- Title: Egyptian film 'Mawlana' provokes outcry over view of religion and state
- Date: 23rd January 2017
- Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ROADSIDE BILLBOARD ADVERT FOR 'MAWLANA' VARIOUS OF AUTHOR OF 'MAWLANA' NOVEL, IBRAHIM EISSA, TALKING DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AUTHOR OF 'MAWLANA' NOVEL, IBRAHIM EISSA, SAYING: "This triangle exists in Egypt and the Arab world in a shocking way. I believe it is responsible for all the intellectual, political, and social decline we are in. To dismantle this triangle is the whole issue and whether or not we are able to bring to light the elements that make up the web connecting this triangle of religion, power, and money. This was the biggest reveal in the novel. How money abuses religion and how religion employs power, and how politics and power employs both. This complex relationship is exposed well in the novel." CAIRO, EGYPT (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE BUYING TICKETS AT CINEMA CINEMA STAFF STANDING BY DOORS TO SCREENS TELEVISION SCREEN AT CINEMA SHOWING ADVERT FOR 'MAWLANA' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FILM AUDIENCE MEMBER, MARIAN HESHMAT, SAYING: "The film was very good, much better than I had expected. I don't usually go for political films, but honestly, I hope that we can all believe that we are all one and there is one God, and we should leave it up to him to decide who's going to heaven or not, because God loves us all and bestows his mercy on us all. This really is the message that the film clearly communicated." PEOPLE GATHERED IN CINEMA FOYER BANNER SHOWING ADVERT FOR 'MAWLANA' (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FILM CRITIC, MOHAMED NABEEL, SAYING: "The film did not just tackle one specific issue, but rather, it speaks about Islam and its relationship with other religions, regardless of whether its Sunni or Shi'ite, as well as the issue of Christianization. I see that it is an important time for a film like this because the church explosion in the movie casts a shadow over our reality." VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF AL-AZHAR INSTITUTE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AZHAR PREACHER, SAMEH MOHAMED, SAYING: "We will not tolerate any more aggravation during this period, we will not tolerate the enticement of the audience during this period, and we cannot call for a divide among ourselves. As soon as we overcome one problem, we find ourselves facing another one. We are becoming divided. We are becoming divided. How long will we be divided? When will we unite? When will the people return to their rightful places? When will we go back to neighbours caring for one another, brothers caring about each other? If you see this portrayal of the imam, what will happen when you walk into a mosque after watching this movie, how do you look at the imam, in what way, how will you look at him? You will only see what you saw in the movie and it will take root in reality."
- Embargoed: 6th February 2017 12:04
- Keywords: Egypt film religion box office Cairo politics power movie
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT AND UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT AND UNIDENTIFIED FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA00260AUZBP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: An Egyptian box office hit that highlights the religious establishment's cosy relations with the state has provoked a backlash from Sunni Muslim clerics, with some calling for the film to be banned.
Adapted from a novel by prominent journalist Ibrahim Eissa, "Mawlana" ("The Preacher") tells the story of a popular television preacher who struggles to reconcile his religious principles with demands and pressures from politicians and security agencies as well as ordinary human temptations.
Through the protagonist, a cleric from Al-Azhar, Cairo's 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning, the film lays bare the complex and troubling interplay between the state, religious establishment, mass media and Islamist extremism in Egypt.
"This triangle exists in Egypt and the Arab world in a shocking way. I believe it is responsible for all the intellectual, political, and social decline we are in," Eissa, who helped adapt the script for cinema, said.
"The Preacher" is showing to packed houses in regular commercial cinemas, not just a few art houses in the capital.
It had raked in 7.3 million Egyptian pounds ($388,300) by its third week - a strong showing for a local film.
"The film was very good, much better than I had expected. I don't usually go for political films, but honestly, I hope that we can all believe that we are all one and there is one God, and we should leave it up to him to decide who's going to heaven or not, because God loves us all and bestows his mercy on us all. This really is the message that the film clearly communicated," said Marian Heshmat, who had just watched the film.
Life imitated art the day after the film's premiere.
In the movie's dramatic climax, a young man blows up a church and the day after the premiere, a suicide bomber killed 28 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State on Cairo's main Coptic Christian cathedral.
Clerics at Al-Azhar have responded angrily to the film, which they say tarnishes the image of establishment Islam just as it steps up efforts to rein in violent extremism.
Sameh Mohamed, a preacher at Al-Azhar said the film, in which the televangelist initially bends to the demands of senior officials before having a change of heart, paints clerics as unprincipled and state-controlled.
"If you see this portrayal of the imam, what will happen when you walk into a mosque after watching this movie, how do you look at the imam, in what way, how will you look at him? You will only see what you saw in the movie and it will take root in reality," he said.
Film director Magdy Ahmed Ali begs to differ.
"If you look around you, you will find Yemen, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, it is unbelievable that all this violence was caused because of the interference of religion in politics. Religion has exploited politics and politics has exploited religion," he said.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a former army chief, overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013 and is still battling radical Islamists.
Sisi has made combating extremism a priority and assigned Al-Azhar a central role in defending mainstream Islam. Egyptian courts have jailed thousands of Muslim Brotherhood followers during his rule.
Shortly after the military ousted the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from the presidency in mid-2013, the religious endowments ministry fired 55,000 preachers not authorised by Al-Azhar.
The preachers were accused of inciting violence, spreading extremist views or supporting the Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement.
The Brotherhood, which has been outlawed as a terrorist organisation, says it is peaceful.
Apart from Sunni-Shi'ite tensions, the film also explores the origins and effects of sectarian tensions that have flared in recent years between Muslims and Christians. Egypt's Copts are the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, making up about 10 percent of the country's 83 million population. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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