KANDAHAR

KANDAHAR is an intense thriller about a CIA operative and his Muslim translator who flee across the Afghan desert from terrorists, the Taliban and Iranian forces to get to an American transport at an abandoned base in Kandahar. Despite a slow, confusing first act, KANDAHAR is an exciting, edge-of-your-seat adventure thriller that stresses family and the fight against Islamofascism, but the movie contains strong action violence and lots of strong foul language, and both the heroic translator and the CIA spy’s American handler are “devout” Muslims, so media-wise viewers will not want to expose themselves to the movie’s Pro-Muslim propaganda.

The movie opens with CIA spy Tom Harris working on an underground electrical station in Qom, Iran, not far from an underground nuclear enrichment plant. Unknown to the Iranian soldiers guarding his truck and assistant, Tom plants a device that will cause the plant to melt down and explode. The soldiers are suspicious, but Tom allays their fears, and soon he and his assistant are driving their truck away from the city.

Hours later, Tom leaves his assistant in one city and travels to the place where his handler, Roman, lives. Roman has converted to Islam and tells Tom he’s found peace. He still seems to be a patriot, however, who’s committed to stopping Islamofascism, including Iran’s nuclear bomb program.

Tom is anxious to return to America to celebrate his daughter’s upcoming high school graduation. Though his wife has asked for a divorce, they still seem to be on okay terms, though the wife is still upset that he’s too involved with his job.

However, Roman offers Tom lots of money to do one more job in Iran, but by traveling across the border from Afghanistan. Roman connects Tom with a Muslim translator named Mohammed in Afghanistan. Mo took the job to return to Afghanistan so he could also look for his wife’s lost sister.

Sadly, however, the Iranian secret police have kidnapped and arrested a female British journalist who’s been given details about CIA operatives working in Iran by a traitor within the CIA ranks. They get Tom’s name and photo and determine that he staged the destruction of Iran’s nuclear plant on Qom. They blast Tom’s name and photo across the media.

So, Roman aborts the mission, and Tom and Mo must race across the Afghan desert to Kandahar, where a British transport plane will take them home. The dangerous journey will take them through Taliban territory that also contains ISIS terrorists and an unreliable Afghan warlord’s compound. Meanwhile, the Iranians send their top spy on a motorcycle and some special forces guys in a helicopter to run them down.

KANDAHAR is an exciting, edge-of-your-seat adventure thriller. The CIA agent is trying to get back to the States to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. Also, his Muslim translator is trying to return home to his own family back in the States. So, the stakes are high for both men.

Thus, the movie not only stresses the fight against the Islamofascism of the current Islamic regime in Iran and the Islamic tyranny of the Taliban in Afghanistan. It also stresses the importance of family. Regarding that, an interesting line occurs in one scene where an Iranian anti-espionage chief mentions his interrogation of an Israeli spy. The man says that the spy had spent so much time in Iran that he had forgotten what it was like in Israel. He says he told the spy, “You have to go home to remember what you’re fighting for.”

Sadly, the movie’s negative portrayal of Iran and the Taliban is countered by positive portrayals of devout Muslims. Not only is the CIA spy’s heroic translator a devout Muslim. So is the CIA spy’s American handler. When the spy meets his handler, the handler is holding a string of Muslim prayer beads. The handler tells him he’s found peace and strength in Islam. Despite this, the handler seems committed to the fight against a nuclear-armed Iran and against Islamofascism, even though America has withdrawn from Afghanistan and let the Taliban take over. Another scene shows one Taliban leader chastising other Taliban leaders for being so concerned about stopping girls from attending high school or college. There are more important things to focus on, bigger fish to fry, he tells them.

Ultimately, despite the movie’s positive pro-family theme, the movie doesn’t do anything to counter its positive portrayal of the Muslim faith of the CIA spy’s handler and his heroic translator. Viewers will hear Muslim prayers from both men, plus positive references to Islam’s false god, Allah. In one scene, however, the CIA spy and his translator briefly mention “God’s plans” in English. It’s the only scene that suggests the CIA spy has any faith at all, but it’s too light.

The positive portrayal of the two devout Muslims in KANDAHAR crosses the line. If the filmmakers had inserted some overt, positive Pro-Christian content and values, they would make their movie more acceptable.

Islam is a monotheistic religion that claims to build upon the foundations laid by Judaism and Christianity. So, it has some points of agreement with Christianity. Christians and Muslims agree that:

• God created the world and all that is in it, as well as Heaven and Hell.

• God is all powerful and omnipresent. He knows everything; He is everywhere, all the time; and, everything is immediately in His presence.

• God has revealed His Will to mankind through the prophets.

• God has given us laws, which should govern our lives toward doing good and away from doing wrong.

• God will judge all people; some go to Heaven, while all others are doomed to Hell.

Muslims can be allies of Christians in opposing evolution, atheism, pornography, gambling, and abortion. However, Muslims deny the deity of Christ. To the Muslim, Jesus was a good man, but not the Son of God. Islam also denies the Holy Trinity and the vicarious atonement of Christ on the Cross. In fact, there is no atonement or reconciliation of the sinner to God in Islam. Neither the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, nor by any other sacrifice in Islam, can sin be forgiven.

Much of the Qur’an, Islam’s “holy book,” is made up from Bible stories, but they are often misunderstood. For example, the Qur’an says Adam and Eve sinned not in an earthly garden but in paradise. They were cast down to earth after they had sinned. Also, Noah had only one son, and he drowned in the flood. Moses, in the Qur’an, was adopted by Pharaoh’s wife, not his daughter. Although the Qur’an recites Moses’ confrontation with Pharaoh 27 times, the most integral part of the story, the Passover, is omitted!

The Tower of Babel, according to the Quran, was built by Pharaoh in Egypt! The Qur’an teaches that Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, was the sister of Aaron, and the daughter of Imran, who lived 1,500 years before the birth of Christ!

The Five Fundamentals of Islam, which all Muslims must believe in, include 1) One god, Allah; 2) The existence of angels; 3) The revealed books (Taurat, the Old Testament, particularly the books of Moses; the Zabur, the Psalms of David; the Inji, the New Testament documents, particularly the Four Gospels; and, the Quran); 4) The prophets sent by Allah; and, 5) Life after death.

The Six Pillars of Islam are 1) The open confession of faith; 2.) The five daily prayers toward Mecca; 3) The keeping of the fast each night during the full month of Ramadan; 4) The giving of alms; 5) The pilgrimage to Mecca; and, 6) Holy war (jihad).

According to the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WARS by Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod, religious wars account for only 7%, or 123 of the 1,763 wars in recorded human history. It is important to note that 66 of those religious wars, more than 50%, involved Islam, the so-called “religion of peace.” Yet, Islam didn’t even exist as a religion for 4,000 years of recorded human warfare!

Please also note that several passages in the Qur’an say it’s okay to lie to Non-Muslims, or even to kill them: Suras 2:106, 2:191, 2:225, 3:28, 3:54, 4:89, 8:12, 9:3, 9:5, 9:29, 16:106, 40.28, and 47:3.

Despite the genocidal history of Muslims persecuting and killing Christians and people of other faiths, the Qur’an teaches that Jesus was born of a virgin, was holy and faultless, that He is the Messiah, the Word of God, a spirit from God, that He created life, that He healed the sick, that He raised the dead, that He came with clear signs and miraculous wonders, as a sign to all mankind, that He is illustrious in this world and in the hereafter, and that He was raised to Heaven from where He will come back for judgment (Surah 4:171; 5:113; 19:19-21, 91; 43:61).

What the Qur’an teaches about the Lord Jesus is a good place to start when witnessing to Muslims. Of which other prophet could it be said that He was holy and faultless, that He healed the sick and raised the dead and that He is coming again to judge?

KANDAHAR also contains strong action violence and lots of strong foul language, including at least 11 “f” words and at least three strong profanities.