Trembling before Allah

Jihad is a loaded word in America, freighted with associations of "the war on terror." But in fact jihad simply means struggle, a concept Parvez Sharma understands well. The filmmaker and journalist spent six years filming his documentary, A Jihad for Love, traveling to a dozen countries and often shooting in secret, to follow the stories of Muslims struggling to reconcile their homosexuality with their religion. Partly inspired by the wave of ignorance and fear that swept through America in the wake of 9/11, the acclaimed film serves as much as a plea for religious as sexual tolerance, showing that some struggles are universal. Sharma's own jihad continues with a global tour that brings him to the Boston area next week.

Q: Hello. You're in Houston today, yes?
A: I'm here in Houston trying to charm the Texans. I'm pleasantly surprised by their intellect. We like to assume they have none, when we live on the east coast, but they're actually very bright people. Though I might be the first Muslim they've met.

Q: Tell me a little about your own experience with Islam growing up.
A: I grew up in India and I had the benefit, if you will, of growing up in a secular environment. India is the world's largest democracy. And actually the only one in my opinion, because I don't consider America a democracy really, with a two-party system. And also India has the world's second largest Muslim population, although it is a majority Hindu country. I grew up in a secular family, and Islam was one half of my soul, and the other half of my soul was staunchly secular. The strongest Islamic condemnation of homosexuality was given to me by my dying mother, ... as she got closer to death she got closer to Islam. That is unfortunately how she left the world, quite unhappy about me coming out as a gay person to her. And in many ways I think my relationship with her continues to be incomplete. Making the film was a very personal act for me. I dedicate it to my mother and my still unresolved relationship with her. I think that's why there are so many mothers in this film. I've done a lot of analysis of this recently and it does all fall into place, why I made this film and why the mother is a such a predominant part of the narrative of the film.

Q: So your feelings about the film have changed since you completed it.
A: I think that happens to any filmmaker. Having traveled with the film to 16 countries, and now starting this tour of the U.S., I do have a very different understanding of it, which in many ways has been shaped by how audiences have reacted.

Q: Tell me more about the reactions. You've posted some responses on your blog and they really run the gamut.
A: I've been amazed. Let's start with American audiences. I had always kind of believed in the common idea that Americans are stupid and not able to engage with anything outside of America. And I have been pleasantly surprised to see in audiences a hunger to learn about Islam, and a nuance of understanding how complicated this film really is. There have been Jewish audiences, Christian audiences, Muslim audiences, white gay male audiences. I remember there was a man who learned about the film from a bear party, and he was so moved by the film. He said his life had been so limited in many ways, being part of a subset of gay culture and celebrating his identity only within that subset, that he had never really had the time to consider that homosexuality can be so complex and troublesome in other parts of the world ... and that this film opened up a whole new discussion for him, and might shape how he would vote in the upcoming election. My goal was to make a film about Islam. About me coming out as a Muslim, and the subjects of this film coming out as Muslim. And I think audiences are relating to the film as a film about Islam, not just another gay film. My other goal was to try and occupy a space in the mainstream. A lot of time the cinema we produce ends up only in gay and lesbian festivals.

Q: Has it been hard to achieve that?
A: I think it's challenging for any gay filmmaker. I think the state of gay cinema in the West is pathetic. The kind of films offered at gay festivals are substandard and constantly interested in the same issues, the same coming out stories, and the same banalities we surround ourselves with, that I feel we actually isolate ourselves even more. How many gay films have been mainstream experiences? It takes someone like Ang Lee to make a Brokeback Mountain, while we go to gay festivals and pat ourselves on the back about films that are essentially repetitive and do nothing to further the agenda. Whatever that agenda might be.

Q: There's a perception that gay films won't be of interest to straight audiences, which I think a lot of gay filmmakers turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Is there a similar dynamic in marketing a film about Islam in a primarily Christian country?
A: I think religion is interesting to everyone because some of our last and most bitter battles are on the frontlines of religion. The whole gay marriage debate in this country is essentially about the Christian faith. And in Islam, definitely, a big battle on those lines has to be fought. I feel that making films about religion personally is an important political choice. I also feel there has been a stagnation in gay cinema in which we have stopped engaging. What happened to those documentaries we had like Before Stonewall or The Times of Harvey Milk? And in trying to mainstream this film I'm trying to go against that grain. I am trying very hard to get straight people to see this film.

Q: It's a much more complex film than people might guess. There's a jihad for everyone who watches it. It's not just about tolerance for gay Muslims -
A: I think the film fills a good role in educating audiences in the West about Islam. It's opening a whole new debate about Islam. There's nothing else like this out there, that is made by a Muslim filmmaker with a Muslim lens, and talks about Islam from a different perspective. This is not yet another Iraq film, which has become a genre now, or another film that talks about Islam in terms of jihad and terror. It is empowering gays and lesbians to talk about their faith in a really profound way. And in doing that it's talking about Islam in a really profound way. That to me is really powerful and I feel that people are engaging with the film because of that, because of that unexpected window it opens for them into Islam.

Q: We've been talking about positive reactions to the film. What about the negative ones?
A: There have been a bunch of negative responses. The Muslim Judicial Council in South Africa last year issued a religious judgment that was read out in 300 mosques, that basically said Muhsin, the gay imam in the film, and myself were apostates. That came out because we were making a very deliberate effort to engage with the Muslim press. Whenever religious orthodoxy attacks a piece of art, inevitably that creates more publicity and interest. And it led to more Muslims coming to see the film. I've received many hateful e-mails, primarily from Arab countries. I have not received direct death threats, but some of them call for my death. These people are writing out of fear about the very existence of this film, without having seen it. The reactions are very different when someone actually bothers to engage with the film.

Q: Do you fear for your safety?
A: I have at various times. But it's been out since September of 2007 and at this point there is not a fatwa on my head. I think that is because I was extremely careful about how I made this film, and how I talk about it. This is not an attack on Islam. I made this film as a defense of Islam, firmly believing that to create change within any religion you have to work with respect for the religion. And I think that is why a prominent ayatollah or mullah has not issued a fatwa calling for my death yet. This is a film made by a believer, and that is very different from someone like Irshad Manji who set out with a very problematic agenda of attacking Islam.

Q: What about safety of the people in the film? Are you still in touch with them?
A: I am in touch with each one, almost on a weekly basis. These are lifelong friends. Nothing bad has happened yet to anyone from being in the film. Some of them have their identities concealed, of course. In terms of creating real change ... Mazen is still struggling to find a job in France, but on the other hand he has traveled to film festivals with me and been tremendously empowered to receive standing ovations and lots of love from audiences around the world. In many ways he feels that his imprisonment and torture was not in vain and is affecting people. Muhsin, the gay imam, has seen positive outcome in terms of his group getting more funding and attention as a result of the film. So I think it's been mostly positive.

Q: What about screenings in other countries? It must be hard to reach some of the audiences who really need this film.
A: I am working intensely to make sure the film has maximum impact and gets seen where it needs to be seen, like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan. ...Friends of mine have smuggled DVDS into Pakistan and Iran and organized privates screenings. Amazing! I have been able to show the film openly in Turkey, and in my home country. The next phase is to try to get into the Emirates, Egypt, North African countries ... it's very time consuming.

Q: So word of mouth must be very important.
A: A lot of times it's going to be secret screenings in people's living rooms. But I'm still working hard on the big film festivals in Cairo and Tehran.

Q: It sounds like this film has consumed your life.
A: Right now I'm very committed to promoting this film for at least the next two years. For me, this film is a movement and I think it is going to transform many lives for years to come. So while I am preparing my next work, I promote Jihad. I'm eagerly awaiting the DVD release next year. This film will have a huge life on DVD.

Q: Exactly. And what's the next movie that you're working on?
A: I want to make a subversive Bollywood musical.

Q: Are you going to be the filmmaker who really gets gay themes into Bollywood?
A: I've done my gay bit. But I want to make a subversive, Muslim, Bollywood musical. I can't say more right now. Are you going to see the film there?

Q: I think so. I'd like to see it on the big screen.
A: It really looks good on the big screen, I think. Someone told me the other day that if I need money I can get a job as a cinematographer.

Q: That's an amazing compliment considering some of the conditions you had to shoot it. I guess you've done everything in the business.
A: And my dear, it's a very tough business. It's getting harder and harder to find funding for independent films.

Q: Last year was very bad for documentaries...
A: And this year too, though Jihad has done surprisingly well. We were able to sustain a month-long run in New York. You know, I hear people at the ticket window saying, "Two for Jihad" and I think it's amazing that regular Americans are using that word in a different way. Does that make sense?

Q: It's a word not usually in our vocabulary, not outside a very specific context.
A: For people to use this contested word in a very different way is remarkable, I think ... it's expanding consciousness around difficult terminology.

A Jihad for Love opens Friday June 27th at Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. Sharma and producer Sandi DuBowski (Trembling Before G-d) will speak at the 7:15 p.m. screenings next Tuesday and Wednesday, July 1 and 2. For more information visit www.ajihadforlove.com.