Resembling the anti-Communist, red-baiting films of the 1950s, Jihad in America: The Grand Deception effectively sums up its intentions with its title. This documentary co-directed by Rachel Milton and Steve Emerson (the latter is the executive director of the organization Investigative Project on Terrorism) is a broad indictment of Islam, seemingly implicating every person of that faith as a potential violent jihadist determined to destroy America. While it sometimes makes its polemicist arguments in scarily convincing fashion, its relentlessly broad strokes ultimately undermine its persuasiveness.

The film focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928 and very much in the news in the last year due to its temporary rule of the Egyptian government. Using interviews with numerous scholars, former FBI agents and Muslim leaders, it examines the influence of the organization in numerous countries, but especially the United States. It also takes special aim at CAIR, or the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is basically described as a propaganda outfit before which the American government, media organizations and even Hollywood studios cower, and the Muslim Student Associations, a controversial umbrella organization of student groups in campuses throughout the country.

The film’s primary tool is the extensive use of audio and visual excerpts of numerous incendiary speeches by Islamist figures that are indeed eye-opening. It also makes canny use of such footage as congressional testimony by Attorney General Eric Holder in which he steadfastly refuses to use the term “radical Islam” despite incessant prodding.

Tracing the links between the Muslim Brotherhood and such terrorist organizations as Hamas, the film vociferously argues that it the former is engaged in an elaborate subterfuge masking its true aims. As with most such politically themed documentaries, whether or not you buy its premise will depend largely on your preexisting attitude. But there’s no doubt that its over-the-top approach ultimately seems as manipulative as the ideology it’s condemning.

Opened Oct. 25

Production companies: New World Cinemas, SAE Production

Directors: Steve Emerson, Rachel Milton

Screenwriters: Chris Cantergiani, Steve Emerson, Rachel Milton, Mark Tapson

Executive producer: Steve Emerson

Director of photography; Paul Jacobson

Editors: Jude Leak, Martin Nelson

Not rated, 70 min.

JOONBUG.COM

http://joonbug.com/national/almostfamous/Jihad-in-America/z7QGryG38G3

Jihad in America: The Grand Deception is an explosive jaw-dropping documentary that will leave you speechless. This seventy minute documentary investigates and traces the roots of Islamic brotherhood within the United States and the danger it poses.  Additionally, the film sheds light on the members of these organizations who, while appearing to be moderate, support an interpretation of Islam that is at odds with democracy and human rights. Organizations that are inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood enjoy considerable influence within the United States, which is considered “The Grand Deception.”

Steven Emerson, a leading authority on Islamic extremist networks and executive director said, “I didn’t make this documentary with any goal in mind. I just want as many people as possible to see this film. Video is the new technology for storytelling… with that said, I believe that this documentary will have much more of an impact.”

Although much of the media is plagued with useless news on what is supposed to be hard news networks, Emerson made a point to say, “If you have any curiosity whatsoever about what is going on the world, and how their own security is threatened then they should see this movie…Making this movie was a risk. It’s something that is not talked about. Some people in the film even lost their jobs as a result.”

Emerson said if he could describe the film, “It’s an expose of the extremist movement in the United States that hides under the false definition of a civil rights group.”

The Grand Deception will surely will have people talking for a long time, as it dives into seemingly uncharted territory of the Islamic Brotherhood in the United States. It’s a must see documentary!

NYC MOVIE GURU