By Deborah Weiss
During his speech at Columbia University almost one year ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad professed, “[w]e have no homosexuals in Iran.” Now, a film entitled “A Jihad for Love” demonstrates why it is difficult to locate gays in the Muslim world.
Filmed over a period of five and a half years, filmmaker-director Parvez Sharma, a gay Muslim, conducted interviews with other gays and lesbians in twelve countries and nine different languages. The film premiered in Toronto in 2007 and was only recently released in the United States. It was banned at the Singapore International Film Festival due to the “sensitive nature” of discussing the compatibility of Islam and homosexuality.
The film attempts to reclaim the concept of jihad to mean “inner struggle,” rather than the often-used concept of “holy war.” Yet, one could not help but notice that the reaction to homosexuals by the surrounding Muslim community was overtly hostile, violent and oppressive. The inner struggle seemed to be directly brought on by the inner-outer conflict of how to reconcile one’s own sexual proclivities with the inevitable disapproval, chastisement, and violent penalties that would be imposed by Islamic fundamentalist governments, the Muslim religious community, and sometimes even family members.
For example, Muhsin, a gay imam in Johannesburg, South Africa, decided to “come out” by making the rounds with radio appearances. His goal was to speak out in an attempt to reach other gay Muslims and prevent them from either committing suicide or leaving Islam. But the audience would have none of it. Though homosexuality is not illegal in South Africa, callers from the conservative Muslim community believe it should be. “He should be thrown off a mountain or burned.” “They should cut off his arse.” “They should definitely bring back the death penalty for this guy…He’s bringing down the name of Islam.” Read more ...
During his speech at Columbia University almost one year ago, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad professed, “[w]e have no homosexuals in Iran.” Now, a film entitled “A Jihad for Love” demonstrates why it is difficult to locate gays in the Muslim world.
Filmed over a period of five and a half years, filmmaker-director Parvez Sharma, a gay Muslim, conducted interviews with other gays and lesbians in twelve countries and nine different languages. The film premiered in Toronto in 2007 and was only recently released in the United States. It was banned at the Singapore International Film Festival due to the “sensitive nature” of discussing the compatibility of Islam and homosexuality.
The film attempts to reclaim the concept of jihad to mean “inner struggle,” rather than the often-used concept of “holy war.” Yet, one could not help but notice that the reaction to homosexuals by the surrounding Muslim community was overtly hostile, violent and oppressive. The inner struggle seemed to be directly brought on by the inner-outer conflict of how to reconcile one’s own sexual proclivities with the inevitable disapproval, chastisement, and violent penalties that would be imposed by Islamic fundamentalist governments, the Muslim religious community, and sometimes even family members.
For example, Muhsin, a gay imam in Johannesburg, South Africa, decided to “come out” by making the rounds with radio appearances. His goal was to speak out in an attempt to reach other gay Muslims and prevent them from either committing suicide or leaving Islam. But the audience would have none of it. Though homosexuality is not illegal in South Africa, callers from the conservative Muslim community believe it should be. “He should be thrown off a mountain or burned.” “They should cut off his arse.” “They should definitely bring back the death penalty for this guy…He’s bringing down the name of Islam.” Read more ...
Source: FrontPage Magazine
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