http://www.indianexpress.com/
Set up barely two years ago, "not as formally as the Milli Council or the Mushawarat" but as a loose body of 24 Muslim organisations, the Federation of Islamic Movements and Political Parties has been in the news for its objections to Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam.
One of its prominent members, Dr M H Jawahirullah, who is an MLA from Ramanathpuram and president of the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, objects to the organisation being referred to as a "fringe"one. "This federation consists of us, the Welfare Party, Jamiat Ulema e Hind, Tamil Literary Association, Jamat e Islami, Popular Front of India, SDPI and other groups. We are not fringe, we are mainstream," he asserts.
On protests against Vishwaroopam, he says, "We did not take to the streets or create a chaos. We were shocked at the Censor Board clearing such a film; so we approached the state government."
There is a talk of politics beyond cinema in this case as both the DMK and the AIADMK have strong connections with the cinema world. "My party contested the 2011 state elections in alliance with the AIADMK, but there are several other parties, which were in the opposite camp, so the group is a mixed bag. There is no question of politics. We only want proper representation of Muslims in these delicate and prejudiced times, " he says.
The federation wants the Censor Board to be reconfigured and "not be a political body". "It should be independent. They said a Muslim cleared it on the Board. I spoke to him. He is Hasan Mohammed Jinnah (DMK candidate in the polls). We want a sensitive Censor Board and not one with political nominees. There are parameters regarding how animals are to be treated while shooting, how they are to be depicted. Smoking and drinking are not shown. So how can things be shown that misrepresent a faith? If the Censor Board has cleared this, it is a wrong decision," Jawahirullah says.
Says S N Sikkandar, another member and state head of the Welfare Party, "Actor Vijay's movie, Thuppakki, showed Muslims in a poor light. Three of our members explained to him what was wrong. He made necessary changes and the film was re-released."
Jawahirullah adds, "We are not opposed to cinema. We value good cinema and want authentic portrayals. We are Tamilians. We are conscious of the huge influence films have on our state's imagination. Two script writers and three actors have become chief ministers here."
The federation essentially has two points against Vishwaroopam. The first showing "the Quran, namaz and other things sacred as essential preludes to all terror acts". The second is the declaration at the beginning of the film that the movie is based on facts and showing a "one-eyed character in Afghanistan called Omar who speaks Tamil, and when asked where he picked up the language, says he was in Coimbatore, Ayodhya and Ahmedabad for a year".
"What is Kamal Haasan trying to say here? There are no recruits to al-Qaeda from Tamil Nadu. The communal tempers have cooled down after a long time in Coimbatore. Does he want the situation to worsen again by misrepresenting facts? We are not holding any brief for the Taliban or the al-Qaeda. Anyone saying that the Quran encourages violence is wrong. The Quran forbids violence. This movie shows the Quran is linked to violence and people are killed the way we slaughter animals. This is simply unacceptable," Jawahirullah says. He adds, "We weren't shown the film. We approached the state government, who wrote to Rajkamal Productions. A team of 14 representatives were shown the film on January 6. After seeing it, our people were shell-shocked and left the auditorium without saying anything."
Members of the federation also say that though they respect Kamal Haasan for protesting against the demolition of Babri Masjid, they have had problems with his films, Hey Ram and Unnaipol Oruvan. Says Jawahirullah, "We spoke to him after Unnaipol Oruvan. He said that he would do something to compensate. Vishwaroopam was that compensation. So, the sense of betrayal is even more."
---------
Dhule unmasks rioters in uniform (2):
http://www.indianexpress.com/
Muslim groups want Censor Board reconfigured, say it is political
Seema Chishti : New Delhi, Mon Feb 04 2013, 00:18Set up barely two years ago, "not as formally as the Milli Council or the Mushawarat" but as a loose body of 24 Muslim organisations, the Federation of Islamic Movements and Political Parties has been in the news for its objections to Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam.
One of its prominent members, Dr M H Jawahirullah, who is an MLA from Ramanathpuram and president of the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, objects to the organisation being referred to as a "fringe"one. "This federation consists of us, the Welfare Party, Jamiat Ulema e Hind, Tamil Literary Association, Jamat e Islami, Popular Front of India, SDPI and other groups. We are not fringe, we are mainstream," he asserts.
On protests against Vishwaroopam, he says, "We did not take to the streets or create a chaos. We were shocked at the Censor Board clearing such a film; so we approached the state government."
There is a talk of politics beyond cinema in this case as both the DMK and the AIADMK have strong connections with the cinema world. "My party contested the 2011 state elections in alliance with the AIADMK, but there are several other parties, which were in the opposite camp, so the group is a mixed bag. There is no question of politics. We only want proper representation of Muslims in these delicate and prejudiced times, " he says.
The federation wants the Censor Board to be reconfigured and "not be a political body". "It should be independent. They said a Muslim cleared it on the Board. I spoke to him. He is Hasan Mohammed Jinnah (DMK candidate in the polls). We want a sensitive Censor Board and not one with political nominees. There are parameters regarding how animals are to be treated while shooting, how they are to be depicted. Smoking and drinking are not shown. So how can things be shown that misrepresent a faith? If the Censor Board has cleared this, it is a wrong decision," Jawahirullah says.
Says S N Sikkandar, another member and state head of the Welfare Party, "Actor Vijay's movie, Thuppakki, showed Muslims in a poor light. Three of our members explained to him what was wrong. He made necessary changes and the film was re-released."
Jawahirullah adds, "We are not opposed to cinema. We value good cinema and want authentic portrayals. We are Tamilians. We are conscious of the huge influence films have on our state's imagination. Two script writers and three actors have become chief ministers here."
The federation essentially has two points against Vishwaroopam. The first showing "the Quran, namaz and other things sacred as essential preludes to all terror acts". The second is the declaration at the beginning of the film that the movie is based on facts and showing a "one-eyed character in Afghanistan called Omar who speaks Tamil, and when asked where he picked up the language, says he was in Coimbatore, Ayodhya and Ahmedabad for a year".
"What is Kamal Haasan trying to say here? There are no recruits to al-Qaeda from Tamil Nadu. The communal tempers have cooled down after a long time in Coimbatore. Does he want the situation to worsen again by misrepresenting facts? We are not holding any brief for the Taliban or the al-Qaeda. Anyone saying that the Quran encourages violence is wrong. The Quran forbids violence. This movie shows the Quran is linked to violence and people are killed the way we slaughter animals. This is simply unacceptable," Jawahirullah says. He adds, "We weren't shown the film. We approached the state government, who wrote to Rajkamal Productions. A team of 14 representatives were shown the film on January 6. After seeing it, our people were shell-shocked and left the auditorium without saying anything."
Members of the federation also say that though they respect Kamal Haasan for protesting against the demolition of Babri Masjid, they have had problems with his films, Hey Ram and Unnaipol Oruvan. Says Jawahirullah, "We spoke to him after Unnaipol Oruvan. He said that he would do something to compensate. Vishwaroopam was that compensation. So, the sense of betrayal is even more."
---------
Dhule unmasks rioters in uniform (2):
http://www.indianexpress.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment