Thinking about "Fitna"

by M. Stewart
I watched Fitna this morning, the new film about radical Islam by right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders. While it’s not high art, the film makes very clear that Western democracies, Christians and Jews remain in the crosshairs of people who believe Allah has called them to kill.

If you want to see the 10-minute subtitled version of Fitna at YouTube, you’ll have to register for an account, which is very easy to do. The good bots at YouTube want to know you’re not a child; the film shows one of those al-Qaeda beheadings and some other pretty graphic violence.

According to the L.A. Times, “Wilders has said he made the film to call attention to what he sees as the Islamic threat to Europe -- which he compares to the fascism that led to World War II. ... [He has] built a political career fighting what he calls the ‘Islamization’ of the West.'”

I can’t say there is anything new in Fitna, except perhaps that the conclusion calls upon Muslims to “tear out” the parts of the Koran that tell believers to kill infidels. Much of the film shows these selected verses while Islamic leaders preach hatred and murder.

The way I see it, anytime you have a group of insane people who believe some imaginary god is telling them to kill non-believers, there is a problem, whether that god is Allah or Yahweh.

Let’s not kid ourselves, Christians are not above killing infidels for Jesus (see the Crusades), but for the most part, Christians have outgrown at least some of their medieval mindset, and the real crazies are generally kept underground. Islam has been less successful at controlling its radicals.

How successful this little film is in whipping up anti-Muslim sentiment in Europe is yet to be seen, but Fitna offers nothing new to Americans, who have been at war with radical Islam for five years. We have enough fear and hatred here to last us a while.

It is possible, however, that the stir over this film could cast more doubt on American Democratic presidential candidate Barak Obama, whose endorsements from the Nation of Islam and the Rev. Jeremiah “god-damn-America” Wright have raised questions about Obama’s influences and allegiances.

We must always remember that an American presidential election has nothing to do with thinking people making informed decisions. It’s about propaganda and fear, and right now the fear factor rides pretty high.

If Barak Obama does win the Democratic nomination, and it appears he will, the Democrats will essentially forfeit the White House for another four to eight years. As enthusiastic as Obama’s liberal supporters are, America at large will not support this man. If at any time during the campaign the far right believes Obama has a real chance of winning the presidency, his life will be in danger.

We must understand that the forces shaping the world today are not rational. We have entered a period of tremendous instability brought on by people driven mad by religion, and the resulting fear will affect all our lives for the indefinite future. Because human progress and religion are incompatible, the real war is not between Christians and Muslims or Arabs and Jews; it’s between the past and the future.