User Reviews

Director Parvez Sharma himself wrote the detailed plot outline here at IMDb about this documentary on gay and lesbian Muslims struggling to reconcile their religious faith and their homosexuality in the homophobic Islamic world. Most of the interviewees are outcast, exiled men and women leading secretive, guilt-ridden and sometimes even sexless lives away from their native countries, family and culture. Some have escaped prison or execution, but continue to be segregated in their exile, this time not because of their sexual orientation but for their Muslim faith or ethnic background.

In one of the film's most shocking scenes (for a non-religious person like myself), an outcast South African gay Muslim scholar politely confronts an imam, stating that the Qur'an lines that rule homosexuality as an aberration (similar to what the Old Testament says) is a problem of translation and interpretation, since the original Qur'an verse condemned male rape, not gay sex. The imam bluntly responds that the issue is not open to ANY interpretation; what CAN be open to interpretation, says the imam, is the punishment to be applied to homosexuals: stoning, whipping, imprisonment, death, etc.

The people in this film are dreaming very simple dreams: to be able to live in their native countries, near their families, to cherish their cultural background (of which religion is a big, big part), and to be granted the basic universal right to have a sexual and love life without fear of being humiliated, imprisoned or assassinated. "A Jihad for Love" tries to clarify the notion that it's not the fundamentals of Islam that reject and condemn gays, but the men who control the interpretation of sacred texts: the religious bosses who, in those countries, are also the political bosses.

A kin film to Sandi Dobowski's "Trembling Before G-d" (which covered similar ground within orthodox Jewish communities), "Jihad" is of course urgent and important. Yet it lacks cinematic lure, not only technically (it's visually very poor), but also because it's more of a journalist's piece than an elaboration on the theme. "Jihad" can't help being a little repetitive -- most of the interviewees' stories are very much alike, most of them can't show their faces -- and incomplete -- most of them seem reluctant or frightened to tell their full stories and even their real names for fear of retaliation.

As most non-orthodox gay Catholics, Protestants and Jews have learned in the last 100 years -- through generations of courageous men, women and organizations, and with many casualties along the way -- it's only possible to be religious AND gay in a lay state, where law and religion are independent, where religious faith is an individual right and not a public dogma. There will always be prejudice against gays in every society (gays will always be minorities), so it's the changes in the legal system - - the right of gays to freely express and exert their sexuality and the possibility of legal punishment for sexist behavior -- that will gradually force non-gays to accept the fact that gays are their equals.

Though the film tries to instill the hope that Islam will eventually soften its heart and tolerate gays, reality shows us, sadly, very much the opposite: that intolerance against any type of minority (sexual, racial, religious) grows rougher and stronger every day in all cultures where orthodox monotheist religions thrive. And that the only possible choices left for Muslim gays and lesbians, right now, are -- tragically, inconceivably -- either the closet, exile or self-denial, with punishments varying from humiliation, self-repression, sexless lives, emotional and psychological ravaging to physical torture, imprisonment, death. Foucault knew what he was talking about.

Watched the film with interest having an interest in Islam.

It is interesting to see the human trait where religious conviction trumps reality testing every time. There was one scene where a gay woman says that the Koran is for womens rights ???.

Ultimately Islam will embrace the 21st century and it will start in Western countries. It is useful to keep in mind that even today most evangelical Christian churches think about gays the same way. What they must have been like 50 or 100 years ago! It takes the Muhsin Hendricks for these changes to ever happen.

It is tough and inexplicable (why these innocent harmless people are so hated) and ultimately you must relate to God/Allah in your own private way. This oddly seems more accessible to Muslims than Christians.

It is also useful to remember that homosexuality is very common in all humans and animals

The documentary film maker Pervez Sharma is a devout Muslim and a fighter for acceptance of homosexuals within the Ummah or the broad global community of followers of the third branch of the Abrahamic religions. In 'A Jihad for Love' he presents us with a palette of Muslim gays and lesbians who crave acceptance as true believers in Islam. They pray, they observe rituals, they fast. In other words they try to follow the teachings of the Koran and its interpretations found in the Hadith, They in many respects differ little from their fellow believers, but in whom they choose to love. And in this choice or biologically determined preference, they are considered beyond the pale by the Ulema or scholars of sacred theology and law. As in Christianity and Judaism, the injunction of loving the same sex, is found in the story of Sodom and Gemorrah that God destroyed, and commented on over the centuries in the Hadiths. Sharma takes us from South Africa to Egypt to Iran and Turkey, as his inquiring camera lets persecuted gays to speak for themselves as believers in a religion that in certain countries might have them stoned to death or beheaded. As Sharma sees it, jihad is a personal inner struggle of the soul. But say jihad today and what comes to mind is the mindless terrorism that uses religion to disguise an intense political struggle against the West or for the soul of Islam that Islamic evangelists seek to bring Islam to the purity it was during the days of the Prophet Muhammed. Luckily for the imam from South Africa, his country protects him for discrimination on the basis of sexual preference. In Egypt, we see the back of a young man whipped with 100 lashes and gang raped in a year's imprisonment, before escaping to Paris In Iran, the plight of four young men who seek asylum in Turkey on the way to the safety of Canada. Turkey has no law against homosexuality nor same sex complements, as two devout lesbians show us. 'A Jihad for Love' shows us that for loving another of the same sex, Muslim gays, as true believers, have to struggle for the love that dares not call its name. Most Muslim gays escape to more welcome lands or get married or live in the shadows, owing to religious traditions that are quick to condemn them. And yet, as the documentary make clear the mothers of the gays do not reject them, but fear for their well being. Even the South African imam who married and fathered three children has a good relationship with his wife (ex-wife?) and his children who know how and what he is. Anyone who has read Andre Gide or Oscar Wilde or Jane and Paul Bowles or JR Ackerley or EM Forster learns how welcoming is the Islam to gays. And inspire of the religious and legal prohibition banning homosexuality, it is widely practiced in Muslim and Arab countries, owing to the separation of the sexes early on. In Afghanistan, even the Taliban perform it in the maintaining the centuries old custom of 'bacha bazi', the use of young boys as sexual objects. For reference, look at 'The Kite Runner'. 'A Jihad for Love' is a testimonial of gay believers in Islam who won't abandon their religion and are willing to go through physical and psychological injury not to abandon the religion of their forefathers. And it's to Sharma's credit, as a fierce gay Muslim, that he has brought this struggle to the screen

I have read the above reviewers comments with interest. And I have just had the good fortune to see the remarkable documentary 'A Jihad for Love' at the Toronto International Film Festival. Having reviewed films for years, I know that I do have the qualifications necessary to write a full review of the film-but I postpone that till the film gets a theatrical release, which I believe the filmmaker and the producer(s) are seeking.

I post these observations as initial comments on the film.

In my twenty-five years of writing about documentary film-making I have rarely encountered films of the caliber of A Jihad for Love. It just so happens that in the last three weeks I have also been able to see 'Trembling Before G-d' and 'For the Bible Tells Me So'-a strange but interesting co-incidence because all three films deal with different aspects of the condemnation of homosexuality in the three primary monotheistic religions-Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Being of Jewish heritage myself (but primarily agnostic) I found the Jewish film to be pedestrian and extremely repetitive-a n immature work that has little cinematic merit. The subjects are not engaging and in fact frequently not likable and tend to 'whine' a lot. The quality of the film-making is pedestrian and repetition and boredom seem to be the two primary hallmarks for that film, which left me with more questions than answers and as a Jewish person-also made me feel a sense of complete alienation from the lives depicted in the film (Hasidic Jews being very much the minority in my religion). The Christianity film, adopts a familiar-formal and pedantic tone of talking head style interviews and certainly-neither its subjects nor its cinematic style lend themselves to any kind of cinematic craftsmanship whatsoever. However I must congratulate Mr. DuBowski on producing this eminently and far more superior work (as opposed to the earlier film he directed) with this next film, directed by first time filmmaker Parvez Sharma.

On the other hand, A Jihad for Love, deals with Islam, which has been a focus of our lives and the media for some time now. I approached the film with very little knowledge of that religion and found that the film lead me in unexpected ways, into the very core of the faith and enlightened me in ways I did not even know possible. This film has excellent production values, which lack in the other two and the film-making and storytelling of what seem to be very diverse subjects and geographic locations is superb. The narrative and the story arc seems to be hard to follow initially, but the clarity that emerges soon, is remarkable and deft. The film washes over you like a gentle breeze-even though you are constantly made aware of the dangers and the violence that lurks throughout. The individuals we meet only too briefly in the film are remarkable not just for their courage but in also the honesty with which they approach the camera. The thematic elements of weaving in celebration and despair are remarkable and the filmmaker successfully engages with a wide canvas of possible audience emotions. I thought the use of Bollywood imagery and Arab belly dancing was an act of sheer virtuosity and courage, knowing full well that images like that are the ones most likely to be condemned by a religion that commands austerity from its followers. What I also found remarkable was the multiplicity of languages in this poignant, powerful and elegant work. All of the characters speak to us with the help of sub-titles (which it takes some getting used to) but express themselves in the most eloquent ways. I wondered indeed if this is the language of their daily lives-when a young and compelling Iranian refugee sits atop a hill in Turkey and wonders out loud to his friends: Why does the sky have to be the same color for everyone?' What is also remarkable in this film is that the balance of characters concealing their identity with those showing their faces (like the gay' Imam' in South Africa) is almost equal and Mr. Sharma displays rare artistry and sensitivity in dealing with depicting invisibility keeping the visual medium in mind. (In 'Trembling' for example-a film that is very poorly shot in comparison, I found the use of a flower vase to hide the rather unlikable couple-Malka and Leah, ugly and claustrophobic).

In the business of truth telling and verite cinema, I find this film a refreshing lesson on how far documentary film-making can go if made with the care and the poetry that cinema affords us. Unfortunately in the age of reality television and hastily packaged sound bites and the polemics of many other films, we have few films of this remarkable construct and vision available to us. I look forward to viewing and reviewing this film again as it starts its journey. A small but extremely significant pearl-A Jihad for Love, I feel will be remembered by all those who see it, for a long time to come. This film demands that the audience engage with it and there is a lot of reading-so be warned to be sufficiently caffeinated for a highly rewarding intellectual and cinematic experience!

"A Jihad For Love" is in the same league as "Trembling Before G-d" and "In Good Conscience: Sister Jeannine Gramick's Journey of Faith" as a fine documentary dealing with the reality of severe religion based oppression of homosexuals.

"Trembling Before G-d" dealt with Orthodox Judaism and "In Good Conscience" dealt with Vatican-dominated Catholicism. "Jihad For Love" combines some of the sentiments in both those films - especially in affirming that scriptures can and ought to be read compassionately and intelligently, rather than merely reciting archaic and dubious interpretations.

The filmmakers hold the appropriate premise - the self-evident truth that difference is normal, including difference in innate sexual preference. The job of this film is not to prove that homosexuality is a valid human trait, but to question why vigorous, often mortally violent, oppression persists against persons who only want to love and be loved in honesty and with equity.

Any informed parent ought to be aware that no matter what their religion or location in the world, their children stand exactly the same statistical likelihood of being born same sex attracted - and there's nothing they can do to change that fact. However parents can do their utmost to ensure that their family, community and legal system is prepared to accept and support all good loving people.

"A Jihad For Love" will follow the other two films in doing incalculable good in the world by stimulating active community debate and also by presenting some very powerful role models for same sex attracted Moslems and for their families, friends and religious leaders. I expect that it will significantly hasten a resolution for many in their struggle for love.

The movie might have hit a mark with the gay community, but is that really what it was aiming at? And should it be aiming at that? I do think that it missed a great opportunity, to "open the eyes" of others (i.e. straight people). Even if you're gay and/or try to like the movie because of it's idea(ls), you can't close your eyes to it's faults ... at least you shouldn't.

While it starts off kind of good (with the person that might easily be the most likable of the bunch), it departs and leaves you bedazzled (in all the wrong ways). While it tries more to shock than to make us sympathize with it's people, it get's more incoherent every minute that it runs. The reason is, that we get rushed through different "gay people/couples", while not learning much from them as people. Yes it is difficult to be gay, even more so in a community that despises homosexuals. But talking about the Koran at five different parts of the movie, while not revealing anything new, you do really wonder, why that time wasn't used for something else. Yes it is a documentary with a meaning, but does that justify giving it a great summary and or vote it higher than it really deserves?

It would've been easy to bash this movie, because it is about a minority, but while I'm not part of the minority, I do not condemn anyone for their likings. I do have the right to criticize the movie/documentary for it's execution though. There is more that could've been done with a (hot) topic like this

I met Parvez Sharma and some members of his cast and crew in 2001 at a local low-key fund-raiser hosted by neighbours in the Shaw neighbourhood of Washington, DC. He was a very mild-mannered man with deep sensitivity and insight.

At that juncture, the documentary - although completed in the raw - was still caught-up in the lengthy process of editing with a dire need of funding to ready it for a forthcoming film festival. Needless to say - the completed work - albeit not ready was shown in sections. It was quite obvious that the projected finished result was indeed going to be a very moving and telling testament to the "gay" lifestyle - especially within the Islamic Communities ... worldwide.

As I had met some of the featured personalities - I felt a certain connection with the sensitive nature of my homosexual friends and co-workers. My profession as a "straight" hairdresser places me in direct contact with the creative and sensitive - often highly emotional people - many sorely affected by the stigma attached to them. For many - an almost certain death penalty awaits them upon return to their respective countries.

Over the past decade or so - where we have seen many outspoken men and women emerge from their secret lives within fanatical Islam - their heads bowed down in shame ... until ... courageous people such as Parvez Sharma decided to stand up and be counted - by disclosing their often unexplained lifestyles and their continued love and adherence to their religion.

As I stated, having been a hairdresser (socio-political/community activist) most of my life - along with long periods of detention within Moçambique and South Africa - I have often been on hand to witness the subcultures within unexplained internment - where helplessness, lack of courage, strength and self-esteem might well have pushed them into this often viewed "deviant" lifestyle - regardless of religious affiliation or depth of religious conviction.

Where there was a large number of Muslims - there too did homosexuality become commonplace - often with Muslim men connecting only with Muslim men. So, did we see many of these men cleave to their religion - often making salah or fasting during Ramadhan - steering clear of pork, drugs and alcohol.

One could not help but wonder - yet admire them for retaining a very intrinsic part of their culture - for often, in such ignominious surroundings do we see lesser beings succumb ... fall prey to more self-destructive practices ... even death.

It would indeed be interesting to uncover which is worse in the eyes of the fundamentalists within the Muslim world; the despised homosexual who may lead a somewhat deviant lifestyles - tolerated ... albeit frowned upon - for regardless of their sexual proclivity - yet do they love and adhere to most of the tenements of their faith or alternatively - those "free-thinkers" who make their own assessment of certain situations - contrary to the vapid condemnation of the Jamaat-ul-Ulima who's role it is to enforce draconian misogynist doctrines of Sharia Law - fatwa's included? Here we have feminists, communists, socialists ... people of conscience ... murtad one and all ...

That said; which is more perverse - to love another of one's own gender - or to kill innocent people with impunity - all in the name of furthering one's sectarian faith - whether it be Islam or Christianity or Judaism or upholding one's traditional culture - at all cost? For those Muslims who freely condemn - advocate the issuing of fatwa's upon those who drift away from the heralded "chosen" path - I say open your myopic eyes and educate yourself by attending a screening of this very poignant documentary. Then, and only then will you be qualified to opine, reject or condemn if you so choose - the evidence in this very touching documentary.

To Parvez, what can I say but Shukran/Motehshakeram ... Mubarrak ...