The Blastphemy.documentary, part 1 of 5.m4v

The Blastphemy

Synopses

Haris Sheikh, a Canadian of Pakistan origin filmmaker first time unravels Muslim's point of view on Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh), with stories from Pakistan and Canada, questions the unlimited free speech and tells what the 1.6 Billion Muslims think?

Devout Muslims pledge for revenge at the 78th celebration of Gazi Ilm Din's martyrdom in Lahore, Pakistan. Gazi was a non-religious young person, who got the status of sainthood by his action against disrespect of Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) . Interestingly, his defence lawyer was Quaid -I- Azam, the founding father of Pakistan (1947).

Dalia Mogahed (Advisor to President Obama & CEO of Gallup's Centre of Muslim Studies) condemns cartoons as Anti -Muslim that triggered global violence. Dalia compares violence with Watts Ethnic Riots (1967), but also appreciates USA for not reprinting cartoons. She analyses Europe's double standards to "Muslim's Citizens" and its lack of learning from the horrors of Holocaust.

Syed Soharwardy, a Canadian Imam, first time petitions in Human Rights Commission against reprinting of Danish cartoons as a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights. Imam Siraj Wahhaj (Afro- American Scholar ) rejects violence , but also declares that if people have the freedom to make fun of "Prophets", then Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian President has also the right to question the " Holocaust ".

Ashtar Ron Allen (famous for "Passion of the Christ" movie) composed the original score with Shahid Ali Khan (Disciple of Late Maestro Nusrat Ali Khan's).

"The Blastphemy", is a saga of intolerances, authentic thoughts and mystical visuals never shown before.


Duration: 62 minutes for theatrical release and 46 minutes for TV

Language: English, Urdu and Punjabi with English Subtitles

Locations: Canada, Pakistan and USA

Anna Sajecki|Apr 04, 2010 - 10:33 AM| Mississauga News
Documentary defends Prophet

Mississauga resident Haris Sheikh has released a documentary film, Blastphemy, on the controversy caused by a Danish newspaper when it published cartoons two years ago portraying the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist Photo by Claudio Cugliari

In 2007, Haris Sheikh was on a Toronto subway when he overheard two professors talking about riots in Pakistan.
Sheikh, a Mississauga resident from Lahore, Pakistan, got involved in the conversation. Soon the three were discussing Danish newspaper cartoons published two years before, which portrayed the Muslim Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist.

"I said to them, 'If someone close to you made fun of you to your face, you might laugh, but if someone made fun of your grandfather, who died long ago, would you laugh? Maybe not,' " said Sheikh. "The prophet has no son, no family to defend him, so as a Muslim I think it is my responsibility."
That conversation was the beginning of Blastphemy, a documentary Sheikh made on the reaction Muslims had to the controversial cartoons.

He sold his DVDs publicly for the first time yesterday in the lobby of the Living Arts Centre, in the midst of a larger birthday celebration held for the Prophet Muhammad.
"The movie shows what truth is about ... see this movie and you see that Muslims are not terrorists, but peace-loving people," said Mushtaq Khan, the president of the Ontario chapter of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, which sponsored the birthday celebration. "The Prophet Muhammad advocated peace ... we want to show the audience what this is all about."

Sheikh said part of his motivation for making Blastphemy was that even Muslims themselves were conflicted about Islam's relationship to modern society. He said the Muslim perspective is under-represented in many places, including mainstream media.

"When someone makes a film, we should make a film; when someone writes a book, we should write a book; we need to create a dialogue of how Muslims think," said Sheikh. "There are 1.6 billion Muslims globally ... I wanted to make a documentary for the people."

Sheikh started filming the documentary in 2007 when he returned to Pakistan to observe extremist discourse on the blaspheming of Prophet Muhammad. Over the next two years, he filmed religious, political and academic experts on Islam and his footage became the basis for Blastphemy.
"The cartoons were just a trigger, and in fact there are many deeper issues behind it," said Sheikh.

Mississauga resident Rehan Siddiqui was one of the first people to buy the DVD and said he looked forward to watching the documentary.

"I want to see what is inside ... if I don't know, I can't adjust my reality," said Siddiqui. "As Muslims, we have to be sure what our angle is." (With courtesy of Mississauga News)

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• history+koran+quran+Cartoons
• +Protest
• +Jihad
• Prophet
• Muhammad
• +Danish
• cartoon
• +clash
• of
• civilzation
• +Blasphemy
• I+SLAM
• +Dalia
• Mogahed
• +Al-quaida
• +Islamphobia+
• Syed
• Soherwardi+
• Siraj
• Wahaj
• +ISNA
• +Haris
• Sheikh
• +Pakistan
• +Lahore blasphemy+
• cartoons
• Muhamad
• cartoonist+walt+salman
• rushdie+nasreena
• tasleem+haris
• sheikh+virgo
• pictures+salman
• taseer+qadri+gazi
• ilm
• din+dalia
• mogahed+imam
• sira
• wahhaj+suherwardi+The
• Blastphemy
• documentary
• part 2 of 5+part 1 of 5

[gatorjan]

i must say a powerful presentation showing in depth the reasons behind the extreme behaviour when it comes to Muslims prophet Muhammad.

[newscrackers]

@gatorjan

Jazzak Allah (SWT) and blessings for your thoughts.

[EncikAng]

00:31 is NOT the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He lived a very moderate life, all the way to his death, including his tomb, which is not lavishly nor elegantly decorated as portrayed. Nobody has seen his tomb beyond the gates, which is in absolute darkness, other than a few specs of light and dust.

and that background music, esp with the sound of a man wailing...is very annoying, otherwise, good effort and may Allah reward you for your sincere intentions, wassalam.

[isaacBrockofthe41]

Thanks for the video.