critical analysis 3

Peter J. Smith

Dr. Kahn

Propaganda Power and Politics

April 4, 2010

Critical Analysis Number Three

After the terrorist attacks, on the world trade center and pentagon, on September 11^th 2001, prejudice of Muslim Americans and people of Islamic faith increased. Statements made by former president Bush and other high ranking government officials defended Islam faith and its constituents saying that these acts of terrorism were committed by extremists. A recent documentary film entitled Islam: What the West Needs to Know attempts to undermine the belief that Islam is an inherently good religion that is taken out of context by a small number of people and used as a basis for radical, violent actions. This film utilizes a number of propaganda techniques to convey its controversial and highly propagandistic message of Islam being a fundamentally violent and intolerant religion bent on destroying non believers.

This film begins with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton defending Islamic faith and condemning extremist terrorists of that faith, which they are fighting against. The next thing shown is video and voice over of Kenneth Bigley who was kidnapped and executed by Islamic extremists in Iraq in 2004. This opening of the film reflects much of the argument that is explicated as the documentary goes on. This propagandistic technique of pre persuasion, or framing, really has a strong impact on the viewer. It appears that all these people in positions of political power have no real idea what is going on in the Islamic world. People like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair are pictured stating that Islam is a religion of peace practiced by millions of non violent people yet the next video shown presents an innocent man being murdered by supposedly the same people that these politicians are defending.

Another example of propagandistic techniques that are utilized in Islam: What the West Needs to Know can be found in the various interviews that take place throughout the film. The first technique that is used in these segments is the appeal to the speaker or ethos. One of the three main people that comment on Islamic faith during the film is a man named Walid Shoebat. Walid Shoebat is a former member of the PLO fatah brigade. The PLO or Palestine Liberation Organization, has a long history of terrorist plots and ties to extremist groups. Shoebat, despite being a member of this organization, is now an author who criticizes the Islamic faith. The appeal to speaker here enhances the overall effectiveness of the message of Islamic faith being violent and intolerant because of the first hand accounts and commentary provided by Shoebat. At one point in the film Shoebat compares the world Jihad to that of Mein Kumpf. Jihad literally means struggle (according to Shoebat) and Mein Kumpf was Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s first book which is translated to “My Struggle”. By using this propagandistic technique of ethos, the film is able to strengthen its claim of violence and evil being a fundamental part of Islam. Shoebat has experienced degrees of Islam firsthand and demonstrates, what appears to be, a strong understanding of the religion which enable him to make such a controversial comparison.

A third propagandistic technique that is utilized in this film can also be found in its various interviews. This propagandistic technique is the second of the four stratagems of influence known as source credibility. All of the people interviewed to comment throughout this film possess some type of academic or experience related (as with Shoebat) credibility. One of these people is named Robert Spencer. Although his actual academic credentials are not listed under his name, as he speaks about Islam, the things that are listed are the names of the books that he has written or the websites that he has created. The presence of this information about Spencer enhances his credibility as an authority on Islamic faith since he has written books that discuss it in detail and has created websites that are focused on it. He also looks and speaks like someone who would be a credible source on the fundamentals of Islam. Spencer is dressed in a suit and tie looking very official. He also speaks of complicated traditions of Islamic faith (often quoting the Koran and Hadith) making him appear smart and very knowledgeable of the supposed problems with Islam.

A fourth propagandistic technique that is found in this film is the third stratagem of influence or a message that is constantly told and amplified. This documentary is nearly two hours long and is broken into six different parts but is able to constantly reaffirm its message of the violent and vitriolic nature of Islamic faith over and over and over again. Each section of this documentary appears to divide discussion of Islam into different aspects yet each section appears to be exactly like the last. There are quotes in each of the six sections of this documentary that are chosen from the Koran and Hadith. These are consistently quotes of violence and intolerance and they are immediately followed up by a lengthy discussion of these quotes by people such as Walid Shoebat or Robert Spencer. By constantly quoting parts of the Koran and Hadith, and then using those quotes as reasoning why Islam is fundamentally evil constantly affirms and amplifies the documentary’s message.

A fifth propagandistic technique that is used in this film is the appeal to emotion or pathos. At one point in the film a commercial featuring Muslim American citizens talking of their love of the United States is shown Robert Spencer states that people should be more aware of the dangers of these fundamentally evil Islamic people in the United States. Later in the film there is a shot of a map with each city that has people of Islamic faith living within it highlighted with a red dot. The statement by Robert Spencer and the map with the cities inhabited by Islamic peoples enhances a feeling of fear and apprehension, especially since the map highlights each city as it gets closer and closer to the United States.

In conclusion Islam: What the West Needs to Know is a film that uses many propagandistic techniques to accomplish to communicate its controversial message. This films message appears to go past controversial however and appears to be nothing but pure fear mongering and prejudice. If the film had any real reasoning it would have included actual scholars and experts on the Islamic religion and its teachings. This film lacks any real hard evidence to support its main claim of Islam being violent and horridly intolerant at the fundamental level, especially with its quotes from the Koran, since it ignores all of the contradictory and violent passages that can be found in the bible as well. As a whole there is really nothing that could improve this documentary because its primary message is steeped in prejudice and fear mongering. It is a shame that this film has been labeled as a documentary since most of the time a viewer will be able to learn something valuable about the topic being discussed. In Islam: What the West Needs to Know there is nothing of value being taught.