The film that was just too hot for PBS finally gets national airtime.
A controversial film that PBS axed from its documentary series about the post-Sept. 11 world will be broadcast for the first time nationwide this week by the FOX News Channel.
The documentary, originally titled “Islam vs. Islamists,” was produced by ABG Films with $675,000 in public funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It was originally slated to run earlier this year as part of PBS’ “America at a Crossroads” series.
The film follows moderate Muslims who have challenged the “Islamists” who espouse a more radical view of their religion. The film shows the Islamists advocating, among other things, the imposition of Sharia law on Muslims in the West, the stoning of women who commit adultery, and even violence and terrorism.
“Islam vs. Islamists” will be seen in its entirety as part of an all-new FOX News Channel special. The 90-minute FOX program, called “Inside Islam: Faith vs. Fanatics,” includes interviews with “Islam vs. Islamists” director and producer Martyn Burke and executive producer Frank Gaffney. It will be broadcast at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 20.
The film has had a wild ride inside PBS. We interviewed producer Frank Gaffney about PBS’ attempts to stifle the film back in May. Fox aired a companion film, “Muslims against Jihad,” back in June. Oregon public TV made a deal with PBS to make the film available to stations that wanted it, and several dozen have aired it but this weekend’s run marks the first time that “Islam vs Islamists” will run nationally, and in several of the country’s largest TV markets.
Update: Along the same lines, Robert Spencer writes about persecution within Islam today.
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