Jihad: A Story of the Others

Deeyah Khan's documentary shows the men (and one woman) involved in the jihadi movements of the 80s and 90s. As an interviewer, Deeyah is a generous interviewer, allowing the subjects plenty of latitude to express themselves, but she is also adept at asking searching questions, never denying the horrific nature of violent extremism. Beautifully shot, the film gives an insider view of their processes of radicalisation, focussing on social and psychological factors. The intimacy is electric, and the personal stories are allowed to unfold in all their complexity. A nuanced take on one of the pressing social issues of our age that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.

Surprising and deeply humane film about former jihadis that has made me revise my view of how these people are created.

Or just meet the people who bomb abortion clinics "halfway" to compromise.

Nowhere does it entertain the cold fact that Islam has a problem with modernity, plurality and liberty. It does not mention the surveys that show a MAJORITY of Muslim clerics worldwide today believe in the death penalty for homosexual activity. or that for example a majority of college educated Egyptians believe in the death penalty for converting form Islam or leaving Islam -- that is right, not rural villagers -- but college educated Egyptians.

This idea that the modern world has to respond by compromising with misogynists, superstition or general backwardness is abhorrent.

There are some embarrassingly mean-spirited reviews of this film here. I found these guys believable, and the film one of those most touching things I've seen in a while. I suspect the bad reviews are from people who have a religious agenda of their own and share the very emotional poverty that Deeyah attributed to these guys as young, foolish Jihadis. You hit the nail on the head, Deeyah. It's a thing that knows no boundaries, infecting religions, cultures and belief systems of every sort, and there will always be people whose hearts are so full of hatred, and, indeed, self-loathing, that they will twist anything into a channel to express that hatred. Sad as I am for their victims, I find it heartening to see how people can be pulled back from the brink, rescued from the darkness that once enveloped them, and I'm glad to see they found the answer in their own religion. We can all learn something from this insightful piece

If you don't consider the social consequence of fueling a war, the war may come to kill you. Violence is born of flesh. It doesn't regard who uses it. It is a great evil that comes to steal, kill and destroy. This documentary portrays the learned hatred of years under Islam Law. By the end of the documentary, there is such a "safe space" created, and we actually see the brokenness of man shrouded in shame. Sigh. It broke me. Shame is not the same as guilt. Shame says I am a mistake. Guilt says I made a mistake. If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence and judgment. If you put the same amount in a Petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can't survive. The last interview was precious, Deeyah Khan. It was when you asked him if he forgave himself. To see a man in the "rhythm of weeping" over the memories of repressed trauma when the truth of shame is revealed by his sorrow. There is very little needed other than the love of a listening ear that wants to simply hear and understand. I wonder if you are a Christian. It was the question of his own forgiveness that seemed to come only from the spirit.