A documentary film by Swiss Television entitled “Behind the Veil – Muslim Report Switzerland” has caused controversy due to the interference of the Swiss government’s integration officer. The film shows disturbing scenes which had shocked the country, such as the secretary of the Muslim community justifying the beating of wives, and an imam who preached…
In his recent documentary “Muezzin,” Austrian filmmaker Sebastian Brameshuber follows a number of Turkish muezzins during their participation in a yearly-held competition to find the best muezzin in Turkey. He interviews them on their roles as fathers and teachers, while pursuing the main question of the relationship between music and speech.
Canadian documentary filmmaker Omar Majeed recently released his newest film, Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam. Taking its name from “Taqwa,” the Arabic word for “higher consciousness,” Taqwacore is a nascent music scene that both celebrates Islam while rebelling, in typical punk fashion, against the social and political constraints of the religion. “Drunk imams, punk…
Documentary filmmaker Bernard Debord’s “Voile Sur la République” (Veil on the Republic) (2009) examines the challenges and lives of Muslims living in the North of France. Debord’s film includes an interview with sociologist Leïla Babès who expresses concern for the rise of fundamentalists in northern France and that “a little bit of Islam everyday will…
The film “A Jihad for Love” by American Muslim director Parvez Sharma following gay Muslim men and women in twelve countries, gas won numerous awards, and most recently received the ‘Best Documentary’ award in the GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation) awards in March. Sharma traveled through Iran, Egypt, Turkey, India, South Africa, and…
