Posted on 08/20/2007 8:48:40 AM PDT by Abathar
NEW YORK - Christiane Amanpour's work on the documentary series "God's Warriors" took her directly to intersections of extreme religious and secular thinking.
She watched, fascinated, as demonstrators in San Francisco accused teenagers in the fundamentalist Christian group BattleCry of intolerance in a clash of two cultures that will probably never understand each other.
Understanding is what Amanpour is trying to promote in "God's Warriors," which takes up six prime-time hours on CNN this week. The series on religious fundamentalism among Christians, Muslims and Jews airs in three parts, 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday through Thursday.
Many people know only stereotypes of these true believers, even the ones in their own country, she said.
Yet it's vital to be familiar with their thinking given the growing importance of these movements in the war on terrorism, the never-ending conflicts surrounding Israel and conservative politics in the United States.
"I'm not interested in drumming up false fears, or falsely allaying fears," CNN's chief international correspondent told The Associated Press by phone from France, where she added last-minute touches to the series. "I just want people to know what's going on."
Amanpour traveled extensively over eight months to work on the series. The trips to Amanpour's native Iran are most fascinating. She explored the ancient roots of the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, and talked with one of the country's most accomplished female politicians about how Muslim women are treated.
Another segment tried to explain why so many devout Muslims are willing to give their lives to a cause.
"To the West, martyrdom has a really bad connotation because of suicide bombers who call themselves martyrs," she said. "Really, martyrdom is actually something that historically was quite noble, because it was about standing up and rejecting tyranny, rejecting injustice and rejecting oppression and, if necessary, dying for that."
Finishing the project didn't leave her with a sense of fear over the implications of stronger fundamentalist movements.
"I did come away with a sense that we — or those people who don't want to see religion in politics and culture — if we don't look into it and see what is going on, we're in danger of missing it and not be able to react to it properly," she said.
Amanpour was one of the last reporters to talk to the Rev. Jerry Falwell. She interviewed him a week before he died about the legacy of the Moral Majority, the organization that thrust evangelical Christians onto the political stage.
The segment on Christians explores BattleCry in some depth, digging at the roots of an organization that fights against some of the cruder elements of popular culture and urges teenagers to be chaste. In noting how girls at some BattleCry events are encouraged to wear long dresses, Amanpour asks the group's leader how it is different from the Taliban.
In a nonjudgmental way, she visits a family that is home-schooling its children and explores the influence of Evangelicals on the courts.
"There is so much nuance, so much information, so much to talk about, by no means were we able to talk about it all," she said, "and by no means do I claim this is the definitive project. It is one of the fullest, one of the most ambitious and one of the most complete."
Amanpour, 49, is no longer CNN's most visible reporter, as she was when skipping from one war zone to another. She received a lot of attention for her documentary "In the Footsteps of bin Laden" last year, and said she's enjoying the opportunity to put day-to-day news in greater perspective.
She's frequently criticized American television networks, including her own, for not spending enough time on international news.
That hasn't changed. "I believe (the audience) wants to know more than our bosses or superficial focus groups would have you believe," she said.
Amanpour was recently named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. She's leaving her home base of London to move to New York with her husband, former U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin.
"This is really a personal move for my husband,who has lived eight years out of his own country and wants to come back," she said.
It does not suprise me that Ms. Amanpour will do anything to put Christianity with Islam into a bad light.
Minnie Mouse Saves Sarajevo - Christiane Imam-Poor
Does anyone have a schedule on these programs?
DUH........try reading the article doofus.
1400 yr of un-nuanced Jihad is enough.
We're trying to be on our best behavior or BOR will impose censors. ;-)
Uhhhhh.....they aren't shot in the back of the head if they don't??
Muslim Extremists - Boom
Christian Extremists - No Boom
Jewish Extemists - No Boom
One of these is a problem. The other two are annoyances.
He was personally attacking himself. No harm there...
I think your answer is below:
"Really, martyrdom is actually something that historically was quite noble, because it was about standing up and rejecting tyranny, rejecting injustice and rejecting oppression and, if necessary, dying for that."
Or one of THOSE extremists would make the other two look like boy scouts/girl scouts.
Christiane Iamawhore
I think in the end BOR will have a needed good chuckle reading the posts. ;-)
Amanpour with special guest commentator Michael Ware. Amanpour and Ware will be giving a demonstrations of how sexual intercourse is performed while both wearing full burkas.
“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.” 3 Jo 1:11
Or let the 1400 year record speak for itself.
Occasional Jewish and Christian extremists go Boom.
The difference is that they are promptly and roundly rejected by essentially all other members of their faiths. Many if not most Muslims approve of Muslim boomers, or at least make excuses for them.
I just finished a book about the era of British control of Palestine. There were lots of Jewish booms during that period.
"To the West, martyrdom has a really bad connotation because of suicide bombers who call themselves martyrs," she said. "Really, martyrdom is actually something that historically was quite noble, because it was about standing up and rejecting tyranny, rejecting injustice and rejecting oppression and, if necessary, dying for that."
Martyrdom has never been strapping bombs to your chest, walking into a marketplace in peace time, and killing and injuring as many innocent passersby as you can. There is NOTHING honorable about that.
Suffering persecution and refusing to denounce your faith as you are tortured to death or thrown to the lions for entertainment IS martyrdom. You die, no one else does, and you stood by your beliefs.
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