Movie on gay Muslims to hit screens

21 Sept 2007-South Africa- When Mohsin Hendricks an Imam in South Africa revealed that he is gay he expected protests and calls for his death.

But he never imagined he would talk about his sexuality and religion publically.

Hendricks appears in Jihad for Love a documentary about gay Muslim men and women in Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt and South Africa.

Indian filmmaker Parvez Sharma, who is gay himself, wants his movie to reach Muslim communities even where being homosexual remains a crime punishable by death.

"This film is a remarkable opportunity to change consciousness. The next few years are going to see me and the characters in this film, engaged in discussions, using the film as a platform and as a door into opening people's minds, into opening people's hearts," said Sharma.

Sharma focuses on men and women struggling to reconcile their sexuality with being Muslim.

And he interprets Jihad in terms of personal struggle, not holy war.


"I am just tired of people saying that Islam and homosexuality don't go together and that there are no gay and lesbian Muslims. I don't believe that, I have taken my camera into these communities and I have documented these lives for the last six years," said Parvez.

Some participants feared a backlash from their communities. Mohsin was arrested in a raid on a gay club in Cairo in 2001.

He had initially asked Sharma not to show his face, but he changed his mind midway through the film's production.

"For me it's important to talk about it at this point because some people are being alienated and ostracized from communities," said Mohsin.

Jihad for Love is Sharma's first film. The director lives in New York with his partner, an American banker.

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