Hollywood has been called the greatest propaganda machine in human
history, because the power of film is so compelling and persuasive. Los Angeles Times critic Kenneth Turan once
wrote that “movies are hard-wired into our psyche, shaping how we view the
world… It’s when politics infiltrates entertainment that it is most subversive
– and most effective.” That’s why Communist Russia’s Lenin said, “For us, the
cinema is the most important of all the arts.” Hitler too certainly understood its
usefulness in conveying Nazi propaganda. Now the savage fanatics of ISIS show
that they recognize the power of film too.
It’s not as if contemporary Islamic fundamentalists didn’t already understand
this concept and take it very seriously. They took it seriously enough to
butcher Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in broad daylight on the streets of
Amsterdam back in 2004 for a ten-minute short film critical of Islam called Submission that he made with Ayaan Hirsi
Ali, author of Infidel. For her
participation in it, Hirsi Ali herself has long lived under the threat of
death, just like Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose 2008 short film Fitna outraged the Muslim world by
linking verses from the Koran with images of violence inspired by those verses.
Most significantly, the fundamentalists take film seriously enough to pressure
Hollywood to shape the ways in which Islam and Muslims are depicted.
Now ISIS militants, who are amassing a disturbing number of recruits from
around the world partly as a result of their social media savvy – have produced
a recruitment video as slick as any Hollywood production in response to Barack Obama’s
announcement that the U.S. will lead an international coalition to stem the
ISIS tide.
Last week the al-Hayat Media Center, the English-language propaganda outlet
for ISIS, released a trailer for a film entitled Flames of War with the tagline, “Fighting has just begun.” The 52-second
video displayed production values not too dissimilar from those in just about
any explosion-fest by blockbuster director Michael Bay, including super-slow
motion footage of jihadis in combat, quick cuts, and CGI flames and explosions.
The trailer showed U.S. tanks being attacked by jihadists with
shoulder-launched missiles, American troops being shot at, our wounded being
loaded into an armored vehicle, almost subliminally quick images of George
Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner and Donald Rumsfeld on a tour of
Iraq, and drive-by footage of the White House at night, implying that ISIS is on
our soil and within striking distance of the White House itself. The only spoken
words are Obama’s pledge that “American combat troops will not be returning to
fight in Iraq.” It must have been a very compelling teaser for any young
Muslim men looking for excitement and adventure.
A mere two days later ISIS followed up the trailer with the full-length
film: fifty-five minutes of documentary-style recruitment propaganda touting
the military success of the Islamic State. It consists mostly of handheld
footage taken by cameramen embedded with ISIS fighters, and is narrated or
subtitled almost entirely in English – presumably because its intended audience
is Muslims living in the West. The narrator, apparently fluent in both English
and Arabic, praises the brave mujahideen who come “from all corners of the
world” to bring “a new era of victory for the ummah within the pages of
history.”
The muj are depicted as heroes relentlessly waging war against anyone who
gets in their way, crusaders or Muslims, and their enemies are derided as
cowards. They are shown fighting without fear of death, since their aims are favored
by Allah, and they accept only victory or martyrdom. Indeed, at one point a long
camera shot practically caresses the bloody, dusty cheek of a dead ISIS
warrior, whose beatific final expression suggests a spiritual joy in having given
his life for Allah. As for Iraqi or Syrian Muslims who dared fight against ISIS,
they are shown being graphically and ruthlessly executed after being forced to
dig their own graves.
One crucial lesson to be drawn from Flames
of War is that the film utterly destroys Obama’s and John Kerry’s ridiculous
assertion that ISIS is not Islamic. From beginning to end, Allah’s presence is
inescapable – he could even be said to be the movie’s protagonist. The film is
suffused with religious commentary and Koranic justification for waging war on unbelievers.
“Nothing can stand against the weapon of unshakeable faith,” the narrator assures
potential recruits.
Similarly, there is absolutely zero mention of the colonial “grievances”
that Obama claims are motivating ISIS. Instead, the narrator very clearly proclaims
that “we only fight to bring back the Khalifah and establish the shari’ah of
Allah. We fight in order to rule the entire world with Allah’s revelation.”
Yeah, not Islamic at all.
The movie ends with a message to America – called the “defender of the
cross” – about the inevitability of war with ISIS: “You will be forced into a
direct confrontation, with Allah’s permission, despite your reluctance. And the
sons of Islam have prepared themselves for this day.”
(This article originally appeared here on FrontPage Mag, 9/23/14)
