WorldNetDaily Looks in the Muslim Mirror

WorldNetDaily and Joel Richardson report on Muslim conspiracy theories:

A small Muslim production company has made a big splash with its 52-part documentary called “The Arrivals.”

Since being posted on YouTube in June, the documentary has gone viral with over a quarter million views to date. According to sources in the U.K., the documentary has become extremely popular among Britain’s Muslim youth population. According to the documentary’s self-description, its purpose is to: “explore the revelations in world religions regarding the arrivals of the Antichrist Dajjal, Imam Al-Mahdi, and the Second Coming of The Christ.”

The documentary is a whirlwind tour of Muslim apocalyptic narratives intermixed liberally with anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist themes. Although clearly home-spun, “The Arrivals” is a magnetic kitchen mix of every conspiracy imaginable, with a solid thread of Islamic apocalyptic sermonizing throughout. Images are rhythmically flashed before the viewer of Illuminati and Freemasonry symbols along with the inevitable “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” anti-Semitic conspiracy themes…the viewer is immediately swept up into an ancient cosmic struggle with the heroic Muslim community fighting for truth against the plotting and scheming Zionists, Christians, Bilderbergers, Illuminati and the Club of Rome. The camera pans over the back of the American dollar bill with its prominent, all-seeing eye too many times to count…

Of course, it’s incredibly rich reading this on WorldNetDaily – a site which promotes all manner of absurd conspiracy theories when it suits editor Joseph Farah. One book WorldNetDaily has continually promoted is Stanley Monteith’s Brotherhood of Darkness; we’re told that

If the establishment news media leaves you feeling like you’ve only heard part of the story, if you’ve ever wondered why groups like the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Bilderbergers – groups whose members are obviously powerful with connections to wealth and political influence – are never the subject of the evening news, then you need to read “Brotherhood of Darkness.”

The story in this book is incredible but true. It is about secret societies, how they have directed the course of civilization, and how they influence your life today.

In this book, Dr. Monteith reveals the amazing facts he discovered in his nearly 40 years of research. He reveals the identity of the mysterious forces behind the men who rule the world, and why some of our leaders have dedicated their lives to destroying our nation. After reading “Brotherhood of Darkness,” you will never look at the world the same way again.

The Arrivals seems to  be a Muslim repackaging of exactly the same paranoid theories, albeit with classic anti-Jewish elements that modern American conspiracy theorists have either dropped or shifted onto “bankers”.

Further,

I want to highlight what “The Arrivals” teaches with regard to the coming of Jesus Christ. While the information may be rather new and quite strange to many, having seen these themes emerge repeatedly in various Islamic works, both in print and online, I can assure you that these types of beliefs are not fringe within the Islamic community.

According to the documentary, Jesus Christ as He has been worshipped by Christians throughout history is merely a Christianized version of Ra, the Egyptian Sun god. Accordingly, the video makes the following claim about Jesus (aka Ra):

The “one-eyed” sun god was referred to as “the son of god,” “the light of the world” and “the ruler of all.” Has the church deceived its followers into worshipping a one-eyed sun god? Has there been a worldwide conspiracy that is preparing the world to accept the one-eyed Dajjal as the true messiah?

The screen is then flooded with images of James Caviezel playing the part of Jesus in “The Passion.” After having been severely beaten, one of his eyes is swollen shut. And then the question is answered. Has the church deceived its followers into worshipping Ra?

Of course, this is totally unlike the common Christian fundamentalist assertion that Muslims “really” worship the moon – and the idea of a Christian “Dajjal” can in no way be compared with Richardson’s ramblings about a Muslim anti-Christ.

The people behind The Arrivals are somewhat mysterious; it was created by an organisation called “The Wake Up Project“, which has a website registered to Lebanon. No names are given, although we’re told that

Our team is lead by a group of talented and aspiring directors, media developers, animators, composers, internet moderators, and network and community leaders, committed to use their talents towards our constructive goals and objectives.

Various obscure outfits are listed as associated, some of which have YouTube channels. They are: Noreaga Productions (YouTube channel, as “Noreagaaa”, here); Achernahr Productions (YouTube channel here, claims to be based in British Indian Ocean Territory); Ripple Effect Productions; Freedomtou Pictures (here; supposedly in Canada); SolidSnake Productions; and “More”. As well as these, there is a certain “Hashemsfilms”, which unlike the others, is also known from other contexts, and has an actual person associated with it: this is Abdullah Hashem, who infiltrated the Raelians in 2005; he is also said to have tried to provoke a “cult war” between the Raelians and none other than Prophet Yahweh, whom I blogged here. Whether he is really involved with this “Wake Up Project” or not is anyone’s guess.

This website has further purported background:

The Wake Up Project is mainly identified with the Shia sect of Islam. Having said that, it has a universal approach and many Sunnis and even non-Muslims are now part of the movement. This author, being from a Sunni family has no problems identifying with the general philosophy and ideas, and has found the documentaries most significant. But the Wake Up Project has also been under attack from extremist “Sunni” organizations. Whether these are genuinely “our” madmen or they are Zionist fifth columns like the Abu Nidal, etc, is a matter that is not clear completely but it is in all probability non-Muslims pretending to be Muslims…What is also clear is that the Wake Up Project has united not only Muslims, but also many others – Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and others.