New Movies About Islam: Con and Pro

Two new movies about Islam have been released so far this year. The con is short (17 minutes), and is described as a hate diatribe against Islam. The other is a feature love story (88 minutes), definitely pro Islam.

The short is by the Dutch politician, anti-immigration activist, filmmaker Geert Wilders. It is called FITNA, an Arabic word often translated as "strife," and tomatoes are flying at it from every direction.

The feature, VERSES OF LOVE, is from an Indonesian Muslim filmmaker, Hanung Bramantyo. It has received a rousing reception in Indonesia, which has almost a 100 percent Muslim population, and a "ho-hum" from the rest of the world. It should be extremely well received at the next Arab Emirates' film festivals in Dubai or Abu Dhabi this year, should it screen in either. Read about the Dubai and Abu Dhabi festivals last year on my 2007 Film Festivals Page.

By far, FITNA, has received most of the attention. It was posted on the Internet by YouTube, and others, but has since been removed because of general outrage due to its visuals and rhetoric.

Because both of these are mainly religious propaganda meaning, "a one-sided argument often untrue," I have posted about each in more detail on my Universal Mind Warp blog. Click the Title on each post for a major link.

I did see the images in FITNA, but the dialog was in Dutch, and I haven't seen anything of the other one, so I cannot judge either at the moment.