SHOLAY LOVE BALL IN NYC FOR A JIHAD FOR LOVE!

Sholay Productions presents: Desilicious Love Ball Saturday, May 17th 10 PM - 4 AM
Webster Hall Bollywood Room Upstairs, the 3rd Floor 125 E. 11th Street between 3rd and 4th avenue Separate entrance

Subway: N, Q, R, W, L, 4, 5, 6 to Union Square L to 3rd Ave R/W to 8th Street/NYU 6 to Astor Place

Ashu Rai and DJ Bobby set the mood with Bollywood-Bhangra-House beats plus lovestruck big-screen visuals by Neeraj.

$10 cover Bolly-Bhangra-House mix by Ashu Rai and DJ Bobby with big screen desi-queer visuals by Neeraj

We'll be celebrating the theatrical release of Jihad for Love with posters and t-shirt giveaways. Also please see this great full page article in this weeks Time Out New York and forward to friends-so that they can come to the screenings.

desi+queer+fab! 212-713-5111 Summer Parties Post-parade Tea Dance at Highline ballroom on Sunday, June 29th Desilicious goes to Williamsburg on Saturday, July 26th

VISIT WWW.SHOLAYEVENTS.COM FOR LATEST NEWS

AJAZ AHMED and I: EXCLUSIVE ON YOUTUBE/ ALSO THE NAKBA THAT CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN

OK Friends, I blogged about Ajaz Ahmed from Kashmir who compared homosexuality to theft, prostitution and terrorism (a refined take on Islamophobia, perhaps) at the Amnesty International Annual General Meeting two weekends ago.
Someone has posted part of this amazing discussion on YOUTUBE and this is the link.
Please visit, watch and let everyone see this because these are the kinds of debates that we have been having and these are the debates that will take this JIHAD everywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXBgL56kQ7A
PARVEZ SHARMA RESPONDS "BEING GAY IS A CHOICE" COMMENT

Let us not forget that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live trapped or without a homeland-our solidarity is important...My friend Asif who is there has been doing amazing work and we await more reports from him...Sixty years of suffering is hard to express in words.

This from MOSAIC News

Celebrations have been taking place across Israel to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. Israeli families enjoyed fireworks, concerts and an aerial display while countries around the world, principally those countries that helped create Israel, showered it with words of admiration and congratulations.

Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown congratulated Israel on its 60th anniversary of independence, calling the state's creation one of the "greatest achievements" of the 20th Century. George W. Bush, along with present and past European dignitaries, is expected to attend the festivities.

Not far from the celebratory atmosphere, more than twenty thousand Palestinians, most of whom are Israeli citizens, marched on the site of the deserted, former Palestinian village of Safouria near Nazareth to reiterate their "right of return." They carried banners that read, "Your Independence is our Nakba" or catastrophe in English.

Watch the video

Also please visit http://www.60yearsofnakba.org/

TWO WEEKS TILL THEATRICAL OPENING IN NEW YORK!

So many exciting things are happening and more updates will follow.
We are inviting all of you who love to be Interns, Volunteers, Street Team and more for our IFC Opening! THIS FILM IS A MOVEMENT. Join us, as we spread an Islam positive message in a town where it matters most. This is our JIHAD FOR CHANGE, DEBATE and TRANSFORMATION.
Together we can make it happen.

Go to the FIRST RUN FEATURES WEBSITE here to see all playdates (with links) that are also reproduced below.

Toronto, ON	Toronto Film Festival	September 6 - 15, 2007
Berlin, Germany	Berlin Film Festival	February 7 - 17, 2008
Athens, OH	Athens International Film Festival	April 25 - May 1, 2008
Rochester, NY	High Falls Film Festival	April 30 - May 5, 2008
Philadelphia, PA	Equality Forum	May 2, 2008
Miami, FL	Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival	May 3, 2008
Great Barrington, MA	Berkshire Film Festival	May 15 - 17, 2008
Boston, MA	Boston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival	May 18, 2008
Pleasantville, NY	Jacob Burns Film Center	May 20 & 23, 2008
New York, NY	IFC Film Center	May 21 - June 4, 2008
Norfolk, VA	Naro Cinema	June 18 - 22, 2008
Houston, TX	Angelika Houston	June 20 - 26, 2008
Ft. Lauderdale, FL	Sunrise Cinemas Gateway	June 27 - July 3, 2008
Brookline, MA	Coolidge Corner Theatre	June 27 - July 3, 2008
San Francisco, CA	Frameline Film Festival	June 28, 2008
Los Angeles, CA	Outfest	July 10 - 21, 2008
Columbus, OH	Wexner Center for the Arts	July 25 & 26, 2008
Los Angeles, CA	Laemmle Sunset 5	August 1 - 7, 2008
Palm Springs, CA	Camelot Theaters	August 1 - 7, 2008
Denver, CO	Starz Denver	August 1 - 7, 2008
San Diego, CA	Landmark Ken	August 8 - 14, 2008
San Francisco, CA	Landmark Lumiere	August 22 - 28, 2008
Berkeley, CA	Landmark Shattuck	August 22 - 28, 2008
Washington DC	Landmark E Street	September 5 - 11, 2008
Berkeley, CA	JCC of the East Bay	September 18, 2008

The Bangladeshi Hindu and the Professor who cannot see

What an amazing discussion unfolded on the campus of Hollins in Roanoke, Virginia yesterday. This all-girls' college of 700 would seem like an unlikely place for an informed debate around this work-but that is exactly what happened. The Professor who organized the event came with her guide dog and had a friend sit and read the subtitles of the film to her. Our discussions last night were remarkable. Here in the heart of so-called 'conservative' country we were able to freely talk about Islam's perception in the West, Obama and Clinton, theology, the suffering of the Palestinian people and certainly all of the heated debates that this film can generate. Another professor had grown up in Lebanon and had a great deal to say about the resilience of the Lebanese and the Israeli occupation and wars.
I am overwhelmed with these discussions and pleasantly surprised of the reach this film is having and the debate it is fostering in the unlikeliest places.
Writtika, a young Bangladeshi Hindu spoke with me last night about my experiences filming in her increasingly 'talibanized' country. She writes:

Dear Mr. Sharma,

You might still remember me, because I had just asked you about your Bangladesh experience earlier this evening, after your documentary screening.
I just wanted to let you know something more. I'm a Hindu Bangladeshi, and to me Islam has always seemed very reform-resistant. Even the moderates are orthodox!! Because I have Muslim friends, I know the Wester stereotypes are not true, and Muslims' lives are much more complicated (and normal of course) than media portrayals. At the same time, I think Islam is more orthodox than both Judaism and Christianity. Maybe this is because Bangladeshi Islam has given me a very bad impression.

Anyways, I think you and the people in the documentary are extremely brave to wage this jihad. Even some of my "moderate" Muslim friends cannot imagine speaking out about something "unIslamic," even when it is true in their lives. I hope your tolerance and loving interpretations of Islam will influence progressive thoughts in many other areas. You may know this, but recently the Bangladeshi temporary government had tried to pass a "recommendation" that women get equal inheritance, and many extremists protested with demonstrations and some violence. So the government had to consult a group of all-male "Islamic Scholars" on the issue and assure the extremists that nothings was going to be against Islam or Sharia law.

I hope your work inspires like minded Muslims to acknowledge "ijtihad" and promote the amazing thoughts in Islam.

I will now speak tonight in Philadelphia. It should be interesting. More press is at hand.
Tough Love (Great Review in the Philadelphia Weekly)
Philadelphia Inquirer

Finally we all need to galvanize around the theatrical release of this film in New York and beyond on May 21st. We need a lot of volunteers and help. Please email me or us at info@ajihadforlove.com immediately if you are willing and able !

BACK IN AMREEKA !

Most places in the so called 'East/ Third World/ Global South' (categories I disagree with) call this land where I live 'Amreeka'.

Many have asked why I continue living here. I do still believe in the hope of the American Dream. And I know so does Obama. If he gets the nomination, I cannot wait to see Republican Ad campaigns where the graphic will dissolve slowly from Osama to Obama. This is a very interesting year to be in Amreeka and for me, with a green card application pending-an interesting year to release this film.

So I came back on Friday from a seven nation tour that ended with winning the best documentary award at a gay film festival in Turin, Italy.
I went straight to Washington, DC where I was able to show the film to more than a hundred young and enthusiastic Amnesty International volunteers crowded into a screening room, where we projected on double screens. A 45 minute question and answer session followed and also in the audience was Ajaz Ahmed from Kashmir (he corrected me when I said he was from India). Ajaz was vocal with what we in the West would easily label his 'homophobia'. He looked at me in this packed room and said-'Parvez, now Islam is under attack-so people can say that Muslims are theives, liars, prostitutes, terrorists and gay and lesbian'. The audience giggled nervously. I chose to engage Ajaz in conversation and congratulated him on his courage of speaking out in a room where not one person would agree with him. His logic was exceptional because he was fundamentally aware of the Islamophobia of the times we live in. He was also exceptional in including the word 'terrorists' in the same old Adam and Steve like argument that the Christian Church spouts. I will always remember Ajaz, with his Wahabi style beard and his red t-shirt. I hope he takes back to India, a better understanding of our complicated Islamic universe.

I went on to a small liberal arts college of 1600 students near Austin, Texas. An amazing discussion followed and I was surprised with the intellectual curiosity of these young undergraduates after they saw the film. Many have written in and I will reproduce their comments. We spoke about Obama, about Islam, about the Media and Islam and indeed about the theology that I have fronted with humanity, in this film. Dr. Hina Azam, an Islamic Scholar at UT, Austin joined me. She loved the film but wondered how convincing Muhsin's theological revisionism would be in a roomful of Wahabi or Tabliqi scholars. I do not know the answer to that. I know I am hopeful and pessimistic at the same time.

Today I find myself 45 minutes from Lynchburg, Virginia-the infamous town that was home to that most famous homophobe of all-Jerry Falwell, RIP. I hope I will get invited to engage his students at Liberty in some kind of dialogue, in the near future.

Meanwhile I am preparing to speak at a small girls only college of 700. Hollins University nestles in the Roanoke valley in scenic surroundings. Maybe, nothing ever happens here. I may well be the only gay Muslim on this campus.

My friends-these are exciting times.

Now for some comments:
I just saw a Jihad for Love at the Southwestern University screening and I wanted to send you an e-mail to say that I was absolutely blown away by the stories of sadness, tragedy, guilt, anger, survival, acceptance, and love that were told on an incredibly personal level. I hope that American audiences can view this film and see the universality of the struggle that gay and lesbian individuals face in cultures that are pervaded by religion, regardless of what that religion happens to be and regardless of how overt or subtle the religious influence is in that culture. I also hope that Americans can see this film and understand that the vast majority of Muslim people are as ?normal? as any Westerner?they are simply people trying to carve out a life for themselves both inside and outside of the society that they happened to be born in to. The time has come for the West to stop blindly accepting the 'terrorist' image of Islam and this film will certainly be a huge step in that direction.

I wish you well on your endeavor to promote this film throughout the U.S. and the world. Im very excited for it to come out in theaters, and I would be absolutely thrilled if it were shown in Austin (or anywhere in Texas, really). Thank you for breaking some of the silence surrounding gay and lesbian experiences and for challenging preconceived notions of Islam. Ill be looking out for this film in theaters. I think Texans need to hear what you have to say and Austin is the perfect place to begin.

Best,
Megan

Jihad writes:

It was a pleasure meeting you both at Amnesty's previewing of Jihad for Love. It was a well done documentary, very respectful of the Islamic faith and the strivings of LGBT Muslims to find balance in their faith and sexual identities. I wish you much success with the movie's US tour.

There are hundreds of other emails and I promise to post them all on here. Many can be seen if you just click on comments at the end of every post. A significant amount of press has also been happening and here are a few links.

The Hour,
Variety
The Advocate (my own first person account of making the film)
A Momentous Muslim Debut (from FILM STEW)
PlanetOut
GayCity News (Philadelphia)
PR Newswire
Daily Star Lebanon
Screen Daily (Singapore)
AHN Miami
Cinematical

Finally, we are opening on May 21st at the IFC Center in NYC. I will be giving all of you constant updates on the theatrical run of the film across the United States and Canada. Now IS the time to galvanize around this film and its Jihad. Everyone you know, needs to come and see and support the film and its remarkable subjects. We will need to fill up the theaters everywhere we go and in these difficult times for theatrical distribution of documentaries, all of you are going to make sure that this film is as successful here in North America, as it has been in 15 nations worldwide.

BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD IN TURIN-OUR FIFTH AWARD

Five hundred people in two screenings. A man comes up to me and says, 'Here in Italy-we dont like Muslims. That is why we need to see this film'.
Another man has a Moroccan boyfriend for seven years. His boyfriend is married to a woman and thinks that being gay is 'haram'. He wishes that his boyfriend would have seen Jihad-but coming to see the film at a gay film festival would be too much for him.
Interesting conversations with a filmmaker from Tehran who tells me that during Naurooz this year, Ahmadinejad saw it fit to screen 'There will be Blood' on Iranian TV, repeatedly. We have been talking about 'the life surreal' in Tehran.
The journey of Jihad continues.
AND YES, 'JIHAD' HAS WON THE BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD AT THE TURIN GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL. THIS MEANS THE FILM HAS ALREADY WON FIVE PRESTIGIOUS INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Muhammad of Donostia

He wept the first night when we saw the Chinese film, 'Blind Mountain' which is about a woman sold into marriage in Northern China.
He sobbed when he saw 'Jihad', looking deep into my eyes and saying it was about his life.
Muhammad has just arrived in the little paradise of San Sebastian-for six months he has walked the streets of Spanish cities, a refugee and penniless. He fled Mauritania, one of six countries with Sharia in a shipping container and lost more than half of his body weight. When his family in Mauritania found out he was gay, his father beat him with iron rods-he showed me the marks. They would not let him eat at the family table and he would sit by the door, like a 'dog', he says.
In Spain, he hopes to find home.
I hope he will.
He said to me, 'Parvez, 'rich' people like you never talk to us, in Spain'.
I carry Muhammad in my heart as I arrive in Torino, on the last leg of this journey of Jihad, in Europe (a journey that is just beginning).

My friend, Asif has just arrived in Palestine. He is sending remarkable posts from the frontlines of an apartheid policy and a nation I have clearly decided not to show the film in, till the occupation continues. I will be reproducing them here and I do wish him luck.

Ahlan wa sahlan to Settler Saturday...

Ahlan wa sahlan (welcome) is a phrase every person uses around here, especially if you speak little Arabic an they speak little English. It's a good thing to say whenever there is a lull in the conversation and you are at someone's home and having the obligatory tea/coffee (you can't say no around here).

So I say it many times between sips of very hot and very sweet brew. People are always amazed here that I don't speak Arabic. Also, Asif means "im sorry" around here, so when I say my name, I always get a puzzled look and then usually some sort of laughter. I remember this in Toronto at Uni, but every single person I meet here says the same thing when I introduce myself.

Of course nobody really believes me that I'm from Canada, so when I say "hindi", there is usually excited look on their faces cuz now they can practice all of the "bollywood" phrases on me and talk about Amitabh Bachhan, and Shah Ruhk Khan etc.

That being said…Good morning from Nablus. Hope you are all well and enjoying the wonderful spring weather back at home or wherever you are.

So far it has been wonderful here, the people at the Project and local volunteers are really amazing. I have an hour before my Arabic lesson (part of the service Project hope provides) so I had a few minutes to write to you all.

I went to Yanoun this weekend on a short trip. Yanoun is a small village of about 100 farmers in the Northern West bank that is surrounded by illegal settlements and outposts. A few years ago, setters started to come into the village to harass the local residents into leaving the land they had worked on for generations. Now when I mean harass, I mean walking around with machine guns, beating up men in front of their children, killing their sheep, swimming in their well with their dogs, destroying their electricity generator. The setters usually come on Saturdays, during the Shabat.

"Nearly all residents in the upper Yanoun evacuated the village in October 2002. They soon began to return accompanied by Israeli and international activists of all faiths, outraged at the situation. Since then, a house in the village has been home to a permanent, voluntary international presence. Since 2003, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestne and Israel has provided the presence. (EAPPI)".

Yanoun is considered part of Area "C" which means it is "under the full security and administrative responsibility of Israel. The villagers feel they have never been offered any protection by anyone." The Palestinian Authority is not allowed to have any forces in this area.

The EAPPI works in teams of 4 and stays in Yanoun for 3 months. On weekends other internationals go to relieve them for a few hours or a day or two so they can go to Nablus or other areas of the region for meetings etc. This time they were headed to Nablus for the Samartin Passover ritual at Mt. Gerazim. For more on the Samaritin community (the only place one can get liquor in Nablus) please see the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan

Yanoun is a very pretty village, and the people are very hospitable although unsure when you first arrive if you are a settler or not. Jacob from the EAPPI started to show us around and introduce us to some of the villagers and then had to leave for Nablus. As we were drinking tea at Kemal's house, he got a phone call. His wife (whom we had assumed spoke no English) turned to us and said: "Settler's are coming". It had not been more then 15 minutes since the EAPPI had left! We quickly said our goodbyes and went outside to see what our visitors were up to. We, turned a corner and low and behold saw 3 settlers dressed in white turning the corner. Behind them was the EAPPI who had just left, but decided to accompany the "visitors" back. They looked pretty harmless, except they had machine guns around them and looked pretty annoyed to see us. I went to watch the well (where they had tried to swim the week before but could nott fit so they decided to strip down to their underwear and shower in plain sight of a traditional Muslim village.)

The settlers walked through the olive grove and up towards their outpost at the top of the hill (outposts are usually at the top of the hills so they can monitor the land they are occupying). They asked that their picture not be taken and then gestured something that looked like a finger towards us…and off they went. So they were not really violent (perhaps because we were there) but they did achieve their goal to prove to the sheepherders that they could walk through their land without any repercussions. Note: if any one of the village folk steps onto the settler's "land" to run after a stray sheep, they can be shot or arrested for trespassing.

As the sun goes down, a quiet night approaches the village. It is almost perfect, except the huge spotlights which shine down on Yanoun from the settler outposts, so even while the villagers sleep, their every move is monitored from the hills.

So far, the international presence has deterred any major attacks by the settlers but they cannot be there forever, so it is a sad reality that Yanoun will face the same fate as so many defenseless places in Palestine.

It's important to note that not one setter has been harmed my resident of Yanoun. In fact there is a story of when the settlers first started coming to Yanoun, a local offered them tea and said : "ahlan wa sahlan "

It didn't go over so well, but I think you already knew that.


Ma' salaama


Asif

ATTACK

An anonymous man who does not name himself (I assume it is a man, since we were in Turkey) has decided to leave this choice comment on every post of this blog. I reproduce it for you.

Allahın Laneti sizin ve lut kavmi gibilerinin üzerine olsun.
May God's curse be upon you and people like the Lut tribe!

Interzone from Ankara says:
Long ago a friend from Holland said to me: "Holland is not heaven". He was right. It seems like, heaven is a relative aspect on this. On the other hand, even the comment above, proves Mehmet's words.

We are not searching for heaven, we want to free the world from hatred and fear.

Banu Guven, the popular Turkish TV Presenter interviewed me on her show (as I was on my way to the airport yesterday).

And finally, DORIAN JONES does an excellent feature on the film for Voice of America
Documentary About Muslim Homosexuals Screened at Turkish Film Festival

Also SABOOR KHAN has this to say:
This film is contradicting itself and I am really confused! Please can you clarify to me how you can suggest when this is one of the fundamentals of Islam since it has been clearly portrayed in the story of Prophet Lot (peace be upon him) in the Quran, and mentioned also in several Hadith, and furthermore is agreed upon all the major scholars. How can some people decided to change things and start a new interpretation of a faith and then label the rest of the religion as extreme or intolerant. I am a Muslim, but Islam does not tell me to be intolerant to homosexuals, it just says that one is not a Muslim if one is homosexual. Please also consider the following Hadith which has been widely accepted by all the scholors:

Abdullah bin Amar (RA) relates that the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said "Surely things will happen to my people as happened earlier to Israelites, they will resemble each other like one shoe in a pair resembles the other to the extent that if anyone among the Israelites has openly committed adultery to his mother there will be some who will do this in my Ummah as well, verily the Israelites were divided into 72 sections but my people will be divided into 73 sections, all of them will be in the fire except one." The companions asked, 'Who are they O Messenger of Allah,' Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "They are those who will be like me and my companions."

Truly the Prophet or his companions were not homosexual.

Please kindly respond.

Sabah has done another little feature which is here and translates as:
'I was scared, I took a deep breath with the applause'
One of the most contraversial films of the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival that will go on until April 20th was "A Cihad for Love" by Parvez Sharma of Indian origin, which discusses the lives of gay and lesbian Muslims. Director Sharma, who himself is also gay said: "I was very scared before coming to Istanbul. But I came across an incredible audience that applauded me. I took a deep breath". Turkey is the first Muslim country that the film was shown.

"TURKEY IS NOT HEAVEN"

These are the words of Mehmet Tarhan, a dear man, in reaction to the film. Mehmet is what they call a conscientious objector in Turkey. He took on the might of the Turkish army and its policy of disallowing gay men from compulsory army service if they can prove they are gay.
Mehmet does not like Jihad, because he feels it could take a more activist and anti-Islam/anti-Turkey stand.
Mehmet and I have spent some time together in Turkey. I had also interviewed Mehmet for the film in 2005 when he was still in a Siwas prison.
The second screening of Jihad yesterday in Beyoglu was an even greater achievement. Scheduled for a non-prime time screening of 11 am by the IKSV festival, it drew an overflowing audience (close to 500 people) who stayed back for a powerful and intellectually stimulating Q and A.
The reactions to my kaffiyeh (the Palestinian scarf) continue and are varied. More updates to follow.

'A JIHAD FOR LOVE' opens in Istanbul

More than 400 people packed the Beyoglu theater yesterday in a SOLD OUT screening of 'A Jihad for Love'. It was an intense and diverse audience with a spectrum of views. An intense Q and A followed with Muhs, Mazen, Ferda, Kiymet and myself. My wonderful co-director of Cinematography Berke Bas and producer Sandi DuBowski joined us as well.
The second screening is in two hours. Turkey's two largest newspapers 'HURIYET' and 'SABAH' have done full page stories on the film and here they are:
Bu cihat aşk için - Hürriyet (This Jihad is For Love)

Önce Müslümanız sonra eşcinsel

And for some bizzare reason a Turkish website insists that Al-Qaeda is looking for me!

Tekyön and the travelling Kaffiyeh

Turkey and its many walls of silence are immense. Last night, in a repeat of anti-Kurdish sentiment the burly bouncer at Tekyön (one way) the sweaty and raunchy 'gay bar' in Beyoglu asked me to take off my Kaffiyeh. Its green and it has had many travels around the world (I will share them soon) but here in Turkey, clearly the land of the not so free-it evokes a different sentiment. The gay bar can have an entire wall with a mural of four hirsute Turks holding up a pride flag, but the Kaffiyeh is a problem.
The festival says, they need to take extra precautions with security while we are here.
Have just spent the whole afternoon with a wise and wonderful Turkish journalist friend, who wants to leave- he says the situation has never been this bad and 'anything can happen'. The Kemalists fear an Iran style revolution. The Islamists andd the ruling AKP (Ah Kay Pay for the un-initated) have been asked to shut down. The Army watches. So for the Turks-is there only ONE WAY (Tek Yön) out of this mess?
Let us see what Jihad brings on Sunday. Yakshamlar!