Rise of Religion as Powerful Political Force

In today's post:

• Rise of Religion as Powerful Political Force
• Mystery Journalist

Rise of Religion as Powerful Political Force

Excerpts from the CNN press release:

CNN will premiere a six-hour documentary next month on the impact of religious fundamentalism as a powerful political force around the world. Filmed over seven months in six countries and reported by chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour, CNN Presents: God’s Warriors will debut over three nights from Tuesday, Aug. 21, to Thursday, Aug. 23, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on CNN Worldwide’s U.S. and international networks.

“As I report around the world, people often ask me about the rise of religious influence on political power within the United States, but in fact this is true worldwide,” Amanpour said. “Wherever I go, what the believers do all have in common is that they want to bring the politics of faith into the very center of public life – we are seeing this now on almost very continent.”

God’s Warriors includes interviews with former President Jimmy Carter about the political impact of the Christian Right in the United States; the Rev. Jerry Falwell – in his last television interview – about the political and cultural legacy of the Moral Majority movement in America; Noa Ben-Artzi, granddaughter of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin, discusses his assassination by a militant Jewish fundamentalist; and Kamal el-Said Habib, a reformed Islamic jihadist who was part of the violent militant group that assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

A companion Web site to God’s Warriors will offer users the opportunity to experience show excerpts from the documentary, listen to an audio podcast about the documentary and view an exclusive video diary that goes behind-the-scenes with producers as they traveled in Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East for principle filming. This online content will launch in August at www.CNN.com/godswarriors. The podcast will also be available for download from iTunes.

Amanpour interviews former President Jimmy Carter at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Credit: Edward Pio Roda/CNN	God's Christian Warriors, August 21, 2007 9pm ET/PT
Amanpour reporting for God’s Muslim Warriors in Cairo, Egypt. Credit: Brent Stirton/CNN	God's Muslim Warriors, August 22, 2007 9pm ET/PT
Amanpour interviews Yehuda Etzion, a founder of the Jewish settler movement, in Ofrah, Israel. Credit: Brent Stirton/CNN	God's Jewish Warriors, August 23, 2007 9pm ET/PT

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Mystery Journalist

This week's Mystery Journalist: Tony Harris

How did you do this week? I'll post another Mystery Journalist clue in Friday's post.