Educational Media Reviews Online

Islamic Fundamentalist movements are growing in strength in both Indonesia and the Philippines. These movements are often violent and Anti-American, and many have ties to Osama Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network. This film examines the danger that some of these groups pose to the United States and the western world.

Indonesia is a predominately Muslim country. Most of the 190 million Muslims that live there are religious moderates, and only a fraction are Islamic Fundamentalists. Those that are however are usually quite vocal, and manage to maintain a high public profile. They adamantly oppose what they call "un-Islamic" practices in their country, such as attending western style nightclubs and restaurants, and they frequently attack or vandalize such establishments. They often harass Americans and other Westerners, and have even gone so far as to threaten the life of the U.S. Ambassador. Their intention is to purge Indonesia of western influences, and to put the U.S. on notice that they will not tolerate American attacks on Muslim countries (such as Afghanistan). Support for their ideas is growing in Indonesia. The Muslim majority is beginning to turn against the pro-western policies of the country’s President, Megawati Sukarnoputri. She and her government may be forced to adopt a more Anti-American foreign policy, or face the prospect of being removed from office by the disgruntled electorate.

Although the Philippines is a predominantly Roman Catholic country, it has a sizeable Muslim minority. The Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that is associated with Al Qaeda, is fighting for an independent Muslim state in the southern part of the country. It raises money by kidnapping Westerners, including Americans, and threatening to kill them if ransoms are not paid. This threat is frequently carried out! Bin Laden is believed to have many contacts and supporters in the Philippines, aside from Abu Sayyaf. One of these was Ramzi Yousef, a Muslim religious zealot who was living in the country in the mid-1990s. He is currently serving a life sentence in the U.S. for masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In 1995 he also lead an unsuccessful plot to assassinate the Pope during the Pontiff’s visit to the Philippines. He and his followers not only intended to kill John Paul, but to blow up several American airliners in the country immediately afterward. In an eerie precursor to the events of September 11th, the conspirators also planned to crash planes into a number of buildings, including CIA headquarters! It was only because of a fire in the Manila apartment of one of the co-conspirators, and the subsequent investigation of it, that the plot was exposed. It’s quite possible that if the fire had not occurred the attacks would have been carried out, and what we know now as the “War on Terror” would have started in 1995.

This film gives the viewer an interesting insight into the opinions and tactics of certain Islamic Fundamentalist groups in Indonesia and the Philippines. At only 30 minutes in length however, it provides no more than a short introduction to these groups. It is not designed to analyze them in an in-depth way, or evaluate the social and economic conditions that gave rise to them. As part of the "War on Terrorism Series" its purpose is to indicate the threat these organizations pose to the U.S, and describe whatever actions are being taken against them, if any. It does this quite well, and will be of value to schools and libraries that want a brief overview of this kind. It is well paced and has an effective narration. The picture quality is good, but the audio is occasionally faint and difficult to hear. Most segments are in English, and those that aren’t are translated by voiceover. There are no subtitles. The English spoken is usually heavily accented, and may be difficult for some viewers to understand.