Islam Documentary Portrays Flawed Views

The makers of the documentary film pretentiously titled "Islam: What the West Needs to Know" do not understand what a documentary is. Perhaps they simply believe the American population cannot differentiate between blatant, malicious propaganda and true documentary filmmaking. The main claim of this pseudo-documentary is that Islam is an inherently violent religion and that the world will be a more peaceful place without Islam. In short, they present the view that Muslims who resort to violence, do so only because of their religion. This assertion is entirely false, and the contributors who assert it in the documentary are wholly unqualified to make any such statements.

Now under normal circumstances, such a ridiculous documentary would not merit even the slightest response - any mention of it gives it more attention than it deserves. But because the documentary was brought to the attention of the student body in The Daily Campus on Oct. 10, it is only proper to analyze and critique the film's methods and content. For when a film claiming to be a bona fide documentary about one of the most relevant issues in today's world is distributed among unsuspecting college students, there must be a clear distinction between propaganda intended to misinform, and a thoughtful, balanced analysis.

Every aspect of "Islam: What the West Needs to Know," from its unfounded assertions of the origins of violence by Muslims to its unqualified expert contributors, is suspect. Indeed the title itself is deeply revealing of the content. Any work claiming to have all of the answers should always be viewed with an air of cynicism. The cynicism is reinforced by the lack of available information on the film's origins. The two people associated with the making of the film, Gregory M. Davis and Bryan Daly, have names so generic that it is impossible to find any information regarding them. Researching the company that produced the film sheds no light on the matter either. The only information regarding Quixotic Media, LLC, is that "Islam: What the West Needs to Know" is its only production. The fact that Quixotic Media's only production has been a denunciation of Islam would seem to indicate that the makers have a clear agenda to defame the religion of one fifth of the world's population. This alone should be enough to discredit the documentary. But the fact that no scholars of Islam have been consulted provides further reason to dismiss the documentary as a piece of propaganda.

Among the five interviewees who appear in the documentary none are considered experts on the Islamic religion or Islamic traditions, and none have received any sort of degree in Islamic or Middle Eastern studies. In fact, not one of them is even Muslim. Five non-Muslims, deeply hostile to Islam, take it upon themselves to educate the West about the true nature of Islam. We must take Robert Spencer's own word that he studied Islam in his youth, just as we must believe that two other contributors, Serge Trifkovic and Bat Ye'or, are qualified to talk about Islam simply because they say they are. There is no evidence to back their claims about having expert knowledge about the Islamic religion, especially since they studied Christianity, journalism and architecture respectively in university and none have lived in Muslim countries in recent years. All three have been criticized for having no credentials by some of the most prominent scholars on Islam in the U.S. The remaining two contributors, while both Arab, can offer little scholarly perspective on Islam. Walid Shoebat, an Evangelical Christian described in the film as a former terrorist, can most certainly not be considered an expert on Islam. The only information available about the final contributor, Abdullah Al-Araby, was two short biographies that generate more questions than answers. Messageformuslims.org.uk describes him as, "a dedicated Christian … born raised and educated in the Islamic world." Booklocker.com asserts that, "His birth and education in an Arabic Muslim nation equips him to communicate the teachings of the Quran and classical literature that dictate Islamic Law." We know neither where he is from nor why he is qualified to discuss Islam. The fact is that none of the contributors to "Islam: What the West Needs to Know" have the knowledge or the authority to make such outrageous assertions as to say that Islam is a violent religion.

The assertion that Islam is inherently violent is outrageous because it applies one aspect of Islam to the whole of the religion, and it deliberately ignores the enormous diversity in Islamic traditions. Most violence by Muslims today has been a reaction to Western Imperialism, oppression, injustice and aggression. It is unforgivably na've and historically inaccurate to talk about the Islamic religion and culture as wholly violent, just as it would be inaccurate to qualify any society or religion as wholly violent or peaceful. To maintain that Islam is inherently violent while the West is inherently peaceful, as the documentary does, directly contradicts the facts of history. Close to 200 million people died in the 20th century as a result of ideologies and conflicts rooted in Western societies. Those who profess to know of the violent nature of other cultures must look at their own first.

The documentary ends with the warning that the West needs to watch out because violent Islam is on its way. The real warning, though, is that we need to beware of those who spread malicious propaganda in the place of and in the name of fair and factual documentary. "Islam: What the West Needs to Know" starts off with an idea and utilizes only selective sources to prove its point. This does not mean it is true. It is clear that the goal of the documentary is to turn an opposition to radical factions of Islam into a war on Islam. But no one can tell us what is true or what isn't, even if it is packaged as a truthful documentary. We must be willing to find that out for ourselves.

Staff Columnist Armin Azimi is a 1st-semester undecided major.