Since the terrorist strikes of Sept. 11, 2001, Muslims in the Triangle and across the United States have lived under a shadow, wondering whether their faith would be blamed for the acts of a few.

Recently, they were reminded of just how terrorism has shaped some perceptions of Muslims when The News & Observer, along with other papers in 14 states, distributed as a paid insert a DVD called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West."

The documentary, which came bundled in the Sept. 15 edition during the holy month of Ramadan, tapped into a fear all too familiar to Muslims. Many said they found themselves looking over their shoulder, tuning in to suspicious noises, wondering if their homes were safe.

"When I saw the DVD in my driveway, I got scared," said Kariman Allam, who teaches science at Cary High School. "I have a family. I don't want my neighbors to hate me."

At communal Ramadan dinners called "iftars," the DVD was the hot subject of discussion. The film features scenes of Muslim children being encouraged to become suicide bombers, interspersed with those of Nazi rallies. It was produced by Raphael Shore, a Canadian who lives in Israel, and directed by Wayne Kopping of South Africa.

Many Muslims wanted to know what was behind it. Some Muslims suspected it was a political ploy funded by Sen. John McCain's Republican supporters to instill national security fears weeks before the presidential election. Others wondered whether it was a smear campaign directed by Jewish zealots concerned about the security of Israel, or perhaps a little of both.

Triangle Muslims say there is no good answer -- and that only increases the insecurity in which rank-and-file Muslims live. The DVD was distributed by a group calling itself the Clarion Fund. According to tax records, Clarion's mission is to "educating the American public about national security threats, including terrorism and nuclear weapons proliferation."

Incorporated in Delaware in 2006, Clarion is a New York-based nonprofit organization. It has not named any directors beyond its officers, executive director Shore, whose first name is listed as "Robert," and two others, Henry Harris and Rebecca Kabat. All three recently worked for Aish HaTorah, an international charity based in New York. Aish HaTorah, which literally means the "fire of Torah," was founded in the 1970s with a mission of bringing secular Jews into the Orthodox fold.

Until recently, the group was not involved politically. Tax forms for Aish HaTorah suggest neither Harris nor Kabat have the financial wherewithal to pay newspapers to distribute 28 million DVDs across the country. According to The Associated Press, Clarion spent millions of dollars distributing the DVDs mostly in battleground presidential election states. When reached for comment, the group would not reveal its backers.

"It would be a mistake to assume it's all about Aish," said Samuel C. Heilman, a sociology professor and authority on Orthodox Jewish movements at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Showing on Capitol Hill

An Inter Press Service story reported another organization may be behind the DVD distribution: The Endowment for Middle East Truth, or EMET, a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York. In March, EMET hosted a showing of "Obsession" on Capitol Hill and gave copies of the DVD to "every single congressional office," according to its Web site, www.emetonline.org. Calls to EMET offices were not returned.

EMET is also known for its ties to Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Adelson, whom the New York Times dubbed "the richest American that most people have never heard of," is a major donor to the Republican Party and a benefactor to conservative causes -- particularly those regarding national security. Recently, he helped finance Freedom's Watch, a conservative response to the liberal MoveOn.org.

Several Jewish blogs have speculated that Adelson is behind the distribution of Obsession. But Rebecca Buge, secretary to Adelson, said from his headquarters in Las Vegas that he did not pay for the distribution, nor does he know who did.

That leaves the mystery behind the DVD unresolved.

Recently, a group of Muslims and other interfaith activists met with N&O Publisher Orage Quarles III and Executive Editor John Drescher. They presented a three-inch stack of form letters opposing the DVD's distribution, signed by local Muslims and others.

"This is definitely the most feedback that I've gotten to an ad," said Ted Vaden, public editor for The News & Observer, told The Associated Press. "It's among the heaviest reaction I've gotten to anything. The great majority of the reaction was negative."

Jim McClure, The N&O's vice president for display advertising, said that he recognized the DVD would provoke a reaction and consulted with other executives before accepting it. But he said the paper could not start censoring advertisers simply because their views made people uncomfortable.

Rejection difficult

Kelly McBride, head of the ethics faculty at the journalism think tank Poynter Institute, said papers generally reject ads only if they promote illegal activity or might incite violence. The "Obsession" DVD, at most, makes people angry, she said.

"It's pretty hard to make an argument to reject it," she told the Associated Press. "It's hard to articulate a standard that would give you the opportunity to reject something like the 'Obsession' DVD but allow other types of political, religious or anti-religious speech."

But Moe El-Gamal, chairman and president of the Muslim American Public Affairs Council of North Carolina, said the newspaper should have exercised better judgment. Others were more blunt.

The distribution of the DVD, said Anna Bigelow, professor of Islamic Studies at N.C. State University, reveals a distinct, though not necessarily conscious, aversion toward Islam.

"There's a quiet prejudice toward Islam -- a cultural blindness," said Bigelow.

Although the DVD claims that it is about radical Islam rather than moderate Muslims, the people interviewed in the film deny that there is such a thing as a moderate Muslim. One of those "experts," Walid Shoebat, a Christian convert, was recently quoted as saying "Islam is the devil."

Omid Safi, professor of Islamic Studies at UNC Chapel Hill, who has watched the DVD several times, says it gives the impression of Muslim followers "as a block of humanity that has a virus that's mutating and spreading in the population."

Anger over the DVD was not limited to the Muslim community. Jews responded, too.

"I'm embarrassed that people representing the Jewish tradition are spreading this malignant, ugly DVD," said Rabbi Eric Solomon of Raleigh's Beth Meyer Synagogue.

This past week, at celebrations marking Eid-al-Fitr, Triangle Muslims wondered what more they can do to engage politically to prevent such attacks. But there was no concealing the wounded feelings.

"I was born in this country, and I love this country," said Taani Eleman of Raleigh, a Muslim mother of four. "But this hurts. It really hurts."

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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