A Jihad For Love
Director: Parvez Sharma
Producer: Sandi DuBowski and Parvez Sharma
Fourteen centuries after the revelation of the holy Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Islam today is the world's second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims.
Filmed over 5 1/2 years, in 12 countries and 9 languages, "A Jihad for Love" comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, this film seeks to reclaim the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, which can mean 'an inner struggle' or 'to strive in the path of God'. In doing so the film and its remarkable subjects move beyond the narrow concept of 'Jihad' as holy war.
"A Jihad for Love" is produced by Sandi DuBowski (Director/Producer of the award-winning "Trembling Before G-d") and Parvez Sharma, in association with ZDF-Arte, Channel 4, LOGO, SBS-Australia, The Sundance Documentary Fund and The Katahdin Foundation.
The film had a World Premiere at The Toronto International Film Festival in September 2007, a European launch at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival as the Opening Film of Panorama Dokumente, screenings in over 30 countries, and a U.S. theatrical release with First Run Features which launched in May 2008 at IFC Center. It has been featured on Al-Arabiya, CNN, BBC News, Daily Star Egypt, The Guardian, NPR: Talk of the Nation, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. With Imam Muhsin Hendricks, the first openly gay imam who is featured in the film, and other allies, they launched an International Muslim Dialogue Project. The DVD with Special Features releases in April 2008.