“American Ramadan” bridges gap between Muslims, Americans

[sonz]

A Muslim-American filmmaker, Naeem Randhawa, chose the holy month of Ramadan to be the subject of a film aimed at clarifying misconceptions about Islam and bridging the gap between Muslims and other Americans, according to voanews.com.

Later this month, Muslims around the world will observe Ramadan; the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from sunrise to sunset.

Randhawa, who was born in Pakistan, raised in Canada and has been living in Dallas, Texas for the past eight years, told VOA that he decided to make the film, titled “American Ramadan”, because, like other American Muslims, he was distressed by the misconceptions Americans have about Islam and Muslims, and angered by the negative images portrayed in the media. He says his film shows how Islamic traditions are similar to traditions of other faiths.

For Randhawa, the fast during Ramadan seemed an ideal subject.

"I was trying to find a platform that would seek to build bridges and look for commonalities between Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Really, just about every religion has some form of fasting," he said. "So, this seemed to me like a great platform to bring different people come to the table and have a dialogue about what is common to all of us."

The feature-length documentary mainly focuses on five American Muslim families practicing their religion, in an attempt to show that Muslims have the same family values as most Americans.

"We purposely went out and chose five different families. We wanted to make sure they were all very diverse," he said. "We have a student who is trying to balance her student life with work, with her home life, with school life. We have an inter-racial couple in California. We have a divorced dad who is coping with taking care of his kids by himself and sharing time with his ex-wife. We have another lady whose husband was incarcerated."

"We all fast to be closer to God"

Randhawa’s film include interviews with scholars and religious leaders from various faiths who comment on the benefits and blessings of fasting.

"I have a rabbi who talks about fasting for Yom Kippur. I have a Christian doctor who talks about fasting for Lent and I have an imam who talks about fasting for Ramadan," said Randhawa.

"It is interesting that they all talk about the same purpose of fasting. We all fast to be closer to God. That is their words. What is interesting is that all three of them say the same thing, they just say it in a different context."

People’s reaction to the screening of the documentary in the U.S. has been very positive, from both Muslims and non Muslims, Randhawa said, adding that he was particularly pleased by a conversation he had with one non-Muslim woman whose image of Islam was based on misconceptions before she saw the film.

"She had thought the call to prayer was some kind of jihadi type call to war. So she was very surprised to see it in its context, in a mosque," he said. "Things like that really encourage us and we are really happy to see that Americans are watching this and understanding that Muslims are not different than Jews and Christians in their family values and the way they live their life in America."

"American Ramadan" has been screened at some film festivals and special screenings in North America, but Randhawa plans to show the film in Europe and the Middle East. He even says that he’s willing to make other documentaries that are aimed at bringing people of different religions and traditions together

[UmmSqueakster]

:sl:

You can view a trailor for this on their website. inshaAllah I'm hoping to get this to add to my dawah library if it comes out on DVD.

[north_malaysian]

In Malaysia, some non Muslims fast on Ramadan for an experience....

[syilla]

^^^not just fasting...

they like to go to the ramadhan bazaar too...

i can't wait ramadhan...it will be fun.

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[north_malaysian]

^^^not just fasting...

they like to go to the ramadhan bazaar too...

i can't wait ramadhan...it will be fun.

15 days to go......

In Ramadhan, I ONLY watch tv for 30 mins every day ... watching Islamic program called "Jejak Rasul" (Paths of the Messenger) ... I'm a big fan of it!!!

[syilla]

^^^i'm going back to my hometown in Kelantan...

it will be wonderful...i miss the food there...

[north_malaysian]

^^^i'm going back to my hometown in Kelantan...

it will be wonderful...i miss the food there...

I've had the best 'laksam' in Kota Bharu somewhere in 1995. Nobody can beat that "makcik" (aunty) at Pasar Khadijah (Khadijah Market)

[Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн]

I wana see this movie...gunna try to get it :D

[Durrah]

:sl:

I've seen the trailer for this film. It looks pretty good mashallah.