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JosephTheLibertarian
07-20-2007, 02:35 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAUDcmaJNWQ

BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. The series is subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear.

The film consists of three 1-hour parts, which were first broadcast in the UK in late 2004. It compares the rise of the American Neo-Conservative movement and the radical Islamist movement, makes comparisons on their origins and suggests a strong connection between the two.

The first part of the series explains the origins of Islamism and Neo-Conservatism.

It shows Egyptian civil servant Sayyid Qutb, the founder of Islamism, visiting America to learn about the education system but becoming disgusted with what he saw as a corruption of morals and virtues in western society through individualism. When he returns to Egypt he is disturbed by westernization under President Nasser and Qutb establishes the Muslim Brotherhood, and after being tortured in one of Nasser's jails comes to believe that western-influenced leaders can justly be killed for the sake of removing their corruption. Qutb is executed in 1966, but he inspires the future mentor of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to start his own secret Islamist group. Inspired by the 1979 Iranian revolution, Zawahiri and his allies assassinate Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat in 1981 in hopes of starting their own revolution. The revolution does not materialize, and Zawahiri comes to believe that the majority of Muslims have been corrupted by their western-inspired leaders and thus may be legitimate targets of violence if they do not join him.

At the same time in America, a group of disillusioned liberals including Irving Kristol and Paul Wolfowitz look to the political thinking of Leo Strauss after the general failure of President Johnson's "Great Society". They come to the conclusion that the emphasis on individual liberty was the undoing of the plan, and envision restructuring America by uniting the American people against a common enemy through fear. These factions, the Neo-Conservatives, come to power under the Reagan administration with their allies Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and work to unite the United States in fear and hatred of the Soviet Union. The Neo-Conservatives allege the Soviet Union is not following the terms of disarmament between the two countries, and with the investigation of "Team B" they accumulate a case to prove this with dubious evidence and methods. President Reagan is convinced nonetheless.

The title of this episode is taken from a popular song which Qutb heard played at a church-organised dance for young people, which he saw as symptomatic of the immorality of American society.

Watch this documentary and more at my playlists.

BuddyRey
07-20-2007, 02:57 PM
I'll second the recommendation. This is a must-see!!!

Oddball
07-20-2007, 03:00 PM
On my desktop....will watch and pass along later.

Thanks muchly! :)

constituent
07-20-2007, 05:21 PM
Great find, thanks for the post. I'd stumbled across this little tidbit once while researching the parallels between bU.Sh.A. and growth of fascism in Europe.. needless to say this historical narrative is awfully difficult to articulate without sounding like a "conspiracy theorist."

thanks a million, once again.

Fields
06-03-2008, 03:49 AM
bump

WRellim
06-03-2008, 04:23 AM
What is even more interesting is that Sayyid Qutb and Irving Kristol were actually twin brothers separated at birth and adopted by different families.









And yes, I am pulling your leg. But who knows, stranger things have happened. (For instance... George W Bush survived childhood without blowing himself up with M80 firecrackers. John McCain managed to completely destroy 6 fighter jets and live to menace the world).

I Am Weasel
06-03-2008, 07:25 PM
it's deleted now...

RSLudlum
06-03-2008, 07:43 PM
it's deleted now...


http://www.archive.org/details/ThePowerOfNightmares ;)

Fields
06-03-2008, 08:46 PM
I actually had never heard of Sayyid Qutb until I saw this movie.