Console
best movie i've ever seen.
Pacionsbo
Absolutely Fantastic
Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
John Seal
This is a very good documentary--we wouldn't expect less from filmmaker Alex Gibney--but My Trip to al-Qaeda succeeds in ways that Gibney may not have intended. Based on a play by reporter and author Lawrence Wright, the film provides a history of the development of al-Qaeda--much of it quite valuable, most of it interesting--but also exposes the man's deep-seated contempt for 'backwards' Islam, unfailing belief in American exceptionalism, and apparent inability to imagine any other kind of society than the one in which he lives. The reliance on 'good Muslims' such as former FBI agent Ali Soufan and a representative of the Quilliam Foundation, a taxpayer-funded front organization for Britain's (New) Labour Party, to tell his story is a dead giveaway: whilst Wright doesn't seem like a bad guy, he also doesn't come across as particularly curious or particularly willing to engage with alien ideas and philosophies. Perhaps his book The Looming Tower is a better representation of his thinking, but what we see here seems a bit on the shallow side.
Dean Collins
Great documentary, encourage everyone to watch it to open a dialog with all.Watching this i don't know who frustrates me more.... the radicals or the radicals.... (think about that statement, i mean both the American and the middle eastern radicals).All i do know is people are dying needlessly, but i don't have any answers (apart from slicing the nuts off the guy who maimed the bear - i'd be first to line up).I think we are all at fault, how can we reset the clock is my question.I read the other comment here and wanted to suggest to anyone reading these comments check out the movie for yourself and make up your own mind.I think that all education is good for you, but it's up to you as to how you use it.
eastbergholt2002
Lawrence Wright's film is fascinating and thought provoking. I read Wright's book The Looming Tower in 2006 and it was the first time I felt I had a clear understanding what the war with Al Qaeda was all about. In this film, Wright explores similar territory and provides an explanation of the philosophy of groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Both share a view of the world that is repugnant and alien to our liberal western sensibilities. We value human life, scientific progress and equality for women and they don't. Wright explains that the Islamic world resents the material and military success of the West. The rise of terrorism has been a way for some extremists to obtain payback for the years of humiliation. While the West has mostly rejected religious fanaticism, Wright shows that parts of the Islamic world are now embracing it. Many regard their failure to compete with the West as a punishment from God. Because Muslims have rejected the true path they need to embrace fundamentalism to achieve God's forgiveness. They therefore reject modernity and oppose Arab leaders like Anwer Sadat who favor secularism. Al Qaeda wants to eliminate what it sees as our corrosive influence in the Middle East. However it is not clear why God isn't punishing us, the infidels for our blasphemous ways. We don't enforce the punishments listed in the Old Testament like killing anyone who works on the Sabbath, so it's hard for us to understand why the stoning of women is making a comeback in countries like Iran or why this is something that God requires. Wright argues that U.S. policies towards the Muslim world after 9/11 have played into bin Laden's hands. Policy makers failed to understand that bin Laden was happy to weaken the U.S. by drawing it into long draining wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The nightmare scenario is for the Islamists capture the Middle East or they start an ongoing insurgency in the West. Watching this program you feel reasonably confident this won't happen, mainly because you quickly realize how crazy their beliefs are. Their views have no appeal for us and it's hard to believe that rational Muslims really want what Al Qaeda is selling. Even their interpretation of Islam seems un-Islamic. The West and the Islamists have incompatible views on the world so it seems that there will always be conflict. Wright seems to understand this strange world. This is a fascinating film.
ilovejhelum
This video is the Prime example how west is manipulating the brains of people who don't know much about Islam and People of Egypt. Its a propaganda video in a sweet way to spread hate and negativity of Islam and Muslims, Really shame on Author and i pity how less he knows. Sham on you.There are so much information in the documentary which is false and has no true Islamic truth, Author is just assuming what he thinks is right but he never care enough to know what exactly is the truth.I seriously don't see any logic behind this video other than to give Muslim and Islam bad name, director/author thinks that people in middle east are imagining the truth and their beliefs are self made. Which i find really deceptive and prerogative.
