The Journalist and the Jihadi

Fundamentalist Islamic terrorism is a phenomenon that has increasingly gripped the world in fear after the September 11 attacks. It's motives are enshrouded in a cultural gap very few people have managed to fully penetrate or understand, rooted in an anti-Semitic and anti-Western twisting of the Islamic faith for the purpose of murder and intimidation.

It's reliance on scare tactics and propaganda is so powerful that people end up tragically paying for even attempting to unmask its secrets. One such story is captured in the documentary The Journalist and The Jihadi: The Murder Of Daniel Pearl, which is now available on DVD.

The documentary tells the story of two people. The first is Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl and the second is Omar Sheikh, the British-born Pakistani jihadi who would kidnap and subsequently behead him on February 22, 2002. Narrated by chief CNN international correspondent Christine Amanpour, the documentary traces the life histories of both men.

Both Pearl and Sheikh came from highly-educated and privileged backgrounds. Pearl rose to increasing prominence as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, while Sheikh became influenced by Islamic fundamentals and rose in the ranks to become one of the most powerful and influential figures in the world of terror.

After September 11, Pearl began investigating terrorist Richard Reid, the infamous "shoe bomber", which lead to him uncovering various links between Al-Qaeda and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence department. On his way to a supposed interview with a terrorist leader, Pearl learned it was a ruse to have a militant group kidnap and kill him for the purpose of striking a blow against the U.S. and embarrassing the Pakistani government.

Interviewed on Pearl's behalf are his family, friends and colleagues, as well as with various FBI agents and State Department officials who were unsuccessful in their attempts to negotiate his release. For Sheikh, interviewed are various schoolmates and acquaintances of his.

Also interviewed are author Bernard-Henri Levy, former Pakistani air force squadron and intelligence officer Khalid Khawaja, Islamic scholar Maulana Shamszai in his last interview, and various Pakistani police personnel.

The Journalist And The Jihadi is a fascinating look into not only the life of a journalist who tragically died in the pursuit of the truth, but into the intricate and often dangerous world of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism. While the documentary rarely rises above the level of your typical news in-depth investigation program, it's insight into terrorism is insightful and compelling. It only further underscores the tragedy of a man who often went against the news media brass in his attempt to investigate and document the going-ons of the Middle Eastern world, to a country still largely unfamiliar of much of the region's histories and cultures.

The DVD's picture quality is in the 1:33:1 full-screen aspect ratio of its original TV broadcast, with the sound quality in standard Dolby Stereo 2.0. Unfortunately, there

The Journalist And The Jihadi is another great HBO documentary that manages to eloquently capture not only the life of great journalist that risked life and limb, but the perilous and complex world of the man who killed him. For anybody wishing to explore the nature of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism more deeply, this documentary is a great view.

Movie Grade: B
DVD Grade: C
Overall Grade: B