Traitor

Denver's own Don Cheadle stars in Traitor, a film about terrorism and Islam. Cheadle plays Samir Horn, a Sudanese man who has moved around a lot in life. He has lately found himself with some rather unsavory people in Yemen. He ends up being recruited by terrorists as a bomber (he's quite adept with his hands). Meanwhile, the U.S. is investigating a threat. After a few bombings by this cell in Europe, the FBI (including Guy Pierce) gets intel that points to America as the next target.

Traitor puts the debate about Islam front and center. I have to admit I wish I knew more about Islam. I have studied it, but have not as yet read the Qur'an for myself. Some people believe that all Muslims are terrorists. Obviously that is not true. We shouldn't generalize. Yet, there are some passages in their scripture that could definitely be interpreted as hostile and violent. But couldn't we interpret some of our own Scripture for bad purposes too (to justify slavery, for example?) So where do we draw the line in terms of what a holy book says? This film made me want to learn more because it has "good Muslims" and "bad Muslims" who come into conflict. In order to understand our world's political situations, we have to understand Islam. We have to look at Muslims as human beings, created by God, looking for truth, looking for a being to honor and respect. We cannot continue to look on them as psychos. And we as Christians must also get to the point where we can understand someone and still be alright with disagreeing with them.

Another thought that has been stewing in my head centers around humiliation. I believe that humiliation is the most dangerous human emotion. Many terrorists have been humiliated by the Western world. Humiliation takes away human dignity and respect, and leaves a man desperate, with nothing to lose. We have to be careful with this emotion, and try to never let this be the result of our own actions. Also, we must be careful not to fall into this trap when we ourselves have been slighted. The answer for this, as with many things in life, is to remember who God says we are (as opposed to who others say we are).

This film succeeded through a very well written plot with quite a few great twists. It is both exciting and intellectual interesting. It is entertaining, while still presenting us with great questions to ask. It helps us learn to not judge the proverbial book by the cover. The tagline sums up the film well: "The truth is complicated." Indeed. Not only in regards to this specific tale of terror and fear, but also in regards to the subjects (Islam and terrorism) as a whole. We cannot continue to see these issues so simply.