As one gets sucked into the intricate narrative of Among the Believers, the feeling that the war on terror is being fought with wrong weapons gets stronger. It needs tools of compassion and dialogue, and, of course, an understanding of the other. Directed by Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi, the 84-minute documentary follows the lives of two teenage students – Talha and Zarina – who have attended madrasas run by cleric Abdul Aziz Ghazi’s Red Mosque network. If Aziz is passionate about his idea of Islamic utopia, educationist Dr. Pervez Hoobhoy is equally fervent in his opposition of the violent path. The flashpoint is the Peshawar massacre. The film is winning praise across the world, but was recently banned in Pakistan. So I quickly go back to my IFFI-2015 notes where the film was screened.
“I feel that the ban is actually an amazing publicity for the film. We have been receiving so many requests. Unfortunately, we do not have a distributor in India or South Asia,” says Hemal, who has also co-produced the film.
The title is inspired by V.S. Naipaul’s 1981 book about the Islamic journey he took. “It was initially called ‘Children of Red Mosque’ but during the course of the shooting I realised that it is much more than just the Red Mosque. It is about the ideological conflict. Also, Naipaul predicted 30 years back that if Pakistan continues to move on the same path it could implode. So you can call it ideological inspiration,” says Hemal.
For Hemal, who lost a close friend in the 2008 Mumbai Attacks, it started as a personal journey. “When I decided to become a documentary filmmaker I promised myself that for me it is a medium of exploration of my own emotions.” So when she experienced extreme anger after the Mumbai terror attacks she told herself that it is time to look within. “That is what it is. If science is an empirical quest, art is an emotional quest. I wanted to indulge it without any commercial motivation. At that time I had no idea how it will turn out. I am an editor and I work for hire a lot. I am good at my craft but to fully realise myself as an artist I needed to go on this stretch unconditionally. And I am glad I did,” says Hemal underlining the fact that the film changed her.
“In the beginning it had two children and it started as an ideological conflict story but over a period of time we got access to Aziz.” A charismatic figure, it is hard to get him on camera. And it was nearly impossible for a Hindu Indian woman to enter into Red Mosque. Around this time Hemal got in touch with Karachi-based young filmmaker Mohammad Ali Naqvi, who was also searching for answers of identity and faith. He followed Aziz and ultimately got access to him. “Once we got it I was advised, ‘why not make a film on just Aziz’. But it was not my idea. I wanted to make a film on the ideological conflict. I fought with a lot of people, including one of the producers to not just limit myself to Aziz or the secular side.”
Hemal agrees there was a constant danger of becoming a spokesperson of Aziz. “But I didn’t want to portray him as just a crazy fanatic as he is not. He is a very sympathetic character. In the first and second interview, we got a feeling that this guy is a fanatic fascist. But later we got his emotional side where he talked about why he became what he is and that is more important.”
Hemal says she didn’t carry an ill will against the people of Pakistan. “I was neutral in 2009 itself. Pakistanis are actually victims of a fringe minority but I was not sure who constituted it. I was never empathetic towards Aziz’s point of view. But after the interviews I did develop slight empathy for him. Although we completely disagree with what he is saying, his world view but he has to be carefully represented, which a large section of the media doesn’t do.”
The children have been brain-washed into believing that he is their messiah. “It is not entirely incorrect. If I didn’t have food to eat and no resources I could be lured by somebody like Aziz, who offers free food and housing and a free ticket to heaven. For many, it is like a career.”
Now the IS is offering the heaven on earth. “Yes, we showed the film to the Department of Home and Security in the US. And they feel it is so important to debunk the fantasy notion of the IS. It is actually important to debunk the mythology of Utopia because wherever there are young people feeling alienated or are searching for purpose in life; they get attracted to such fringe institutions.”
The counterpoint comes in the form of the liberal movement led by the likes of Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, which can make a difference.
“For a long time the people in power were in denial. Peshawar was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The fringe liberal minority with people like Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy are bringing about the change but the real change will happen when the common tea-seller on the roadside will start seeing the extremist forces as monsters. That change has started to happen.” On the lessons for India, Hemal says every society has a fringe minority which tries to take over the majority. “In India also these purist forces have always existed. When somebody said there is only one truth, you may call it by different names; there must be some purist forces lurking round the corner. We must not forget that Hinduism is not a monolith. The difference is whether the political might is empowering them or not. And a blind eye to them actually empowers them. If they are empowered they lead the country to implode and we have seen it in Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, the SVOD rights of the film have been bought by Netflix Worldwide. “I am certainly looking for a theatrical release in India and the rest of the world – if a theatrical distributor comes on board.”
Time to reclaim
Like Hemal, during the course of the shoot, something shifted in Mohammad Naqvi as well. Naqvi followed Aziz for five years and realised that the story won’t move unless he gets into the mind of the puppeteer. “It was not that Aziz was not interviewed before. But in order for somebody to trust you and give access to one’s inside world, takes time. I had to build my own relationship with him and in the process a big shift occurred within me. Till 2013, I always went to him with some sort of bias. I obviously considered him a politician in some sense, who was trying to manipulate thousands of young children. Though I was always upfront with him and never lied to him, in 2013 I had to drop my own bias and meet on an equal plane. When I started asking genuine questions about my own faith we were able to cover the rest of the material.”
Naqvi feels beyond the popular narrative of American and Soviet intervention and Afghan angle, there is one more reality.
“People like Maulana Aziz flourish because the military government, the civilian government and the judiciary have failed. And somebody has to fill this vacuum. The state is failing to provide food and shelter and suddenly people like Aziz are fulfilling these social needs.”
Among other things, Naqvi says, the film is trying to say that the change has to come from within. “After 9/11, the biggest victims of war on terror are Muslims themselves. The Western forces have spent trillions of dollars but the world has become a more dangerous place. Something is not working. The Americans don’t have the understanding or nuance to engage in this matter. The change has to come from among the believers themselves. They have to reclaim their mosques, their religion. To start with we have to reclaim our space in the media. It is time stories of people like Hoodbhoy also get space.”
