"a poem to Islam"--stories of the impact of the film A Jihad for Love... this is beautiful
I just got this in e-mail from Parvez & Sandi on how their film is doing in the Muslim world
* Our experience at our South African premiere was extraordinary. Imam Muhsin Hendricks, the first openly gay imam featured in A Jihad for Love, lives in Cape Town, and he and director Parvez Sharma did a live call-in show on Voice of the Cape (VOC), the conservative Muslim radio station with a supportive straight Islamic social worker who is featured in the film. The Muslim Judicial Council issued a fierce objection and so did many callers. Yet the attention spurred many straight Muslims to come to the screening and this was Muhsin's dream and life's work - to have a powerful tool to educate the community about homosexuality and acceptance. To our surprise, Imam Muhsin's fourteen year-old daughter who is silhouetted in the film, came on stage and did a Q & A with the Cape Town audience to thunderous applause. In her unabashed love for her gay father, she moved many in the audience.
* Since we left South Africa, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) of South Africa issued a 'hukum' or judgement, that declared that any Muslim who rejects the clear injunction of Islam on homosexuality and believes it is to be right, acceptable, or correct, is regarded to be out of the fold of Islam and such a person is to be decreed a murtad or an apostate. "In conformity with centuries of unambiguous and clear evidence from the Glorious Quran, the Sunnah and the consensus of the scholars of Islam, the MJC condemns the practise of homosexuality, the inclination towards it and its lifestyle. The meeting unanimously reaffirmed the decision of its Fatwa Committee that the practise of homosexuality is haraam (forbidden and abominable). 80% of those polled by Voice of the Cape agreed that people who justified homosexuality as being acceptable were out of the fold of Islam. 7% agreed to some extent while 13% disagreed with this ruling. When Muhsin attended Friday prayers at a local mosque in Cape Town, the entire Khutbah (or Friday Sermon) was against the film and him, in particular. Muhsin sat quietly through the entire sermon and did his prayers, as he always does. The good news is that we secured a South African theatrical release for 2008 to ensure that more people can actually watch the film and hear the life stories of devout gay and lesbian Muslims - and only then render judgment. We expect that many will attend, and for those who will not, private Muslim screenings, television, and DVD will follow.
* Not everyone is condemning. A straight, devout Iranian woman came to our Toronto screening with her fists clenched prepared to find a film that attacked Islam. Instead she told Parvez after the screening that during the film her fists slowly opened, as did her heart, and she felt A Jihad for Love was a poem to Islam.
* The Istanbul International Film Festival invited the film to screen in April 2008, the first Muslim nation where the film will screen publicly.
* At our Montreal Premiere, Muslim gay men from Egypt, Malaysia and Lebanon spoke out in the Q & A. One had narrowly escaped being arrested in Cairo to face the same fate as Mazen in the movie. None had ever met one another and we created a special Muslim gay gathering the next evening, building community even at the city's first screening.
* Al-Arabiya - the Arab satellite network - did a wrap-up of the Toronto Film Festival including an interview with Parvez as a way to cover A Jihad for Love and posted it on their website. Within hours, 300 people from across the Arab world had weighed in on the issue of homosexuality, posting comments. While typical was one comment in Arabic - "May God disappoint you unclean people. Islam and homosexuality do not go together. Homosexuals must be executed now because they are scum," others challenged such sentiments. A man from Saudi Arabia wrote:
"It's clear from the comments here that we are a nation that has lost its way. Everyone has appointed himself a judge, executioner and ruler and started giving out fatwas, from those who demand killing homosexuals, to those who demand imprisoning them. These people speak as if they live in communities of angels. Homosexuality has existed since god created the earth and humans and is not a transient issue, and is not part of a conspiracy as some uneducated people here think. When will we start leaving others alone? Homosexuals and other humans are like us regardless of how different their lifestyles are. God created us all and he is the judge, not humans. Enough bloodshed and closed mindedness. God will judge them and their actions and he is merciful and forgiving."
As you can see, the film has enormous potential for worldwide impact on individuals, families, religious leaders, and communities.
* Our experience at our South African premiere was extraordinary. Imam Muhsin Hendricks, the first openly gay imam featured in A Jihad for Love, lives in Cape Town, and he and director Parvez Sharma did a live call-in show on Voice of the Cape (VOC), the conservative Muslim radio station with a supportive straight Islamic social worker who is featured in the film. The Muslim Judicial Council issued a fierce objection and so did many callers. Yet the attention spurred many straight Muslims to come to the screening and this was Muhsin's dream and life's work - to have a powerful tool to educate the community about homosexuality and acceptance. To our surprise, Imam Muhsin's fourteen year-old daughter who is silhouetted in the film, came on stage and did a Q & A with the Cape Town audience to thunderous applause. In her unabashed love for her gay father, she moved many in the audience.
* Since we left South Africa, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) of South Africa issued a 'hukum' or judgement, that declared that any Muslim who rejects the clear injunction of Islam on homosexuality and believes it is to be right, acceptable, or correct, is regarded to be out of the fold of Islam and such a person is to be decreed a murtad or an apostate. "In conformity with centuries of unambiguous and clear evidence from the Glorious Quran, the Sunnah and the consensus of the scholars of Islam, the MJC condemns the practise of homosexuality, the inclination towards it and its lifestyle. The meeting unanimously reaffirmed the decision of its Fatwa Committee that the practise of homosexuality is haraam (forbidden and abominable). 80% of those polled by Voice of the Cape agreed that people who justified homosexuality as being acceptable were out of the fold of Islam. 7% agreed to some extent while 13% disagreed with this ruling. When Muhsin attended Friday prayers at a local mosque in Cape Town, the entire Khutbah (or Friday Sermon) was against the film and him, in particular. Muhsin sat quietly through the entire sermon and did his prayers, as he always does. The good news is that we secured a South African theatrical release for 2008 to ensure that more people can actually watch the film and hear the life stories of devout gay and lesbian Muslims - and only then render judgment. We expect that many will attend, and for those who will not, private Muslim screenings, television, and DVD will follow.
* Not everyone is condemning. A straight, devout Iranian woman came to our Toronto screening with her fists clenched prepared to find a film that attacked Islam. Instead she told Parvez after the screening that during the film her fists slowly opened, as did her heart, and she felt A Jihad for Love was a poem to Islam.
* The Istanbul International Film Festival invited the film to screen in April 2008, the first Muslim nation where the film will screen publicly.
* At our Montreal Premiere, Muslim gay men from Egypt, Malaysia and Lebanon spoke out in the Q & A. One had narrowly escaped being arrested in Cairo to face the same fate as Mazen in the movie. None had ever met one another and we created a special Muslim gay gathering the next evening, building community even at the city's first screening.
* Al-Arabiya - the Arab satellite network - did a wrap-up of the Toronto Film Festival including an interview with Parvez as a way to cover A Jihad for Love and posted it on their website. Within hours, 300 people from across the Arab world had weighed in on the issue of homosexuality, posting comments. While typical was one comment in Arabic - "May God disappoint you unclean people. Islam and homosexuality do not go together. Homosexuals must be executed now because they are scum," others challenged such sentiments. A man from Saudi Arabia wrote:
"It's clear from the comments here that we are a nation that has lost its way. Everyone has appointed himself a judge, executioner and ruler and started giving out fatwas, from those who demand killing homosexuals, to those who demand imprisoning them. These people speak as if they live in communities of angels. Homosexuality has existed since god created the earth and humans and is not a transient issue, and is not part of a conspiracy as some uneducated people here think. When will we start leaving others alone? Homosexuals and other humans are like us regardless of how different their lifestyles are. God created us all and he is the judge, not humans. Enough bloodshed and closed mindedness. God will judge them and their actions and he is merciful and forgiving."
As you can see, the film has enormous potential for worldwide impact on individuals, families, religious leaders, and communities.