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In a time when Islam is under tremendous
attack from within and without, "A Jihad for
Love" is a daring documentary filmed in
twelve countries and nine languages. Muslim
gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma has gone where
the silence is loudest, filming with great
risk in nations where government permission
to make this film was not an option.
"A Jihad for Love" is Mr. Sharma's debut and
is the world's first feature documentary to
explore the complex global intersections
between Islam and homosexuality. Parvez
enters the many worlds of Islam by
illuminating multiple stories as diverse as
Islam itself. The film travels a wide
geographic arc presenting us lives from
India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, South
Africa and France. Always filming in secret
and as a Muslim, Parvez makes the film from
within the faith, depicting Islam with the
same respect that the film's characters show
for it. "A Jihad for Love" is produced by
Sandi DuBowski (Director/Producer of the
award-winning "Trembling Before G-d") and
Parvez Sharma in association with ZDF-Arte,
Channel 4, LOGO, SBS-Australia, The Sundance
Documentary Fund and The Katahdin Foundation.
In Western media, the concept of 'jihad' is
often narrowly equated with holy war. But
Jihad also has a deeper meaning, its literal
Arabic being 'struggle' or 'to strive in the
path of God'. In this film we meet several
characters engaged in their personal Jihad's
for love. The people in this film have a lot
to teach us about love. Their pursuit of love
has brought them into conflicts with their
countries, families, and even themselves.
Such is the quandary of being both homosexual
and Muslim, a combination so taboo that very
little about it has been documented.
As a result, the majority of gay and lesbian
Muslims must travel a twisting, lonely and
often dangerous road. The majority of Muslims
believe that homosexuality is forbidden by
the Qur'an and many scholars quote Hadith
(sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad,
peace be upon him) to directly condemn
homosexuality. Islam, already the second
largest religion in the world is also the
fastest growing. 50 nations have a Muslim
majority. In a few of those nations laws
interpreted from alleged Qur'anic
prohibitions of male homosexuality
(lesbianism is allegedly absent from the
Qur'an) are enforced by religious, tribal or
military authorities to monitor, entrap,
imprison, torture and even execute
homosexuals. Even for those who migrate to
Europe or North America and adopt Western
personae of "gay" or "queer," the relative
freedoms of new homelands are mitigated by
persistent racial profiling and intensified
state surveillance after the attacks of 9/11
and train bombings in Madrid and London.
As a result, many gay and lesbian Muslims end
up renouncing their religion completely. But
the real-life characters of A "Jihad for
Love" aren't willing to abandon a faith they
cherish and that sustains them. Instead, they
struggle to reconcile their ardent belief
with the innate reality of their being. The
international chorus of gay and lesbian
Muslims brought together by "A Jihad for
Love" doesn't seek to vilify or reject Islam,
but rather negotiate a new relationship to
it. In doing so, the film's extraordinary
characters attempt to point the way for all
Muslims to move beyond the hostile, war-torn
present, toward a more hopeful future. As one
can imagine, it was a difficult decision for
the subjects to participate in the film due
to the violence they could face. It took the
filmmaker six years to finish this film and
he like those who have stepped forward to
tell their stories feel that they are Islam's
most unlikely storytellers. All of them feel
that this film is too important for over a
billion Muslims-and all the non-Muslims in
the world-for them to say no. They are
willing to take the risk in their quest to
lay equal claim to their profoundly held
faith.
A Jihad for Love's characters each have
vastly different personal takes on Islam,
some observing a rigorously orthodox regimen,
others leading highly secular lifestyles
while remaining spiritually devout. As the
camera attentively captures their stories,
the film's gay and lesbian characters emerge
in all their human complexity, giving the
viewer an honest rendering of their lives
while complicating our assumptions about a
monolithic Muslim community. Crucially, this
film speaks with a Muslim voice, unlike other
documentaries about sexual politics in Islam
made by Western directors. In the hope of
opening a dialogue that has been mostly
non-existent in Islam's recent history, and
defining jihad as a "struggle" rather than a
"war," the film presents the struggle for
love.
Plot Keywords: Muslim, Trial, Gay Islam, Gay,
Turkey, Gay Interest, Homophobia, India,
Lgbt, South Africa, Gay Rights, Iran,
Lesbian, Islam, Homosexuality, Paris France,
Prison Rape, Religion, Pakistan, Imam,
Religious Fundamentalism, Egypt,
Imprisonment.
Tags : gay islam trailer filmmaker reel In the Name of Allah Aşk İçin Cihad ask icin cihat |
