Word: islam
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...documentary's ultimate message is simple and forthright: Islam as a religion does not condone violence. Everyone's rights must surely be protected. But, there is a legitimate danger posed by militant groups who claim to act in the name of a distorted version of Islam. Our challenge, as Emerson states it in the film, is to find a way of "combating these groups within the boundaries of the Constitution...
What, then, if you cut through all the uproar, is the precise objection to Emerson and his project? One woman explained to me that she was offended by his use of the term "Islamic terrorist" because it stigmatized an entire people. Never mind that the term is concretely accurate--there are terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam. Another argued that the use of Arabic chanting in the documentary demonized the Arabic language. The chants in question were in fact calls to violence, naturally spoken in the language that these militants speak. Another man argued that Emerson...
...debate began before the event even started, as the HIS passed out photocopied flyers titled "The Truth about Islam in America" in anticipation of Emerson's interpretation of the word jihad...
...Militant Islam does not equal mainstream Islam," Emerson said. He went on to explain that this is a very important distinction and that those who attempt to slander him simply fail to appreciate this difference...
...Those who do not want this discussion are doing an incredible injustice to Islam," Emerson said...