A Jihad For Love

Another year of Frameline is behind us.

Film is a magic medium. It allows us to visit distant lands and far away dreams. As we sit in the dark, we temporarily suspend our realities to become one with the silver screen.

As we celebrate Marriage Equality and Gay Pride, we can not forget that many of our LGBT brothers and sisters live with daily oppression. They are either forced to hide or deny their sexuality for fear of violence, imprisonment and shame. We’ve come along way as a community, but we must remember not to leave anyone behind.

Frameline continues to showcase LGBT films and bring us to worlds we may know very little about. There were three films in this year’s festival that chronicled the struggles of gays and lesbians in the Muslim community. Typically, the films showed the oppression and violence experienced by LGBT members in their own communities. For example, in All My Life, the story of Rami is set against the 2001 crackdown on gays in Egypt during the notorious Queen Boat arrests.

However, Parvez Sharma’s A Jihad For Love is different. Very different. The title “A Jihad for Love” refers to the Islamic concept of jihad, as a religious struggle. The film seeks to reclaim this concept of personal struggle, as it is used in the Western media almost exclusively to mean “holy war” and to refer to violent acts perpetrated by extremist Muslims.

Sharma focuses on those who choose to embrace both their religion and their sexuality. And while this is clearly not an easy path, it has begun to open a discussion between the LGBT and Muslim Communities. The documentary was filmed in 12 different countries and in nine languages. Sharma conducted interviews throughout North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Countries included Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Turkey, France, India, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom.  Many of those interviewed chose to remain anonymous for fear of violence and/or reprisals to their families back home.

While many in the film don’t expect to see change in their lifetimes, they hope the next generation will find acceptance in the Muslim Community. This film is schedule for a general release later this summer.

Parvez Sharma interviewed on CNN International live. Watch the clip

Parvez Sharma is blogging at http://www.ajihadforlove.blogspot.com

Resources for the LGBTIQ Muslims

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