clue-by-four » Blog Archive » WTF Wednesday: 28 million anti-Islam DVDs appear in swing state mailboxes

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WTF Wednesday: 28 million anti-Islam DVDs appear in swing state mailboxes – why?

October 22nd, 2008 by Paul Daniel Ash

I spent a long weekend in the American heartland with my oldest and closest guy friends. It was rejuvenating to spend time with men that have meant so much to me for so long – as well as just being out in the country, with clean air, deep woods, and wildlife. And guns. And bonfires.

My buddy Herb was greatly unsettled by a DVD that he received in the mail about Islam and the so-called War on the West. For those of you that haven’t heard about this (as I hadn’t until I caught a story on CNN at the airport), some shadowy organization is mailing out 28 million anti-Islam DVDs to people in swing states. Some observers note an uptick of attacks against Muslims since the DVD’s release, and it’s hard to ignore the likelihood that the mailing is intended to push swing voters towards McCain/Palin.

This is not the first time this video has been pushed at election time. It got aired on Fox News just before the 2006 election. Conservative activist David Horowitz did a college tour last year where he spoke and showed the video.

The backers of the video – the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET – the Hebrew word for “truth”), attempt to say that they are not trying to achieve any sort of goal with this curiously-timed massive mass mailing: “Well, this is in no way an effort to influence the election. The goal is to help educate the American public about radical Islam’s war with the West.”

As scary as these right-wingers are in the majority, it’s the prospect of them feeling like an oppressed minority that sometimes keeps me up at night…

One Response

Diana writes:

October 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 pm

I am on an e-mail list from the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and I received the following today:

ADC Action Alert:
ADC Launches “Mail Back the Hate” Campaign

Organization Uses Voter Protection Unit to Respond to Politics of Hate Targeting Voters

Washington, DC | October 22, 2008 | http://www.adc.org | The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), in its continuing effort to combat hate and bigotry, has launched the “Mail Back the Hate” Campaign. This campaign is designed to counter the most recent attempt using the politics of fear as a tool to spread hate and division; the distribution of 28-million copies of “Obsession: Radical Islam’s War against the West.” This professionally produced but seditious and fear mongering DVD was inserted into millions of newspapers across the country distributed primarily in those crucial “swing” states including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Michigan, Florida, and Virginia among others. ADC has confirmed that the second phase of this project was started this past week with copies being mailed directly to voters across the country. The obvious intent by the New York-based Clarion Fund, which is responsible for this project, is to scare people and create hostility towards Arab and Muslim Americans as all Americans head to the polls on November 4th.

In response, ADC will use some of the resources of the recently-created Voter Protection Unit (VPU) by calling on all its supporters to mail back the hate and send the copies of “Obsession,” with their packages, to the ADC Voter Protection Unit. Those sending the DVD and its package may cover or remove their name and mailing address if they wish. Upon receipt of the DVD’s, ADC will mail back the packages of hate to the Clarion Fund. Please mail all DVD’s and their packages to:

Attn: Voter Protection Unit
ADC
1732 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20007