Documentary ManIslam reveals men pushing for a more progressive faith

In ManIslam Nefise Özkal Lorentzen interviews men who are pushing a more progressive version of Islam, one that questions ideas about patriarchal roles in society.

In Indonesia, there was a demonstration of men wearing skirts to try and disprove the notion that women wearing provocative outfits invite rape. Courtesy Goteborg Film Festival

Imtiaz Pavel invented a game, similar to Snakes and Ladders, which he uses to educate people about women’s rights on his travels through Bangladesh.

In one segment of Nefise Özkal Lorentzen's new documentary ManIslam – Islam and Masculinity, the activist is shown interviewing the parents of two children – a 26-year-old man and his wife, who they are told is 18. When Lorentzen interjects to ask the husband about lullabies that he heard as a child, stopping to sing a song from her own youth, Pavel starts crying.

“You can see the girl is not 18, which means the girl gave birth to her two children at a younger age than she admits on screen,” says Lorentzen, “but I cannot say ‘you are lying’.”

In the fascinating film, which has its world premiere at the Göteborg Film Festival today, January 28, Lorentzen travels to Bangladesh, Turkey, Kuwait and Indonesia and interviews men who are pushing a more progressive version of Islam, one that questions ideas about patriarchal roles in society.

Going back to that uncomfortable moment in Bangladesh, Lorentzen initially thought Pavel was laughing; it turns out her lullaby, the moment, and the difficulty of his work had unlocked something in him.

“I think we are all the product of this patriarchal society,” she says. “I eventually realised that Imtiaz was crying and not laughing, and it was after that he told me the stories of the harassment he had suffered.”

It was the September 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center that pushed the Turkish-born and Oslo-based academic to make films exploring Islam.

“After 9/11, the whole world was shaking, so I decided I’m not going to be affected by these Islamists. I want to be loyal to my faith and I will get Islam back from these fundamentalists. That was my starting point to make films about Islam and gender.”

In Indonesia, Lorentzen meets with Syaldi Sahude, who organised a demonstration of men wearing skirts to try and disprove a prevailing misconception that provocative dresses by women invites rape. Although only five men joined, it became front-page news.

“This film is personal, I can’t say that I’m objective, but when I’m editing, I want people to be proud of the sentences that they are saying,” says Lorentzen. “The man in Indonesia is proud of what he says about violence and the source of violence and I can’t edit it, I also don’t want to make him look slapstick.”

There is a different tone to the scenes in Kuwait, where she meets with Naif Al Mutawa, the creator of The 99, the popular comic strip inspired by the 99 names of Allah.

“What he says he says without pointing a finger, he doesn’t say this is how a woman should be, or a man should be,” says the director. “He is a psychologist and so he builds his characters in a diverse way.”

Lorentzen also encounters Ihsan Eliaçic, the leader of a Turkey-based political movement called Anti-Capitalist Muslims.

“I’m very fascinated by them,” says the filmmaker. “They have different sects of Muslims on their executive committee and I was so amazed to see all these young men and women and how they are working for their community.”

ManIslam is the third film that Lorentzen has made about Islam and gender, the others are Gender Me (2008) and her more personal film A Balloon for Allah (2011). The director studied at the Bosphorus University in Istanbul, before moving to Oslo, Norway, where she is the main lecturer for documentary films at Nordland Art and Film School.

She says that the making of the films has strengthened her faith – but also changed her perspective.

“There is a reason that I make films. I want people to not look at each other in a sceptical way. People have a childish curiosity and they should be able to ask very simple questions to each other without any judgements. I love to question things and there is room in Islam that you can ask questions.”

After the Göteborg premiere, Lorentzen plans to take the film to other festivals, including one in Turkey. She also plans to submit the film to the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and Dubai International Film Festival.