Gay Muslim Filmmaker Threatened Over Film About Being Gay And Muslim
A Muslim filmmaker has discussed the danger involved in making a film about being gay and Muslim.
Parvez Sharma – whose film ‘A Sinner in Mecca’ premièred this week in Toronto – spoke about the extreme threats he received. Before the film had even been seen, Sharma had received a flurry of hate mail and death threats from angry Muslims worldwide. The film features as part of the ‘Hot Docs’ film festival, and the event organizers were forced to add extra security to the premiere to ensure Sharma’s safety, as well as that of the viewers attending the three sold-out showings.
To make the film, Sharma had to secretly record his journey to Mecca on his iPhone and other small devices, as filming is illegal in Saudi Arabia and homosexuality is punishable by death.
“I was terrified because they reserve the death penalty for people like me,” Sharma told CBC News.
Sharma had his equipment confiscated and video files were often deleted by authorities. Even so, he was determined to complete both his spiritual journey and his film.
“I was there making this pilgrimage for the thousands of gay Muslims who were too scared to go to Saudi Arabia, who would feel they would never be welcome,” Sharma stated. “I felt I was doing it for them.”
Despite the personal risk involved, during filming and since completion, Indian-born Sharma refuses to be intimidated, as he feels it is his duty to portray life as both a devout Muslim and a gay man.
“I think I carry it as a weight on my shoulders,” he explained, “a heavy burden because I really want Muslims to embrace this film.”
Although the film has been denounced by the Iranian government for promoting homosexuality and heavily criticised by Muslims worldwide, Sharma insists he didn’t make the film to provoke controversy. However, he hopes the attention it has garnered will help lead to important social change.
“I feel the film is a call to action to all Muslims to change the things that need to change within 21st Century Islam. We’re running out of time.”
Watch the movie trailer below:
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36 Comments
Masked Man
May 05, 04:50Religion…..smh
Big mistake.
pete
May 05, 04:55can’t seem to stream the video
pete
May 05, 04:55I do not understand how people can continue to beleive/follow religions and politics that do not approve of who they are
DeadlyDarius
May 05, 08:17Simple. Its a primal need of humans to belong and feel part of the herd…
Chris
May 05, 20:17It is about a child who does not recognise potent medicinal herb and be seeing it as vegetable.
Gad
May 05, 20:30@ Pete, when a person decides to follow a particular religion or God( at least from my Christian perspective), its no longer about them but about their God. God owes us nothing but we owe him all.
trystham
May 05, 05:18Bloody hypocrisy. We all kuku know that google has outed them. These supppsed muslim countries can like to cyber search gay porn
A-non
May 05, 05:41I genuinely fear for his life…
Dennis Macaulay
May 05, 06:08Life is much easier without the burden of religion!
Fresh air feels so sweet!
**discards opium pipes and high five’s khaleesi**
Khaleesi
May 05, 17:51***jumps high in the air and stomps on opiim pipes with my expensive lamb skin leather boots*** jams booty with DM …
Teflondon
May 05, 06:35One thing is certain.. It’s easier and safer being a christain Homosexual than being a Muslim homosexual.
Some Christian religion albiet not all.. Are beginning to be open Minded about Homosexuality. Something I doubt exist at all in any facets of Islamic religion.
kendigin
May 05, 07:06No offence, but why does it seem muslims are so violent and eager for bloodshed?
Almost anything anti-muslim is an indirect call for savagery, anger and killing. Yet somebody will tell me islam is a religion of peace?
Almost every war in the world now is either linked to or originated by islamic militants and terrorist…boko haram, syria, yemen, pakistan, isil…you name it!
Max
May 05, 08:00I keep defending Muslims every time someone throws a stone at them, but I’m beginning to backtrack on that a bit. There’s a relationship between them and violence and I don’t know why. I want to find out.
Teflondon
May 05, 10:05It’s written in the bible.. Do your research.. There lies your answers to all these questions. Muslims were born to this world to cause havoc. (Now I’m sorry to the Muslims in the house, if there is anyways. But these are facts)
Jeova Sanctus Unus
May 05, 11:10Can you shut your filthy trap and do not comment ignorantly ever again?!!
If only you did know your bible (and history)…
PP, please why is this comment still here??
Atheist BTW.
Deola
May 05, 11:18Wow. Just wow.
trystham
May 05, 13:48Uhm Jeova, he is kinda right u know. Isaac and that is slave-born brother (what was his name?)
pinkpanthertb
May 05, 14:00Ishmael.
Khaleesi
May 05, 17:58@Teflondon, the sheer stupidity of this comment resonates like a nuclear bomb blast!!! If you bothered to do any bit of historical research, you’d know that tje bible was written long before islam arose as an organised religion along with its religidiot followership!!how then would it be possible for the bible to refer to a religion that was not yet in existence @ the time of writing? Huh!!! The old testament was of course written by men who would of course be biased in a certain way, please dig a little deep and do some research b4 you come on here a d forcefully wear yourself the leadership vest of #TeamConstantlyFoolish
***slowly takes off your #TeamConstantlyFoolish hat and stares in confusion into your face*** smh…..
Peak
May 05, 14:42I ve a mouthful for the above comments, but I will just keep shut.
You would expect a grown ass man who has passed through the 4 walls of a school to censor whatever he projects. I guess thats too much to ask, lets just file this under “personal opinion”, wear our fake smiles and call it a day
Chuck
May 05, 21:09They were executed for drug trafficking.
Chuck
May 05, 15:32It isn’t the Islam, it’s other factors. Indonesia and Malaysia are Muslim too. The Middle East has a long standing issue of postcolonial state disintegration that is linked to the violence.
Chuck
May 05, 15:34By the way, trystham, what else would you expect a genocidal and race chauvinist book like the Old Testament to say about foreigners? FYI., in the time of Isaac there was no Islam. The Ishmael hate is racism.
Chris
May 05, 20:05Is that the same Indonesia where eight people were executed last week by gunfire despite the international community appeal?
Chris
May 05, 21:14@Keredim69, , i believe they were found guilty by a controversial judiciary system.
Sorry, i need to remember the holy book that says ‘an eye for an eye’. Everybody
would soon go blind not exclusing lgbti folks #Justthinking 🙁
Absalom
May 05, 07:11Saudi Arabia. Tufiakwa for that country. So much censorship of everything. I wonder how the people cope.
Max
May 05, 07:58Sometimes I wonder if they have sex with their clothes on.
Max
May 05, 07:56Islam’s stand on homosexuality is more deadly than that of christianity. If I was born into a Muslim home, I’d have ran away by now and abandoned my family. Their own hatred for it is so strong that they’d kill for it.
Can you imagine filming being illegal in a place that calls itself a country in the 21st century. They don’t want the outside world to know what atrocities they commit in the country. It very sad. I really feel for people who have to live in such restrained climate.
Now I don’t care much about Islam or being a gay Islam, so I doubt I’d be on torrent searching for this movie anytime soon. But if people like Deola sees it and recommends, then maybe I’ll try it out. For now I don’t have much time to waste on movies that might not make sense.
Chuck
May 05, 15:36Saudi Arabia is Wahhabi – that means the ideology that supports the ruling house is based on keeping Islam the way it was in the 7th century as much as possible. I don’t think Saudis are forced to stay in Saudi Arabia -they can emigrate.
Sinnex
May 05, 17:16Religion of peace!
Chris
May 05, 20:12It would be nice if all religion are progressive and embracing.
Some of them are making the effort even though it is faithfully
painful, some religion are rigid and full of hate. The empirical
evidence is there for all to see.
Chris
May 05, 21:19@Keredim69, pls tell me Saudia Arabia stand on LGBTIQ in terms of right of freedom, association, movement and employment rights, am waiting:)
keredim69
May 05, 21:21Probably the same as Nigeria. Why don’t we look inwards…
Chris
May 05, 21:32Probably right as Nigeria ties their’s to religion as well among other reasons.
tobby
May 06, 07:41Brave..
Too bad the chauvinists won’t get the message
Gay Muslim Filmmaker Threatened Over Film About Being Gay And Muslim
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