christians and Jews! I can understand them saying it about Muslims, but to say that "women have very few rights in Christianity and Judaism", means they absolutely have no knowledge of either. They also have no knowledge of our holy scriptures, they don't know that the Bible and Torah have been scrupiously copied verbatum throughout the centuries and we have the proof that "not one jot or tittle" has been changed. Not only do they not understand that although men penned these great works, but that they did it as they were inspired by God.




Jeffrey

updated 1 hour, 3 minutes ago


I have known all along for years that the root of our Middle East problems is in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and yet politicians and many of the common people in the West choose to ignore that problem and blame Islamic ideology. All too often, people turn to religion in times of hardship and sufferings. Islam is seen as the savior to the Palestinian people and extremists are feeding on the desperation of the common Palestinians and the exasperation of muslims throughout the world. Your series on God's warriors is long overdue and we thank you for your courage and objectivity in putting everything in proper perspectives.
This guy needs a study in the 1400+ years of Islamic history




Richard

updated 1 hour, 6 minutes ago


This is in response to the first question about comparing Christians and Jews with Islamic extremist.
If you look back in history most religions have had periods of brutality and intolerance. Many people have died at the hands of Christians and in the name of God.
To a degree, most religions are still the same and the one thing that has soften them up is education and the opportunity to see outside their boundaries.

That's is the reason why it is scary when Government administrations create rules and laws based on religion instead of secular morality, which believe it or not, is not and does not have to be intertwined with religion. less
This one uses a little more common sense, but there still is something wrong here...what is it?)




C Demoro

updated 1 hour, 8 minutes ago


I have enjoyed the first 2 episodes immensely. What the first (Judaism) showed me is that the Jewish lobby has far too much sway in our affairs. Clearly it is because of the Judeo-Christian relationship and fear of Islam. But we as Americans need to be more open to other viewpoints that get right to the origin of Middle East trouble (i.e. Palestinian plight) as your show alluded to. Looking forward to tonight.
This one is downright scary. I think she needs a serious study of all of our founding fathers and just how the laws and precepts and our constitution were put together.




Sohaib Anwer

updated 1 hour, 9 minutes ago

Good stuff ......congratulations are in order for Christiane, for embarking on this journey and putting together a commendable documentary. Most of us tend to see the evil only in others and choose to ignore the shortcomings in the religious idealogies that we have chosen to follow or were born into.

Being a Muslim, I thought you did a prettty good job of covering the various aspects and facets of islam, in part two of the documentary. I would have liked to see a little more contextual history about the violence in israel/palestine in part two of the documentary, especially, for the people who may choose to watch only that part of the documentary and might walk away without a better understanding of the historical context of the arab discontent in that region.

Part one's discussion about AIPAC's influence on American politics was something that I never thought I would see being discussed in the mainstream media.....but you did it.....congratulations

I am eagerly looking forward to part three of the documentary tonight. less
Do I need to comment here?



Jon A

updated 1 hour, 10 minutes ago

Unfortuneately, Ms. Amanpour hopes for concession and compromise and really there is very little room for that in these faiths. I mean...these doctrines are thousands of years old, and based on a view of life and the universe through mysticism, because we didn't have the capacity to understand any other way. All three of these faith needs major overhauls, which will never happen. I am not hopeful. less
Reprobate




Romeo Castagna

updated 1 hour, 25 minutes ago


Great contribution! Thanks God there's someone like Ms Amanpour that is telling us a different story. Hope this Q/A could be read by a lot of people.
Wingnut




Helena Brinkley

updated 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

After watching God's Worriers the past two nights I feel I have better understanding of the conflicts in that region of the world. I think Christine has been fair in her reporting. She has shown all sides so that we the people can decide for ourselves what we believe and support. I hope eveyone agrees that the killing has to stop. I'm looking forward to watching tonight's report.

[Edited by: admin on Aug 23, 2007 12:16 PM] less




Nelly Rodriguez

updated 1 hour, 37 minutes ago


Congratulations Ms. Amanpour. Great journalism. Living in a such a multicultural city like New York "Gods Warriors" is an open window for us to understand and appreciate diversity.




Jeff

updated 1 hour, 37 minutes ago


Absolutely the best insight on the current world religious situation and how our political systems are effected by those synergies. I am looking forward to tonight's program. Every young person in the West should watch this series.
Now that IS scarey.
to think young mind would be molded by this trash, God help us!




Deb L

updated 1 hour, 38 minutes ago

Hat's off to Christiane and company!! Now that she's addressed this issue, how will we respond? Will we keep this issue out in the open and push our leaders and our fellow countrymen to work at this issue or will we go back to our old ways of waiting to react as it happens? And what can WE do to keep it alive? less




Yousuf N. Shaikh

updated 1 hour, 38 minutes ago

I have to say that I have been inspired by Ms. Amanpour's fair portrayal of religous fundemantalism in the world. We need more people like her in the world and really change the dialoge reguarding religon in the world. One thing that struck me in watching God's warriors is how similar we all really are, it saddens me that things have come so far, we should all work together to increase understanding and stop this divisive rhetoric about who is going to hell and focus on the destruction of the underlying currents of extremism. less




Tom Baughn

updated 1 hour, 47 minutes ago

Ms. Amanpour, thank you for the courage to hold the mirror up to all of us. We are so quick to condemn others, but so reluctant to see the intolerance in ourselves, and therin lies the main problem. less




Rich

updated 1 hour, 49 minutes ago

Wonderful second part to God's Warriors. Ms. Amanpour deserves to be commended for her efforts. Ms. Amanpour I would like you to look at some of the other religious groups around the world. Two of which are Buddhist and Hindu. Religion is a private matter not a public matter. less




Steve Miller

updated 1 hour, 53 minutes ago


I have to say, I'm very glad that world opinion is starting to put extremists in their place. Christians get so angry when you mention atrocities by Christians, as if it never happened, or should be ignored, while at the same time preaching hatred of Islam.
I don't get angry about it, but I do wish that people would understand that Protestant Christianity was not responsible for the Crusades and the Inquisition, but rather victims of it. AND, the Crusades' basic objective was to stop Islamic agression, (read 'real' history and not the revisionist garbage).




Micheline

updated 2 hours ago

Perhaps world political leaders and religious leaders should set an example for all and exercise tolerance and respect for all cultures. After all, forms of government as well as religion are not a "one size fits all". less




Jason Clauser

updated 2 hours, 2 minutes ago

I think it is great the people are seeing this side of things. Many forget that the crusades did the same thing except it came from the side of Christianity.
Here's another one that has no knowledge of real history





Steve

updated 2 hours, 2 minutes ago

I agree with Christiane that significant political leadership is required. Unfortunately, leaders committed to peace and compromise seem to get assassinated. less




ETM

updated 2 hours, 3 minutes ago

Well said, Luc. We can all walk on the path of reason with our collective knowledge and experience to guide us, but humanity will never come together as long as most people choose their own mythological totems as the only truth. less




Dan Clarke

updated 2 hours, 7 minutes ago

Christiane, you mention the need for leadership as a way to resolve the mounting tensions between religious extremists. I would like to offer a comment: you are providing the most visible leadership I have seen to date. Congratulations and thank you for your efforts.

Second comment: religious fundamentalism usually takes the form of "my God is the only God" and "my way is the only way". Isn't this the first step towards extremism?

Thanks again for your courage and integrity in bringing this information to us.
OY!




Siobhan

updated 2 hours, 21 minutes ago

I've been glued to the television for the past two nights. This is perhaps one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Kudos to Ms. Amanpour and CNN for fantastic journalism. I've learned so much and have garnered new perspectives on Judaism and Islam. less




A.Syed

updated 2 hours, 30 minutes ago

Christiane Amanpour - Thank you! As a Muslim woman from and living in the United States I do (what I think is my best) to try to convey and model to my colleagues, neighbors, friends, peers, etc. that there are peace loving, non-fundamentalist Muslims who oppose the actions, beliefs, etc. of extremists, both those who have attacked this country and those who are oppressing others (Muslims and non-Muslims) in other parts of the world. I believe I've been vocal in my protests against extremism, and supported Islamic leaders and community leaders who have also tried to encourage their people to stand against violence and oppression. There are many of us out there, but sometimes I get the feeling we (as in all moderate Muslims) continue to be portrayed as a negligent, unwilling majority who silently support extremist views or an advancement of "fundamentalist Islam". I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see greater dialogue and visibility of moderate views and a general opposition to extremism in general.
"There are many of us out there, but sometimes I get the feeling we (as in all moderate Muslims) continue to be portrayed as a negligent, unwilling majority who silently support extremist views or an advancement of "fundamentalist Islam". (That, and your scared to death to opposed the 'extremist')




Hedley Robinson

updated 2 hours, 34 minutes ago

Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, Pol Pot's Cambodia, Kim Jon Ill's North Korea, Castro's Cuba, etal, collectively were or are secular leaders with non-religious ideologies that was responsible for the deaths and suffering of untold millions.
Isn't it a bit one-sided then to primarily blame global religious politics for the current plight of humanity?
Maybe secular humanism has replaced religion as the newest form of extremism.
Wow, a person with a brain!... How did this one get past the CNN censor?




suzy marsh

updated 2 hours, 35 minutes ago

Excellent and the world should take note ! Ms. Amanpour deserves enormous credit for pulling this all together for the world to listen. less
Back to the drivel



Rev. Raven

updated 2 hours, 37 minutes ago

I think it is wonderful someone is finally portraying the zealots on ALL sides causing problems. There are more faiths in this world than just the Big Three, yet they want everything tailored to them. less




Luc Philippi

updated 2 hours, 40 minutes ago

Congratulations CNN and Christiane for this fine report on such a sensitive topic. The fact that religion is such a sensitive topic is half the problem.

If only people would be willing to approach their own religion more rationally (sadly, a contradiction in terms, I know), at least some would come to the realization they may be getting all worked up over nothing.

If your report inspires even a few people to open their eyes and realize they have no more reason to believe what they believe than others have to believe what they believe, you will have made an important contribution to stability in the world.

[Edited by: admin on Aug 23, 2007 11:09 AM] less




RoseMarie

updated 2 hours, 41 minutes ago

I really admire you for being so outspoken. One would think in the world of technology, communication and knowledge that people would not be so one sided and fanatical about religion. There is only one God regardless of what you call her. Knowledge should bring peace. We are all different but the same. So much good can be done in the world. There is no place for war and evil. We need to think of our neighbor and help our neighbor whether across the street or across the world.
(Her?) If everyone think you a fool, why open yer mouth and remove all doubt!




Kathy

updated 2 hours, 43 minutes ago

Why can't we have someone like Christiane running for the 2008 presidency instead of the jokers we are left with? Someone with intelligence and the ability to reason and see things clearly and conconcisely. Someone with no political agenda, simply a heart for what's right and what's good. I am not making fun here. This is a serious observation. Why can't we have serious real people in government and leadership?
Now that is just insane

Aside from this observation, Christiane, your program is very revealing and fascinating. I am recording it so I can watch it again and again. So much information and so much to learn that one viewing cannot suffice. I applaud you for your wisdom and sincerity. Thank you. less




Carol Crocker

updated 2 hours, 47 minutes ago

I want to thank CNN's Chrstiane Amanpour, her team and all the participants who took such high risks to share their stories and for presenting such an educational and fair presentation. Nothing is ever black and white. "Love thy neighbour as thyself" is easier said than done but it is possible. When all is said and done we all share this planet and that makes us all neighbours, doesn't it? There is so much pain in this world we must each do our little bits to help reduce it.

[Edited by: admin on Aug 23, 2007 11:01 AM] less




Chuck

updated 2 hours, 49 minutes ago

Religion has always been a part of politics and always will be. Politics is society setting rules for how that society operates. With rules comes what is right and what is wrong. The basis of right and wrong comes from moral values of the people within that society. Moral values are defined by faith. Thus, faith (and religion) are an integral part of politics. It seems to me folly to try to seperate religion and politics. less




Paul Garneau

updated 2 hours, 51 minutes ago

Perhaps Muslims should consider trying to develop a spiritual caliphate, one that will provide world-wide leadership over the moral, ethical, philosophical lives of believers, but keep its hands off the governmental, the political. The Pope, the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch, and the Dalai Lama, all provide spritual leadership for their faithful and gentle guidance for the many nations in which their faithful reside. The effort would force Muslims to confront their own internal differences, and perhaps help them become more tolerant and accepting and subsequently more tolerated and accepted.
New Age crapola




None of the above

updated 2 hours, 51 minutes ago

Jack of Cannes asks how Islamic extremists can be compared with Christians and Jews. After watching the first two segments, and previews for the third, I can't help but notice how similar they all really are. How willing they are to take from and kill others in the name of their God. How the powerful in each religion uses the will of their God to control the multitudes of believers. Who's God is best? Nothing good will ever come of this arguement. It's a no win.
Yup, I killed 285 people yesterday, ran them through my garbage disposal, yup, yup. Tomorrow, a whole bunch of us Christians and Jews are gonna attack the local Wally World and see how many Muslims and rednecks we can take out. We're gonna have a pot luck dinner afterwards, (kosher of course). Ya'll come now, yahere. ;)




James V.

updated 2 hours, 52 minutes ago

The problem isn't religion, it's fundamentalism. Fundamentalism deifies and worships it's own religion in place of the one living God. Fundamentalism fearfully clings to demonization and superstition, fostering opposition and untruth. It's a refuge for the alienated and resentful, masquerading as sociable and traditional. It's a diseased form of religion. Read "The True Believer" by Eric Hoffer. less
ICKKERS



Liz Switzer

updated 2 hours, 53 minutes ago

Your point that the world needs enlightened, dedicated leaders now more than ever is right on target. Which U.S. presidential candidate - if any - do you feel might be best qualified to lead us toward peace right now? less
He's called the antichrist, watch for him, he's coming soon



Dave

updated 2 hours, 56 minutes ago

First off, kudos to Christiane and her team for this excellent project.

I agree fully with her assessment that leadership is incredibly important. In the USA I fear that the lack of strong leadership has allowed special interests to gain such momentum that changing course will be exceptionally difficult. The next administration will have a tough job, but an incredible opportunity, in cleaning up the mess left by George W Bush government. Understanding the nature of the conflicts, the interests of the players, and the complex relationships will be key.
I ain't touching this one



_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

Watching Al Jazeera, Part I

http://www.seraphicpress.com/archives/2007/08/watching_al_jaz.php

I know this looks it doesn't belong here, but trust me, IT DOES...LOL

So Karen and I sit down, flip channels, and what do you know, suddenly Al Jazeera pops up.

"Since when do we get Al Jazeera?" I ask.
"We don't," Karen assures me.

Oh man, gotta call the cable company and make sure we're not paying for this Jew-hatred.

There's all this slow mo footage overlaid with sinister musical stings of grim looking Jooz carrying M16's; this is intercut with Bedouin children herding sheep, looking all innocent and peaceful.

And the narrator/host/entertainer, a woman with shoulders like a fullback, and an absolutely tragic mullet style hair-do from the 80's, keeps talking about "G-d's Jewish warriors," and she repeats these three words—I'm counting, mind you—and by the time she hits number 107, I give up.

I now know what it's like to get brainwashed in some North Korean reeducation gulag.

Anyway, this Al Jazeera lady with the hoo-ha Oxford accent—big shock—states:

"The second intifada was an attempt by the Palestinians to shake off the Israeli occupation."

Really?

Well, what else can you expect from Al Jazeera.

Actually, the second intifada was Arafat's answer to the Camp David Accords. His way of saying no to all negotiations after Barak offered the terrorist leader 96% of everything, including dividing Jerusalem.

The whole two hours of this Al Jazeera program is such typical, and poisonous Arab propaganda that Karen and I are kind of fascinated. This huge lady with the really bad hair interviews guess who as experts on Israel?

Jimmy Carter. Karen Armstrong. John Mearsheimer. There's the obligatory angry loser from Peace Now — dude, clean your office, it looks like cat litter. And a couple of Israeli lefties who are so far gone they might as well be living in Damascus.

Gee-willikers, Al Jazeera lady forgot to interview Hizbullah/Iranian-proxy strongman Hassan Nasrallah; his views on Israel are pretty much the same as the usual suspects above. He's always ranting about the evils of the Israeli occupation. And he vehemently denies that he's a Jew-hater. Like Carter, Armstrong and Mearsheimer he insists that he's merely anti-Zionist.Yup, Nasrallah gets positively indignant when he's accused of being an anti-Semite. Sheesh, can't anyone criticize and bomb Israel without being accused of being a Jew-hater?

There's this long segment on the — horror musical sting here — Israel lobby. Obligatory shots of well-dressed, um Jews, tables of food, which I suppose is proof of evil, people chatting and looking, y'know, conspiratorial.

I'm waiting for Al Jazeera lady to start quoting The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, because that's really what this segment is all about, but I suppose she's too cool for that. This is after all Al Jazeera. They are , allegedly, civilized.

Then fullback lady pulls out the big guns: Actual Jewish terrorists. She comes up with Baruch Goldstein, Yigal Amir , and a group who rigged explosives to the car of an Arab Mayor they suspected of aiding terrorists and who planned on blowing up an Arab girl's school, Disgusting and wrong, but they were caught and arrested, by Jewish cops, thank G-d.

That's it for Jewish terror.

Personally, I think the Jewish people have shown remarkable restraint in the face of a genocidal enemy.

Al Jazeera lady gets all indignant about American Christians who support Israel. They're warriors because... I have no idea; they sing and dance and pray.

I always thought that warriors are people who, y'know, pick up weapons and fight.

Let's face it, Al Jazeera lady is playing the old Soviet game of manipulating and ultimately destroying language: slavery is freedom, the bottom is the top, evil is good.

Karen and I are smiling. Wow, these good Christians show more love of Israel than many Jews. G-d bless them. Al Jazeera just did a big favor, probably increased membership in that Florida Church by 20%.

Then there's segment called: "The Power Couple."

"Hey isn't that your cousin Shani?" I say to Karen.
"Yup, sure is."

Al Jazeera lady grimly reports on Assemblyman Dov Hikind and his wife Shani, who raise money for a united Jerusalem.

Al Jazeera lady darkly spits out: "All. Completely. Legal."

Horrifying.

Al Jazeera lady points out that some of these Jewish warriors are wearing, prepare yourselves: diamonds.

I'm in a state of shock, feel like melting into a puddle.

The chutzpah of Jewish women wearing diamonds.

Every Al Jazeera viewer knows that women should be wearing, y'know, burkahs!

Al Jazeera lady pines for the past when Jews were forbidden to live in Jerusalem; when the Western Wall was the city garbage dump; when synagogues were horse stables; when headstones from Jewish cemeteries were used by the Jordanians to pave streets; when Jordanian soldiers sat on the walls of the Old City, shot and murdered Jews.

Ah, the good ol' days.

Basically, the whole two hours is a hit piece on Jews who wish to live in Judea and Samaria. Al Jazeera lady blames, well, everything on the Jooz. She never points out that after the Jewish surrender of Gaza, Hamas proclaimed victory and promised that "all of Israel would be liberated."

I guess that's sort of an inconvenient truth.

Here's a larger truth: what happens when Arab/Muslims proclaim parts of London, Paris, Brooklyn, under Sharia and the presence of Jews an intolerable provocation?

There are already 22 Arab countries that are Judenrein.

Why does the world find this perfectly acceptable, perfectly natural?

Why does the world keep drawing new lines in the sand where the presence of Jews is unacceptable?

Just asking.

"Hey," says Karen, "this isn't Al Jazeera, this is CNN."

"Well, I know that, I've just been using this as a literary device to make a point."

Christiane Amanpour's work is guilty of moral equivalence. She's a disgraceful journalist. And I guarantee this: tonight 's segment will be an apology for Muslim jihadists.

Posted by Robert J. Avrech at August 22, 2007 10:41 AM

Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.

2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism.

That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.

All the good Christiane created with her good special on the Islamic radicals in England was erased last night with that cruddy special. Moral equivalence is the most dangerous oxymoron of our time. It is a disease affecting the Western world... much like the diseases that inflicted Athens during the Peloponnesian Wars... it too may be our undoing.

Posted by: Jake at August 22, 2007 12:05 PM

Al Jazeera lady is married to Jamie Rubin the former spokesman for Madeleine Albright, and likely to have a role in a future Democratic State Department.

Posted by: soccer dad at August 22, 2007 01:23 PM

It was a truly depressing spectacle. You did a great job of telling it like it was, a shill-job for the Palestinians and Jew haters.

I watched 4 minutes of it, to see if it would be as bad as I had anticipated. Caught exactly when she blamed ALL the violence of the intafada on Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount, conveniently never mentioning Arafat's written, documented orchestration of the violence that followed.

I'm not shocked it was worse for the rest of the 2 hours, and am glad you had the fortitude to sit through such disgusting tripe so you could tell others (and it was a great device, to call her al-Jazeera lady, because she surely would qualify for a position there.

Posted by: Maurice at August 22, 2007 01:35 PM

Of all nights, last night I telephoned our cousin, Shani Hikind, at 9:10 pm. She said, "I can't talk, there's a special on Israel on CNN now." I quickly hung up and put on CNN, not realizing that in a moment I would be seeing her segment with Dov - totally edited to make them look weak in spite Amanpour's calling them a power couple. Shani, although looking good,was shown dancing and appeared to be begging for money; Dov, I'm sure, was cut off in mid-thought. Other frustrating aspects: the "powerful" AIPAC influencing politicians in spite of presidential decrees, and the emphasis on individuals who operated outside Israeli law. The claim that the West Bank is occupied illegally. The show is called "God's Warriors," so you could say Amanpour's point of view is to describe fringe elements. However, there was limited perspective of history, motive and causation, such as no mention of who started the wars of '48 and '67. And how'd you like seeing the Mufti sitting on his throne lording over the Temple Mount? Ariel Sharon became the instigator of the intifada and the person who was responsible for the massacre in Lebanon, as if the Palestinians had no responsibility for either. You could say to Amanpour's credit that she presented the opposing block by having leftists on the show, but they were just as maddening in their own extremism. Did it not appear as if Israel, Jews and their supporters are all just a bunch of crazy fools?

Generally, it was sickening, and I was biting my nails, which I haven't done in ages. Shani returned my call directly after the program. I think she was in shock, because she wasn't reacting to the slanted viewpoint of the show, that is, she didn't sound angry or upset. Maybe she's used to it. She mentioned that the lawyer who walked with Amanpour along the security wall was an adversary of the fundraising organization where she is employed, Ateret Kohanim, and that the security guard interviewed in shadow was such a sweet, modest guy.

The Hikinds will be traveling to Israel this week. They will be visiting our family in Efrat, a beautiful community in the West Bank which is facing the very real possibility, ironically, of the building of a security wall close to people's backyards. It will be interestiing to see what Amanpour has to say tonight, whether she will allow words such as "hate," "propaganda," "evil," and "destruction of Israel/Jews," or whether it will be all about oppression, occupation, murder of Arab children, revenge and return to the homeland.

From your Seraphic Sister-in-Law.

Posted by: Rena at August 22, 2007 02:05 PM

Great analysis, Rena. You forgot to mention the best part, you are now not only Seraphic sister-in-law, but "Power Cousin!"

Posted by: Karen Avrech at August 22, 2007 03:23 PM

I like your nickname for Ampour.

If this wasn't such a serious issue, I'd be cracking up.

Now I really can't wait to meet you. Perhaps I'll be in your area next summer...

Posted by: tnspr569 at August 22, 2007 03:36 PM

I watched part of that last night and I thought of you, and I hoped you would comment on it here. I'm afraid that some people see programs like that and they think it must be right. They don't stop to think that the producers of this type of program have an agenda to begin with and that is what drives the content.

I'm sure tonight's program will be sympathetic to the Isl@mofacist, and tomorrow night's program will make Christians (like me) look stupid - so I'm going to a church picnic instead of watching!

Posted by: Joannah at August 22, 2007 03:45 PM

Frankly George Bush and other Republicans, and Olmert and other Laborites (and even some in Kadima?) by granting recognition — tacit or explicit, diplomatic or financial — to the Hamas government, are in part responsible for allowing MSM stories like this to feel necessary or relevant.

No?

Posted by: Jeremiah at August 22, 2007 05:02 PM

I missed the show but it sounds like a real train wreck — too horrific to look at and yet, too horrific to look away from.

Most importantly, that CNN would air this should not come as a shock. We should be long over being shocked to realize all news is agenda driven, and unfortunately, the current popular agenda is one of brazen anti-Semitism, and perhaps made so much worse by its simulatenous pro-Muslim bias.

Posted by: Dana at August 22, 2007 05:13 PM

I missed this "special" from CNN. I figured it would be the biased reporting one can expect from Amanpour.

However, speaking of Al-Jazeera; I was able to actually watch their international channel since it was part of my satellite tv package in Israel.

Its really not that different than what we see from the MSM, CNN, or MSNBC.

Except with fancy English accents.

Posted by: Lance at August 22, 2007 05:37 PM

Well said as usual. Wish that your articles were printed somewhere where more people could read them (other than your blog public) and get educated on the subject.

Posted by: mata hari at August 22, 2007 06:50 PM

Actually, the second intifada was Arafat's answer to the Camp David Accords. His way of saying no to all negotiations after Barak offered the terrorist leader 96% of everything, including dividing Jerusalem.

And that, Robert, is what we call the money statement.

Barak shocked the world -and Israel- with the magnitude of his offer, and barely survived a no-confidence vote in the Knesset over his proposal.

One of the biggest lies in history, yes...history, is that the second intafada (I refuse to capitalize it) was the result of Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount.

But Arafat had been planning for this horrific assault on Israeli civilians for months, even while he smiled for photo ops at Camp David.

Saudi prince Bandar, who was serving as a delegate told Arafat "if we lose this opportunity sir, it will be a crime against the Palestinians. In fact, it will be a crime against the entire region."

History should NEVER forgive Yasser Arafat. Never. To call the man a petty thug would be a compliment. He took an offer whose generosity was stunning, and turned it down without offering a single counterproposal.

97% of the West Bank. The Temple Mount under an Islamic flag. Autonomy for Arabs in the Israeli occupied territory. The right of refugees to return to the new Palestinian state. Complete freedom from all of the Jewish oppression and occupation and all of the other so-called crimes against the Palestinians that the world screamed about....

And Arafat simply walked away.

It was a crime against humanity.

I concluded my college senior thesis on this very topic with the the following statement: Individuals may have had trouble remembering Arafat's crimes against the Israelis and his own people, but history never forgets.


_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

#6 Christiane Amanpour: An Accomplice to Lies

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Moral_Conservatism;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbzhudG1wBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzExMjk5MTc0BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMwMzI5NgRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNocGYEc3RpbWUDMTE4ODAyNzAzMg--

Michael Devolin
Christiane Amanpour: An Accomplice to Lies
By Michael Devolin
Aug 23, 2007 - 6:28:08 AM



As a rebuttal to those who questioned her professionalism after witnessing her emotional outbursts during her coverage of the siege of Sarajevo, Christiane Amanpour replied, "There are some situations one cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice." Apparently Christiane Amanpour feels less emotional and more neutral about Jews and their religious connection to Israel than she does for the Muslims of Sarajevo.

In her latest documentary, God's Warriors, Amanpour vilifies Jews simply by equating religious Jews with religious Muslims. Of course, not everyone will see it this way. Not everyone these days is willing (or brave enough) to critique Islam and its adherents, both for the violence and anti-Jewish hatred this religion and its attendant culture advocates, and the advocates of this religion and its culture, for how they are all too willing to accommodate such violence and anti-Jewish hatred. Obviously, the journalist Amanpour is not brave enough. An Oriana Fallaci she is not.

Anyone who has studied the history of Islam will know that Jews and Judaism do not deserve to be in any way compared as imitations of Muslims and their Islam. Anyone as knowledgeable as Christiane Amanpour should be, who makes such a comparison in her documentary God's Warriors, can do so only wilfully, with laboured effort and with malefic intent. A religious Jewish friend, a directing member of the right-wing B'nai Elim intoned to me after watching the film, "I fear that she has awakened more sleeping anti-Semites and empowered the rest of the Jew-haters in the world. The attacks on Jews and Jewish establishments will no doubt increase as a result."

I'm sure CNN is so very proud of Amanpour's anti-Israel, anti-Judaism diatribe. Of course, her "moral equivalency" is standard for CNN and their self-aggrandizing, cowardly journalists. Heaven forbid they should point out that Jews do not blow themselves up in German and Austrian restaurants for the sins of the Holocaust and the Crusades. Heaven forbid they should reveal, as did Ayaan Hirsi Ali in her book Infidel, that "Violent jihad is a historical constant in Islam." Heaven forbid they should expose the fact that Muslim zealots in the 21st century behead journalists and aid-workers simply because those journalists and aid-workers are Christians and Jews and therefore do not measure up to the Prophet Mohammed and the glory of the Koran. CNN and their effete journalists like Christiane Amanpour (all her war correspondence notwithstanding) are incapable of making such veridical contradistinctions simply because they have long ago made the obsequious choice to feed the masses with palatable slander, even though the masses, as history has so often exposed, often howl for anti-Jewish slander.

In Sarajevo, at the height of her fame, Amanpour boasted to the world, "Objectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally." Apparently this axiom does not apply when one of those sides are the Jews and the State of Israel. The warped logic of her documentary purports that Jewish terrorists are numerous, as active, and as determined to destroy the "goyim" (non-Jew) as are the Muslim terrorists to destroy not only Israel and her Jews, but also the entire Western world. This is one time when I'm sure the Jewish people would insist on being regarded as not equal to Muslims and their sequent, religiously inspired terrorism, not because such equivalence is so unattractive and out of character for Jews, but simply because it's an outrageous lie. Christiane Amanpour, as a result of her evident disdain for objectivity, is now become an accomplice to that lie.


_________________
"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.

God's Jewish Warriors

http://www.aish.com/SSI/articleToPrint.asp?PageURL=/jewishissues/mediaobjectivity/Gods_Jewish_Warriors_--_CNNs_Abomination.xml&torahportion=&teaser=The+first+part+of+the+series+is+one+of+the+most+grossly+distorted+programs+to+appear+on+mainstream+American+television+in+many+years%2E

The first part of the series is one of the most grossly distorted programs to appear on mainstream American television in many years.


CNN's "God's Warriors," hosted by Christiane Amanpour, is a three-part series intended to examine the growing role of religious fundamentalism in today's world. Unfortunately, the first program in the series, "God's Jewish Warriors," is one of the most grossly distorted programs to appear on mainstream American television in many years. It is false in its basic premise, established in the opening scene in which Jewish (and Christian) religious fervency is equated with that of Muslims heard endorsing "martyrdom," or suicide-killing. There is, of course, no counterpart among Jews and Christians to the violent jihadist Muslim campaigns underway across the globe, either in numbers of perpetrators engaged or in the magnitude of death and destruction wrought.

While in reality Jewish "terrorism" is virtually non-existent, the program magnifies at length the few instances of violence or attempted violence by religiously-motivated Jewish individuals - including having to go all the way back to 1980, for example, to explore a bombing campaign against West Bank Arab mayors by a small group of Israeli Jews. In dredging up such an old incident Amanpour unintentionally undermines her own thesis.

And, of course, on the exceedingly rare occasions when Israeli Jews commit terrorist acts, the Israeli public and leadership condemns the act and the perpetrators. Prime Minister Rabin, for example, condemned Baruch Goldstein's terrorist attack in Hebron, terming it "a loathsome, criminal act of murder." In contrast, Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israelis are regarded as "martyrs" and become celebrities, with soccer tournaments named after them. Amanpour, of course, fails to inform her audience of this key difference.

Of much more interest to Amanpour are settlements, which are a key focus of the program, their residents and adherents being deemed "God's warriors" - along with those Americans, Jewish and Christian alike, who support them. American presidents and Members of Congress are said to be held hostage to the so-called "Israel Lobby," ostensibly dark forces consisting of AIPAC and other pro-Israel groups who supposedly enable the nefarious expansion of West Bank communities.

Disproportionate reliance on partisan voices, some extreme figures, skews the message dramatically. Jimmy Carter and John Mearsheimer, chief proponents of the discredited canards about Jews subverting American national interests to those of Israel, are repeatedly and respectfully interviewed. Carter, for example, claims that no American politician could survive politically while calling for settlement-related aid cuts to Israel: "There's no way that a member of Congress would ever vote for that and hope to be re-elected."

That would be news to politicians like Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, who has long been a critic of aid to Israel and opposed loan guarantees to Israel in 1992. As well, contrary to Amanpour and Carter, Representatives James Trafficante, Dana Rohrabacher, Nick Smith, Fortney Pete Stark, Neil Abercrombie, David E. Bonior, John Conyers Jr, John D. Dingell, Earl F. Hilliard, Jesse L. Jackson Jr., Barbara Lee, Jim McDermott, George Miller, Jim Moran, David R. Obey, Ron Paul and Nick J. Rahall II, have voted against aid to Israel and/or opposed other resolutions favoring Israel.

Amanpour ignores all this, and turns instead to former Senator Charles Percy, who joins in denouncing Jewish political influence. Only Morris Amitay is presented as balance on this critical issue.

Whether wittingly or not, Amanpour's program, with its reliance on pejorative labeling, generalities, testimonials, and a stacked lineup of guests, is a perfect illustration of classical propaganda techniques. Unfortunately propaganda is the opposite of journalism, the profession Amanpour is supposed to practice.

The program was misleading and inaccurate in many other ways as well:

Land

Amanpour says: "But it is also Palestinian land. The West Bank - it's west of the Jordan River - was designated by the United Nations to be the largest part of an Arab state."

This is highly deceptive. The United Nations 1947 Partition Plan proposed dividing all the land west of the Jordan into a Jewish and an Arab state; the Arabs rejected the plan, choosing instead to launch a war to eliminate Israel. The land did not become "Palestinian land" via this UN Plan. Likewise, UN Security Council Resolution 242, passed after the Six Day War, underscored that territorial adjustments related to the West Bank were to be expected.

Settlements

Amanpour suggests settlements are the cause of Arab anger: "the Jewish settlements have inflamed much of th