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Segregated Islamic cinema opens in Australia
This Sunday, Khalifa Sufyaan will open the doors to Perth's first Islamic cinema, hopefully ushering in both Muslims and non-Muslims to its first screening of a famous 1970s epic. The men will sit on one side and the women on the other, an arrangement he concedes will not be conducive to an afternoon of romance. "It is not like the Hoyts cinema where you go with your boyfriend and girlfriend," Mr Sufyaan said. The screenings, to run once a month at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, are designed to break down barriers between Muslims and non-Muslims and allay some of the fears and misconceptions that have been generated since the September 11 attacks in the US. "We are trying to let the West Australian people know more about Islam and to live in harmony," he said. "People are scared of us. They see a Muslim walking down the street and think it is (Osama) bin Laden or something. It is such a stereotype. Muslims are very sad that we have been put in the spot as the people who are going to threaten the whole world. It is really hurting us as Muslims." The cinema has been floated for some time by members of the Perth-based Daawah Association, of which Mr Sufyaan is president. The association even hopes to produce some of its own films to show at the screenings. Until then it will make do with international movies, Islamic documentaries and cartoons. First up for screening on Sunday is the 1976 epic The Message, which stars Anthony Quinn as a desert-dwelling Arab who leads the prophet Mohammed's followers into battle. Produced by Moustapha Akkad, who later produced the Halloween series, the film recalls a turbulent time in the Middle East and the birth of the Islamic faith. English-language cartoons produced in the Middle East, based on biblical and Koranic teachings, will also be screened at the cinema for children and young families. Mr Sufyaan expects the cinema will prove popular with Perth's relatively small, 25,000-strong Muslim community but also hopes many non-Muslims will go along. "Since September 11 especially, there has been a high number of people who are willing to watch these movies. People are keen to know what is going on, why some Muslims are doing these things," he said. "It has brought people closer to understanding Islam." Posted by: TS(vice girl) 2004-07-23 |
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