Cair Declines Invite To Discussion With Devout Muslim Film Narrator, Who Is Expected To Speak Out Against Radical Islam At The Third Jihad Premiere
The Clarion Fund announced today that it will premiere its newest documentary film, The Third Jihad, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 13, 2009. In addition to the screening, several American Muslim groups have been invited to participate in a roundtable discussion where the film's narrator,
Clarion's first documentary film, the award-winning Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West, communicates the global threat posed by the radical elements of Islam. The Third Jihad shifts the focus to the growth of radical Islam on American soil via "Cultural Jihad," the use of the democratic system to transform the American way of life from within to a society governed by Sharia Law (Islamic religious law).
"Clarion Fund recognizes the propagation of radical Islam and the promulgation of Sharia Law within our borders as a clear and present crisis affecting the Muslim American community and the American public at large," said Peter Connors, Executive Director of Clarion. "Our educational tools and media properties will serve as a platform for the American public - including Muslims - to embrace Western liberties and speak out in a meaningful way to silence radical elements in our midst."
Among these tools is RadicalIslam.org, the foundation of Clarion's grassroots movement. The user-friendly website was developed to spread awareness about the threat of radical Islam in America as well as to provide practical response tools. For the launch of the film, the site has been redesigned to include up-to-the-minute updates from major news sources as well as social media-driven networking capabilities.
"We are focused on educating the American public about this eminent threat to their rights and freedoms, with the goal of bringing Creeping Sharia' to a screeching halt," explained Raphael Shore, producer of both The Third Jihad and Obsession and the founder of Clarion. "We want to expose the true intent of radical Islam in order to secure the future of the American public at large, including its Muslim community."
Among those organizations invited to participate in the roundtable discussion is the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). However, CAIR has declined the invitation, a surprising turn of events considering the group's usual insistence that a representative of their "mainstream Muslim" staff be present at such events to offer a "balanced perspective." In fact, since the beginning of 2009, CAIR has requested such representation in at least three U.S. events focused on radical Islam.
"We invited CAIR and they said they wanted nothing to do with this film," said Connors. "CAIR's response is unfortunate, as The Clarion Fund believes that the only way to address this issue is to discuss it openly and honestly with those who agree with us and those who disagree. Then, based on that education, the American public can decide for itself."
The Third Jihad, which is narrated by devout Muslim American Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, centers on the FBI discovery of a Grand Jihad Manifesto calling for the destruction of the U.S. and the establishment of a radical Islamist theocracy in its place. The film features interviews with experts on radical Islam and American security specialists, including leading expert professor Bernard Lewis, as well as a first-hand account from a former terrorist. All those interviewed agree that the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in America is a societal reality that cannot be ignored.
Though a shortened version of The Third Jihad has spread virally on the Internet since the beginning of the year, the Washington, D.C. screening will serve as the official launch of the feature-length version of the film.
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The Clarion Fund (http://www.clarionfund.org/) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to educate Americans about issues of national security. The organization focuses primarily on the emergent threat of radical Islam. To that end, Clarion produces and distributes documentary films and facilitates online education to help Americans better understand the real dangers posed by radical Islam. In addition to RadicalIslam.org, the organization's interactive online educational and social networking tool, Clarion has a popular live-blogging presence on Twitter: @No2RadicalIslam.
