Since Tuesday, CNN is showing this special presentation until Thursday.
From the Chicago Tribune
THE WATCHER
Flawed 'God's Warriors' tries hard
By Maureen Ryan
Tribune television critic
August 21 2007
Breathless coverage of Paris Hilton's legal woes aside, nobody's saying that the cable news networks, for all their flaws, have abandoned real reporting.
They do meaty, in-depth reports when their budgets allow, though one wishes that other worthy CNN documentaries had gotten the extensive promotion that "God's Warriors" (8 p.m. Tuesday, CNN) is getting this week.
But this multipart series, which unfolds over three nights starting Tuesday, features one of the network's stars, chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, so it's getting more publicity than CNN usually gives to its documentary efforts.
The impulse behind "God's Warriors" is a noble one, and it is enlightening at times, but it often covers ground that has been trodden before, and I wish CNN had trusted its viewers more; not everything has to be "given a human face," as it were.
There is the usual array of academics, authors and others explaining the rise of religious extremism in Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but much -- sometimes too much -- of "God's Warriors" dwells on individuals within each religion. Some of their tales are interesting, but quite a few are superficial and don't tell us much about why these people were attracted to deeply conservative strands of their respective faiths.
In fact, it's difficult to watch some parts of this series and not recall other documentaries that have delved into the complex subject of religious extremism with more depth and insight.
For instance, the Wednesday installment, "God's Muslim Warriors," touches on the rise of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a subject covered in far more useful detail in "Jihad: The Men and Ideas Behind Al-Qaeda," which was part of PBS' "America at a Crossroads" series.
In "God's Muslim Warriors," on the other hand, we get yet more reporting on the murder of Dutch director Theo van Gogh three years ago by a Muslim extremist, as well as a visit to former Islamic radical Ed Husain, whose story of disaffection with the Muslim cause as preached by London extremists has been told many times in the media. There's also a mostly pointless digression on the Iran-Iraq war, as well as a strange visit to some Iranian clerics who believe in a "hidden imam" (we even get a glimpse of a Web site on the topic they created for kids).
Tuesday's offering, "God's Jewish Warriors" is the most interesting of the three documentaries and provides a thorough history of Israel in the four decades since the Six Day War. There are interviews with settlers who built homes on some of the most disputed land on Earth, a visit to an underground fighter who now renounces violence, as well as interviews with high-ranking officials such as Israeli President Shimon Peres and former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who talks about how the Middle Eastern peace process has gone wrong.
In Thursday's documentary, "God's Christian Warriors," the most interesting segments deal with the growing bond between evangelical Christians and devout Jews, who have allied themselves after years of distrust. But the atmosphere of tolerance disappears when an evangelical minister describes Islam as a "pagan" religion that is "satanically inspired."
There are also interviews with legal experts about the religious right's Supreme Court ambitions and a talk with Jerry Falwell in his last interview before he died.
But much of the rest of "God's Christian Warriors" depicts the ministry of Ron Luce. His priority is battling what he views as an amoral popular culture. There's footage of one of Luce's "Battle Cry" youth rallies, which took place in San Francisco in March; in an understated and effective way, the documentary depicts how the two-day event used all the trappings of an extravagant rock concert to condemn most aspects of modern culture (of which rock concerts are part).
At the Battle Cry event, Amanpour interviews a tearful woman, who tried to explain the depth of her faith. The anchorwoman then closes the documentary by saying, in reference to the devout, "We cannot and should not ignore them."
That's true. And if "God's Warriors" can't quite fully explain their motivations, it's not for lack of earnest trying.
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moryan@tribune.com
Copyright © 2007, The Chicago Tribune
Posted By: Candice Johnson
Wednesday, August 22nd 2007 at 8:43PM
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