Little Movie Defending Art and Music Making Big Splash in Pakistan
Film is called In the name of God. It is also called Khuda kay Liye. It is directed by Shoaib Mansoor.
Hitting the mullahs back hard. I hope some of the punch hits our vainglorious Western fundos as well. In an email I get:
It was reported today by BBC that a teacher from Jamia Binoria (of course) has moved the provincial high court to ban the exhibition of the movie based on a line that one of the characters of the movie delivers. The objectionable sentence is, “how can I believe that God hates painting and music?” The plaintiff in the case has submitted multiple fatwas to the court maintaining that painting and music are forbidden in Islam.
Interestingly the mullahs won’t be winning this round. The email adds:
Interestingly, the judge has asked the plaintiff to prove his case without the help of fatwas. The trouble is, Ahadith abound banning almost every type of art.
This means that the mullahs will make a completely hadith-centric argument since there is nothing about banning art or music in the Quran.
Read the review below. It appears that the film gives a shout out to Javed Ahmed Ghamidi.
Teaser 2 on the website is hot. The line says: “If God is as you say he is, then he won’t give a damn about your prayers if you are hurtful to people.” That reminds me of a line from Bulleh Shah from Eq Nuqte Vich Gul Muqdi Eh:
Break down the mosques/Break down the temples/Just don’t, please, break down the hearts of people.
If you want to watch the film internationally, express your support to Geo Films by emailing this guy:
Rehmat.Fazli@geo.tv
One irony in this whole thing is that a lot of fundos got behind Geo TV after Musharraf purportedly bombed their station in Islamabad. Now, our glorious conservative brethren, full of true Islamic principle, will assuredly be giving up all their support of Geo and lambasting it for being un-Islamic. With guardians of the religion like this, no wonder Islam is doing so well.
Painting and music are not forbidden in Islam. I seem to recall the Prophet leaving a PAINTING OF MARY AND JESUS INSIDE THE KABA UP after conquering Mecca. Can someone do some research and paste the relevant religious authority in the comments, not just for this episode but anything relevant. Thanks.
Update 1:
The lead singer of the band Vital Signs is behind this film. [Spoiler Warning]
One recent evening, long past midnight, Hyatt sat in his home studio in Karachi, facing an array of flat-screen monitors, Roland keyboards, and various mixers. He wanted to share a few rough scenes from Khuda Kay Liye. “The big taboo subject is that, according to the fundamentalists, music is absolutely prohibited in Islam. This movie makes a major argument against that. There is no law that says Islam is against music,” he said. “There is such massive hypocrisy behind this mullahism. They somehow know all the lyrics to all the popular songs, but they still say music is corrupting.”
He played the film’s final scene, in which the main character, after a sort of epiphany, returns to the radical mullah’s mosque. This time, he is wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap. He spins his hat backward and belts out the azan, the call to prayer. “He’s saying to this mullah: ‘You can’t take over our faith!’” Hyatt explained. While the refrain “Allahu” echoes, a clubby beat starts up underneath. “I think it’s artistic work, but it is impossible to tell how these guys are going to react, whether they will find certain things offensive or not.”
By the way, the now dead leader of Lal Masjid opposed this film.
By the way, true fobs will know that Shoaib Mansoor is the guy who wrote what is essentially Pakistan’s second national anthem: Dil Dil Pakistan (it’s coming back now isn’t it fobs? Jaan Jaan Pakistan!)
Update 2: Pakistaniat has a review of the film. [Minor Spoiler Warning]
Given the standing ovation the film is getting in theatres all over Pakistan from rich and poor alike, one can safely say that I am not the only one. For one thing it is a uniquely Pakistani story, which could have only come out of Pakistan. To sum it up, it is about us - the people of Pakistan warts and all- take it or leave it.
The genius of Shoaib Mansoor was never in doubt for those who have seen his videos or for that matter the famous Alpha Bravo Charlie - the TV Drama on Pakistan Army. What I was unprepared for was the depth in his thought and the way he has managed to capture the Pakistani dilemma on screen. Ours is a complex and rich predicament which needs to be captured in all its nuances and appreciated in all its paradoxical colors. KKL did just that.
I went to the theatre expecting to see the same old liberal v. fundo arguments. There were those, but unlike how these arguments play out in “The Friday Times” and the “Nawai Waqt“, this remarkable film is fully conscious of its Pakistani identity and the strong Islamic component that forms part thereof.
At the risk of spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, this is the story of two brothers, Mansoor (played by Shaan) and Sarmad (played by theatre actor/musician Fawad of EP fame) both musicians, brought in a well to do Pakistani family. Mansoor and Sarmad are torn apart by the latter’s increased involvement with a certain Maulana Taheri (based most probably on Maulana Sami ul Haq of JUI-S component of the MMA), who turns the soft spoken Sarmad into full fledge Jehadi.
Things are complicated when the brothers’ cousin Mary arrives from London to spend a few days with them, only to discover that she has been tricked by her father into coming to Pakistan to avoid her marrying her Non-Muslim boyfriend Dave. Meanwhile Mansoor leaves for Chicago to enrol at the “School of Music” there. In an epic that switches from London to Lahore to Waziristan to Nangahar Afghanistan to Chicago, these ordinary Pakistanis are increasingly faced with both internal and external conflict. And then there is September 11.
Shoaib Mansoor does not miss a beat, he does not leave any stones unturned. While all characters have more or less the same significance in this plot, it is Mansoor who is at the centre of it: Mansoor who is a proud Pakistani and secure in his Muslim identity, Mansoor who warns Sarmad against extremism, Mansoor who puts the best Muslim and Pakistani foot forward, Mansoor who is abducted by FBI in the middle of the night and beaten and tortured to a pulp, humiliated and abused for being a Pakistani and a Muslim. He is the contrast to Sher Shah and Maulana Taheri. But there are contrasts on the other side as well… Jenny who loves Mansoor for being Mansoor, his classmates who spontaneously join in when Mansoor performs his “music from Pakistan”, his African American professor… all stand in contrast to the American torturers of Mansoor.
The dialogue reaches a fever pitch in a court room in Lahore, where Mary is engaged in a prolonged legal battle. Enter the Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah. He plays the character of a long bearded progressive Islamic scholar (probably based on Maulana Ahmed Javed and Allama Javed Ahmed Ghamidi of Lahore). In what would be the localised version of “Inherit the wind” Courtroom drama, he engages Maulana Taheri and his coterie in an argument on Islamic law and Islamic dress code.
“There is beard in religion, but no religion in beard,”
declares Shah, adding that
“Two men who did the greatest service to Islam in Pakistan, Mahomed Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal, did so without a beard and out of the so called Islamic dresscode, in western dress.”
It was on this line that the entire hall filled with applause. Islam - the universal faith - has no uniform. This lays the stage for the final scene- the most poignant scene of the movie, filmed in Lahore’s beautiful Wazir Khan Mosque- the scene which once again made a Muslim out of me. I’ll let you watch it yourself to understand what I am talking about.
16 Comments
1.
Too many times I face Muslim retards who question me of how I can be a music producer and how I dare to play stringed musical instruments. I remember a few years back when I was a kid my dad’s friend, saw me and my friends playing guitar in the park. Next day he immediately went to report the HUGE sin to my dad. Thankfully my dad told him to buzz off. Ever since then I did lots of research on the issue. This is an excellent link I found.
http://www.mynaraps.com/music.htm
Comment by Drima — August 1, 2007 @ 8:45 pm
2.
Wow, I love your enthusiasm
It really sounds like a great movie. Does it have English sub-titles?
Ya Haqq!
Comment by Irving — August 1, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
3.
When the Prophet (pbuh) finally entered Mecca, the Ka’bah was purified of all idols and every vestige of paganism. The heaviest and largest of the idols, Hubal, was demolished by Ali. Images inscribed on the walls of the Ka’bah were erased, but icons of the Virgin Mary and Jesus were spared. The Prophet (pbuh) put his hands on them to insure their protection. Allowances were made for images that were symbols of spiritual realities and not idols.
From Islamic Spirituality by Sayyed Hossein Nasr.
Comment by Irving — August 1, 2007 @ 10:10 pm
4.
I don’t want to judge this movie before seeing it. But I do see a trend to glorify the secular muslims - i.e., the girl from London who is marrying “Dave” and Mansoor who “Jenny” loves. So apparently anyone whose got a non-muslim romantic association are the ones who are acceptable muslims.
Comment by sophister — August 2, 2007 @ 10:04 am
5.
If by - “Two men who did the greatest service to Islam in Pakistan, Mahomed Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal, did so without a beard and out of the so called Islamic dresscode, in western dress.” - they are alluding to the creation of Pakistan, a separate nation [sic] carved out of India only on the basis of Islam [talk about “it” coming back to bite your behind], wouldn’t that make those gents fundamentalists as well. albeit, of sartorially elegant and linguistically sophisticated sort. end of the day - same diff!
Comment by Nusrat — August 2, 2007 @ 10:38 am
6.
Irving - Indian occupied Kashmir, where I was born and raised, is filled with breath taking ancient Hindu temples, some of which even predate the birth of Islam.
I have always wondered, what If Prophet Muhammad came back tomorrow - would he advoctae the destruction of these idol filled temples?
Comment by Nusrat — August 2, 2007 @ 10:46 am
7.
Jinnah at least didn’t want to create Pakistan “only on the basis of Islam”, unless you consider Islam to be the same as British common law, constitutionalism, plus a few references here and there to Muslim heritage (I’m perhaps exagerating). In his own words:
If we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of the people, and especially of the masses and the poor… you are free- you are free to go to your temples mosques or any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion, caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the state… in due course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to Muslims- not in a religious sense for that is the personal faith of an individual- but in a political sense as citizens of one state
And though Iqbal was more vocal about wanting “Islam” to be the basis of the state, take a look at his Islam — not fundy by a long shot!
Comment by DanielH — August 2, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
8.
Daniel - If not only Islam, than on what basis did Jinnah demand a separate country?
And, If Jinnah was such a great leader, how come he didn’t foresee the lot that was to follow his demise, which he knew would come calling close on the heels of independence?
Comment by Nusrat — August 2, 2007 @ 2:51 pm
9.
Daniel, My son [Daniel
] and his father are runnig amok in our puny New York apartment [God, do I ever miss Kashmir!] and I can barely hear myself think. Thus the repeat query in my previous comment. Do disregard.
What I meant to say was that such declaration didn’t even carry the value of the paper it was written on and deep down Jinnah, If he was halfway conniving as alleged, must have known it?
Comment by Nusrat — August 2, 2007 @ 3:07 pm
10.
He wanted a separate state for Muslim majority regions of India. That in no way necessitates Islam as the essential, or even a major, organizing principle for the state. You have confused identity and ideology.
As to Jinnah’s ability and vision: no one, including him, has perfect prescience. Further, he died a little after a year after Pakistan’s founding — certainly not much time to help steer Pakistan’s future course.
Moreover, Pakistan is far from being a basket case. It has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a per capita income not far behind that of India, and, not least, its population contains many bright and well-educated people. Finally, it may be nearing the point of redemocratization.
Comment by DanielH — August 2, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
11.
“And, If Jinnah was such a great leader, how come he didn’t foresee the lot that was to follow his demise, which he knew would come calling close on the heels of independence?”
Nusrat — how do you know Muslims would have fared better in a unified India? Jinnah was motivated much more by a concern for the welfare of Muslims than by any strict religious ideal — specifically, he worried of discrimination against Muslims in a Hindu dominated state. Sometimes great statesmanship demands choosing the lesser of two possible evils instead of waiting for the impossible good.
Comment by DanielH — August 2, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
12.
“I don’t want to judge this movie before seeing it. But I do see a trend to glorify the secular muslims - i.e., the girl from London who is marrying “Dave” and Mansoor who “Jenny” loves. So apparently anyone whose got a non-muslim romantic association are the ones who are acceptable muslims.”
dude, it has nothing to do with acceptable or not. watch the film, ok?
and if u live in pakistan you’ll quickly realize that the distinction western muzzies have in their head about secular/religious is completely bunk.
Comment by eteraz — August 2, 2007 @ 8:57 pm
13.
Daniel - Muslims in a Hindu majority Democratic [for most part] India would have fared just as well or better than Hindus, who were ruled by Muslims for more than six centuries.
And, best of all, Kashmir would have had a fighting chance of staying independent and secular.
We would not have been invaded, first by Pakistani Terrorists, who in their zeal to further Islamicize Kashmir, targetted [ for murder and rape] and expelled - The Entire - indigenous Kashmiri Hindu population from our midst, and then occupied by the thuggish Indian Army.
Comment by Nusrat — August 3, 2007 @ 6:44 am
14.
eteraz,
i will watch the film just to see what all the fuss is about. And it is true that the distinctions we draw here do not have have analogs in Pakistan. Magar line thee, cross hogai.
Comment by sophister — August 3, 2007 @ 8:46 am
15.
Just for the fun of it…the shair by bulleh shah in punjabi:
masjid tah deh mandir tah deh
tah deh jo kuch tehnda
ek banday da dil na taavien
Rab udhay wich hi rehnda
Comment by anonymous — August 4, 2007 @ 5:40 pm
16.
musicx is haraam in islam so this mkovie is misleading and is antiislam
prophet pbuh said in a hadeeth
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said, what translated means, group of this nation will be transformed into monkeys and swine.” They said, “Do not they testify that there is no god except Allaah and that Muhammed is His Messenger?” He said, “Yes. And also they fast pray and perform Hajj.” They said, “Then, what is their problem?” He said, “They use musical instruments, drums and female singers. (One day) they will go to sleep after a night of drinking and having fun, In the morning, they will be transformed (by Allaah) into monkeys and swine.” [Iughathat Al-Lahfan].
Comment by kashif — August 5, 2007 @ 5:24 pm
) 
,dude im telling you to get your facts right and stop spreading false information, just cos you dnt like the film (and that to without seeing it) you dnt need to spread false information on it, we get your point, your against it, its making you look immature, not me.
ppySwit
I leave it there.
