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In making arguments related to the War on Terror, conservatives sometimes run the risk of preaching to the choir rather than convincing others at home and abroad of the true nature of the Islamist threat. Earlier today, I saw a screening of the film the Making of the Martyr, in which director Brooke Goldstein traveled to Israel and the Palestinian territories and interviewed Palestinian children about their aspirations to be martyrs. At the screening, Goldstein argued that the best way to reach liberals as well as foreign governments is to emphasize that Muslim children being raised to be suicide bombers are in fact victims of child abuse and their indoctrination constitutes a major human rights violation. The focal point of the film is Hussam Abdu, a Palestinian teenage dwarf, who was sent on a suicide bombing mission when he was 15, but he became scared and surrendered to the Israelis before detonation. Goldstein interviewed him as he was serving a sentence in an Israeli prison. Almost like Henry Hill in Goodfellas recalling, "As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a gangster," Hussum gloats about how much respect is given to families of martyrs back home. As the film documents, suicide bombers are treated as rock stars in the Palestinian territories, with their posters plastered across their villages. One young Palestinian girl who was interviewed casually observed, "Every girl wants to be a martyr," while a young boy at a summer camp declared there are only two choices, "victory or martyrdom." All in all it's a scary but eye-opening look at how the next generation of terrorists is being raised, which has implications not only for Israelis, but for Americans, given that similar incitement is common throughout the Muslim world.

If you have the time, you can watch the film online for free here.

topics:
Islam, Movies, Israel