Israel launches annual Infidel Awareness Month campaign — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, a coalition of historians, former Muslims, scholars and public intellectuals has launched the annual Infidel Awareness Month campaign. It will run from September 11 to October 7; according to the Jerusalem Post, its goal is to draw attention to the political and ideological aspects of jihadist movements.
The initiative was founded by historian Richard Landes together with a network of researchers, philosophers and filmmakers. The organizers timed the campaign to the period between the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. They say they seek to counter what they call “Islamic supremacism.”
A 27-day program
The campaign will be centered on the “27 Days of Truth” program, consisting of three areas: honoring the victims of global jihad, examining Western institutions’ approaches to radical ideologies, and warning about the persistence of extremist threats after the decline of territorial “caliphates.”
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As part of the daily program, participants will be presented with stories and testimonies which, according to the project’s concept, are intended to show the human cost of extremist violence. The organizers also plan to analyze the term “infidel,” or “kafir,” which has been used in Arabic in relation to nonbelievers in certain theological and combat contexts. They explain this by their desire to show how extremist groups classify non-Muslim populations.
Initiative participants
The organizers emphasize that they distinguish radical Islamist ideology from Muslims who coexist peacefully in society. The project’s participants include philosopher Andrew Pessin, founder of the Institute for the Critical Study of Anti-Zionism. He told the publication that he joined the campaign because of his research into Islamist anti-Zionism.
Co-organizer Danny Burmavi is also a former Muslim, born in Jordan, who heads the Ideological Defense Institute. In a statement to the Jerusalem Post, he set out his own assessment of religious divisions and the persecution of people outside Islam, and noted that the campaign should honor such victims.
