The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision For America

The Third Jihad
The Third Jihad film poster
Directed by	Wayne Kopping Erik Werth
Produced by	Erik Werth Raphael Shore
Story by	Wayne Kopping Michael Pace Raphael Shore Erik Werth
Narrated by	Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser
Music by	Alun Richards
Edited by	Wayne Kopping
Production company	Public Scope Films
Distributed by	Gallagher Entertainment
Release dates	2008
Running time	72 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Arabic Persian

The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision For America is a 2008 documentary film about the threat of radical Islam in the United States. The film, narrated by Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a Muslim American, centers around a Muslim Brotherhood document^[1] accepted as evidence in the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development terror financing trial. The filmmakers contend, based on that document, that radical Islamists are engaging in a "multifaceted strategy to overcome the western world," waging a "cultural jihad" to "infiltrate and undermine our society from within".^[2]

The film was directed by Wayne Kopping of South Africa and Erik Werth, and produced by Erik Werth and Raphael Shore, a Canadian-Israeli, with financing from the Clarion Fund.

Production

Raphael Shore, producer of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, and founder of the Clarion Fund is the producer of The Third Jihad. The film was directed and edited by Wayne Kopping, who was also the Director, Editor, and Co-Writer of Obsession.^[3] Co-Directing and Co-Producing the film was Erik Werth, an Emmy-nominated television producer at Dateline NBC and former advisor to senior government officials. The film is narrated by Muslim American Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser.^[4][5][6]

The film uses video clips from American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNN, As-Sahab media production house of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), Al-Aqsa TV and other non-specified news outlets.

Synopsis

According to the filmmakers website, the film "reveals that radical Islamists driven by a religiously motivated rejection of western values cultures and religion are engaging in a multifaceted strategy to overcome the western world."^[2] In contrast to the concept of violent jihad, the filmmakers introduce the concept of "cultural jihad as a means to infiltrate and undermine our society from within."^[2] The overriding theme from their perspective is how this "cultural jihad" is a threat to United States national security.^[4][7][8][9] The film contains excerpts of speeches by Islamic organizations and terrorist groups, includes interviews with government officials, interspersed with footage of terrorist attacks, human rights violations, and growing support of jihadist movements. A distinction is drawn between radical Islam and Islam as a whole. However, the film accuses "much of Muslim leadership here in America" of having the goal to "infiltrate and dominate".^[10]

Persons interviewed in the film include: former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Director of the American Center for Democracy Rachel Ehrenfeld, founder and president of the Alliance of Iranian Women Manda Zand Ervin, former Jammaa Islameia terrorist Dr. Tawfik Hamid, British columnist and author Melanie Phillips, Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University Bernard Lewis, former CIA operative Wayne Simmons, founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Walid Phares, head of Masjid Al Islam mosque in Washington, DC Imam Abdul Alim Musa, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, former CIA Intelligence Expert Clare Lopez, FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs John Miller (journalist), President of the National Ten Point Leadership Foundation Rev. Eugene Rivers, journalist and author Mark Steyn, former CIA Director during the Clinton Administration Jim Woolsey,^[11] and Police Commissioner of New York City Raymond Kelly.

Use by NYPD for training

In January 2011, The Village Voice reported that the film was being used to train New York Police Department officers during required counterterrorism training. One officer who viewed the film at an NYPD training facility stated "It was so ridiculously one-sided, it just made Muslims look like the enemy. It was straight propaganda".^[12] Members of the City Council, civil rights advocates, and Muslim leaders objected to the Department's use of the film.^[13] Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said that it "never should have shown to officers," stating "it was reviewed and found to be inappropriate."^[10][12]

In January 2012, the New York Times reported that documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act indicated that 1,498 officers viewed the film during the period it was used for training.^{[12][13][14][15]} Police Commissioner of New York City Raymond Kelly, who was interviewed in the film, later stated he considered that decision a mistake and called the film "objectionable."^[10]

Promotion and endorsements

Fox News Channel Hannity showed a preview of the documentary live on December 22, 2009.^[16] The Third Jihad received endorsements from former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, U.S. Senator John Kyl,U.S. Representatives Trent Franks and Sue Myrick, among others.^[17]

See also

• Losing Our Sons, a related 2012 documentary film

References

External links

• Official website
• The Third Jihad at the Internet Movie Database