Also, tonight on TheBlaze, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern, we have the premiere of something called Faith Keepers. It's going to air live at 6:00 p.m. and after the first initial run. And then it will be available on demand at TheBlaze.com.
This is a really important movie. Now, this is coming from the Clarion Project. Now, the Clarion Project, you may not remember or know.
Do you remember, when I was at CNN, I did something called exposed, the extremist agenda. And it was on headline news. It beat O'Reilly and everything that night.
We were number one, if I remember correctly. And it was a big deal. But it was also one of the hardest shows I have ever had to produce. Because CNN fought me on every word. They wanted to make sure that every word was exactly right. Because they just didn't believe any of this stuff.
And as it turned out, every word, we had written in the original script went to air. Because it is true. And we had the backup to prove it. And one of the big sources that we had was the Clarion Project. Source or inspiration. They did a film called Obsession. And if you're a long-time listeners of this program, that would be 12 years now, I said at the time, one of the most important films of our time.
It still is. And you should still have it in your library. Now there's a follow-up. And it's very different in nature. This one is called Faith Keepers. And it is showing now in documentary fashion, the extermination of Christians in the Middle East. Specifically, Iraq and Syria. But it spreads further than that.
And why it's so important.
Ryan Mauro is with us. He's the associate producer of Faith Keepers, an extraordinarily difficult film to put together. And -- and, Ryan, we're thrilled to have it on TheBlaze tonight. Job well done.
RYAN: Sure. Thank you so much for having us. And thank you for what you've done to promote Obsession in the past. It's really made such an improvement in our country's dialogue, I think, about these types of issues involving radical Islam. And we hope to do the same thing now and awaken the church as to what's happening with the genocide against Christians all around the world and make them realize that we also don't have to consider this to be inevitable, that we can stop it. And I would argue even reverse it.
GLENN: I will tell you, Ryan, I was really impressed that you had Rabbi Aron. He is the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust studies.
And he came out to my office about two years ago. And said the most remarkable thing to me ever. He said, would you please stop talking about the persecution of Jews that's going on? This was right after Jews were killed in Paris or someplace.
And I said, excuse me, rabbi?
And he said, they're coming for you first. And he said, I've got to get our community to pay attention to the -- to the Christians and the Christians to pay attention to the persecution of the Christians.
And he seems to play an important role. He's interviewed in this documentary several times. Tell me about your -- your experience with him.
RYAN: Sure. Well, in terms of the film, what was so important about that was to show that history is repeating itself, even if the victim is a little bit different. But they're all in the same boat, facing the same type of genocidal enemy, no matter what type of name they attach to themselves. What type of ideology.
And at Clarion Project, one of the interesting and most powerful things about our organization, is that we include Orthodox Jews. We have atheists. We have Christians like myself. And we have Muslims, like Zuhdi Jasser is on our board.
And so we all see how the commonality that we all have in facing this type of hatred. And we're all concerned about it happening to any one of us, regardless of whether we share that person's faith. And so we have -- that's why we have Jews and Muslims, all shouting from the rooftop, saying, we have got to stop the genocide of Christians.
And I've got to tell you, in many ways, it's increasing in ways beyond just the typical blowing up Christians, killing them, videotaping it, because not all enemies of ours videotape and broadcast their crimes.
GLENN: So you went over to the Middle East and I would imagine had exactly the same kind of feeling that I did because I can feel it in the way that you put this film together. While this is a really dark subject, there is -- this is one of the more hopeful films I have seen. Honestly, the first time I saw this, I thought to myself, I am going home and I am sitting my children down. And all of us are watching this. My older children, my younger children, we're all watching this.
Because this is what faith and this is what it means to be a Christian. And they have no examples of that in their life, I think, here in America.
RYAN: I think persecution does something for people of faith and their relationship with God, that is hard for anyone to describe, including myself. Because I haven't faced that type of persecution. I have only talked to people and seen the results of it.
So when I was in Iraq, in the Detroit Christian area, very shortly after ISIS was removed from the area. And then Christians in the area had to rely upon Iranian-backed militias for safety, that's the type of position they're in, the hope that they had was just really humbling.
Because in my world in America, I don't know if I could muster that. I mean, they're looking around at destroyed churches. And they point to a painting of Jesus. Which would have been one of the first things that ISIS would have been -- according to their ideology, required to destroy. And yet, they found that on the very premise of the church, that ISIS burned and used as a training ground to kill more Christians. And so they're able to see these things as signs from God to say, continue on. You're going to rebuild that church. And you're going to have a bigger congregation than you had before.
But I was also really humbled and discouraged, I would say, by the question of, how can we help you? And the Christians in the area would say, this is a problem. It's easy.
We feel like the church knows there's a genocide going on, but they don't talk about it. They don't pray about it. Or they don't study it. They don't see the gravity of it. And the church has the infrastructure to put an end to this, relatively easily. And to reverse it.
And they said, look, if you're uncomfortable sending money, then you can send your construction workers. You can send them materials. You can help us rebuild the economy. Learn the local languages. There's a million different things that we can do, if the church's brain matches its heart, and they start putting ideas forth. And that's what Faith Keepers is really designed to do, to be something that all churches and even entities, besides churches, watch and then they brainstorm and say, in addition to financial support, how can we get this going?
And so we really are offering a two-part thing for your listeners, which is the first Obsession. We're giving away 5,000 free copies today, including shipping, if you go to ClarionProject.org for the first 5,000. We just ask that you show it to people. Try to have an event at your church or your political club, college, whatever. And we're also offering Faith Keepers for only $5.99 for the day if you go to ClarionProject.org.
And we're just trusting you, that you're not going to watch it, just for your own education. That you're going to become part of this movement.
GLENN: I will tell you, Ryan, that when I was over in the Middle East, when I said, what can we do to help? They said, make the world see us. And that is -- that is truly the biggest problem here. There is -- there is no one in the media that is incentivized to show you this. This is politically incorrect. And it's hard to look at.
But you've made this -- this -- this movie that is really easy to watch.
It does have, you know, the darkest parts of, you know, the kidnappings and everything else. But it's told in such a hopeful and bright way, that it's easy to look at. And I'm asking every single person within the sound of my voice, if you're a Blaze subscriber, watch it tonight at 6 o'clock or right after it airs. It will go into on demand. But watch it. If you have a membership, great.
If you don't, you can sign up and watch it. If you want to actually be engaged, I ask you now to go to ClarionProject.org. ClarionProject.org. And get this movie. It's 5.99. That's I think like ten bucks off. It's 5.99. All we're asking is that you have a group of neighbors, of friends, or your church, and you get people together and you watch this movie.
If you -- if you also want, for free, you can get Obsession, which is so clarifying on what is actually happening in the Middle East. Who our enemy actually is. It's very politically incorrect. And it has footage that you will never see on mainstream television. Ever.
But it is so critically important. You can get it for free right now. No strings attached. Also, you can get the Faith Keepers, which is what's happening right now to our Christian community in the Middle East. And you can get that for 5.99. We ask -- the string here is that you show it to people. And you wake people up in the churches. If the church remains asleep, we could lose Christianity in the Middle East. And another Holocaust is already begun. And it will continue down, until the world wakes from their slumber.
Ryan, thank you so much for this movie. Really very powerful. You know, I was -- I was amazed at the children that told the stories of -- of what they've gone through. And how -- hmm. I can't say well-adjusted they are. Because I know there's lots of pain still there.
But how it's just part of their life. Does that make sense?
RYAN: Right. That they have to find enjoyment in the little things because that's all that they have. It really made you look at your own life and kind of have a spiritual awakening, where you say, look at the things that I'm complaining about in my life. How spoiled am I?
GLENN: Yes.
RYAN: And even my own relationship with God, my own spiritually, I mean, how week is it when I look over at what they're going through and what they're willing to sacrifice.
What is it that goes on over there? That gives them this relationship that is stronger than my own. There's something very special there. And I've also got to say, part of the reason for this increased persecution that's going on, that I genuinely believe is because on the underground level, Christianity is spreading, in places like Iran, probably also Turkey.
And so that's the silver lining here, that there really is a lot of hope.
GLENN: Yes. Ryan Mauro. From the Clarion Project. The name of the movie is Faith Keepers. It premieres tonight on TheBlaze at 6:00 p.m.
You don't want to miss this. Please gather your family and watch this. And it's available on demand, right after the first airing.
Then go to the ClarionProject.org. Get the movie. Get Obsession for free. The movie that kind of started it all. And now faith Keepers for 5.99 with the understanding that, with Faith Keepers, you will share it with someone else. First 5,000 people. Be one of those people right now.