Arabic Culture and Islam

The database Films on Demand contains a wealth of great film and documentary content. This collection showcases a number of the religion titles carried in the collection.

The database Films on Demand contains a wealth of great film and documentary content. This collection showcases a number of the Islam titles carried in the collection.

The database Films on Demand contains a wealth of great film and documentary content. This collection showcases a number of the titles discussing Arab or Arabic culture carried in the collection.

“I think when you are born a woman in Afghanistan,” says Kabul native Noorjahan Akbar, “you are taught every day to hate yourself.” But, as this film illustrates, Akbar is in no danger of falling into that self-hatred trap. The youthful activist counsels victims of misogynist brutality and has helped establish Young Women for Change, an organization dedicated to improving the lives and human rights of Afghan women. The documentary also features a profile of Trudi-Ann Tierney, an Australian producer who creates shows for Kabul’s Tolo TV network. Tierney’s difficulties in promoting a progressive image of women, and even in ensuring the safety of female performers, echo the ongoing hurdles Afghanistan faces as a torn and violent nation. (27 minutes)

ourney to three of the world's most venerable cities located on the crossroads of historically important trade routes. From Syria's capital of Damascus to the country's largest city, Aleppo -- two of the country's longest continually inhabited cities -- to Petra, Jordan, a remarkable desert metropolis carved into limestone rock and once the home of the ancient Nabateans-- found at the GCC Library here: Glendale CC Library - VIDEO - DS37.7 .A735 2005

The Arabs have been bringing knowledge of the ancient world to Europe since the 8th century. In the fields of medicine, mathematics or philosophy, their scholars were far beyond their time and still affect our world today. For a long time, the Arabs were estranged, not united by one nation or leader. They had little in common beyond a shared language. This didn’t change until Mohammed ended polytheism, founding a new religion and uniting all of the Arabic tribes in their faith in one God: Allah.

Rochel is an Orthodox Jew, and Nasira a Muslim of Syrian origin. They are both beautiful young teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. They also have something else in common - they are going through the process of getting "arranged marriages" through their respective religious and traditional customs. With both family pressure on the one hand, and the rejection of traditional values by the outside world on the other, Rochel and Nasira will have to rely on each other and their friendship to pull through this difficult time of their lives, striving to be strong women in charge of their own happiness, while keeping their deep religious and cultural convictions.

Muslim women in Canada face challenges and uncertainties when they decide to start or stop wearing hijab, and encounter people with a variety of opinions. This candid and eye opening film challenges all viewers with emotions and humour, while revealing multiple perceptions and meanings of hijab that exist in our Western society.

We delve into the world of contemporary Arab art through the inter-connected stories of one man, three museums. We look at his art, his protégés and the people who collect it. From exhibitions in London's British museum to the region's largest ever retrospective to an Arab artist in Qatar, this episode of Inside The Middle East gets to know artist Dia Azzawi.

Pollster Dalia Mogahed shares surprising data on Egyptian people's attitudes and hopes before the Arab Spring -- with a special focus on the role of women in sparking change.

From remote Somali villages to mosques in Dearborn, Michigan, more than 1.5 billion people are unified by a call to prayer five times a day. But Islam still faces mistrust and misunderstanding across America. In this ABC News program, Diane Sawyer seeks answers to a variety of questions that many non-Muslim Americans have about the religion. What do followers of Islam actually believe? Does adhering to strict Islamic tradition deprive women of important rights? Are Islam and Western culture fundamentally at odds? Sawyer and other reporters speak with Muslims from all walks of life in an exploration of the history and tenets of the world’s fastest-growing faith. (41 minutes) An ABC News Production.

There is an entire generation of American Muslim children who do not know a world before September 11, 2001. These children have never experienced a country which is largely unaware of, or neutral about, Islam. Instead, their faith is scrutinized and patriotism questioned, even before they can grasp these very adult concepts. The Education of Mohammad Hussein, a 38-minute documentary short directed by Academy Award® nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp), takes the viewer inside a tightly knit Muslim community in the economically depressed Detroit-Hamtramck neighborhood, focusing on the children who attend a traditional Islamic school, Al-Ikhlas. The film captures a year where the kids and their neighborhood have an unwelcome visitor, notorious Koran-burning Florida preacher Terry Jones, who arrives to provoke them with hateful rhetoric and anti-Muslim demonstrations. The community’s reaction to this challenge lies at the heart of the film, which gives a quietly searing view of a post-9/11 America that is struggling to live up to its promise of tolerance and civil justice for all. An HBO Production. An HBO Production.

The region's designers, trendsetters, and fashionistas create fluid and sensual designs to achieve seamless fashion underpinned with Arabian sensibilities.

“The Hajj is the iconic pilgrimage on Earth,” says host Bruce Feiler, as millions of pilgrims gather in the valleys outside the city of Mecca in today’s Saudi Arabia to take part in the annual five-day pilgrimage every Muslim hopes to complete at least once. Since non-Muslims aren’t permitted in Mecca, Bruce’s surrogate is Anisa Mehdi, a veteran reporter of the Hajj, with whom Bruce will Skype at regular intervals. Anisa joins a group of Muslim pilgrims from Boston who begin their journey in Medina, the second of Islam’s holy cities. As the pilgrims visit sites in Medina associated with the life of the Prophet Muhammad, Bruce enlists the help of a historian and an eminent American Muslim scholar to explore the origins of the religion and its iconic pilgrimage.

Each year millions of travelers flock to Mecca, undertaking the Hajj, or pilgrimage, required of all devout Muslims. Few people outside of Islam, however, have seen this ancient and sacred city. This program offers an unprecedented look at the birthplace of Muhammad and the rituals that bring together the followers of the world’s fastest-growing religion. Photographer Reza Deghati, himself a Muslim, gained unparalleled access to the “Sacred Territory” of the Hajj last year and brought back still images of the event never before seen by most Westerners. Now he ushers viewers back to Mecca to capture the exclusive story of the city’s traditions and holy places. A National Geographic Production. (56 minutes)

Muslim belief and tradition specifies that there should be no depictions of God or the Prophet Muhammad. In religious contexts, this constraint on what artists can depict extends to human figures and other living creatures as well. These prohibitions have inspired a rich visual culture based on calligraphy, Arabesque floral designs, and geometry, all of which feature strongly in the art and design found throughout Islam. Distributed by PBS Distribution.

From rich cultural heritage to the dynamic and contemporary developments taking place, CNN Inside the Middle East showcases the beauty and complexity of the region in this twenty part video series.

Art of Faith: Islam
Islam includes the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, mosques in Kairouan and Cordoba, both the Haghia Sophia church and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the Taj Mahal at Agra and the madrassas of Samarkand.

1.5 billion Muslims in the world are inspiring a change in conventional banking and finance as they seek to combine the best of capitalism with the ethics of Islam. Explore the founding principles of Sharia-compliant financing through interviews with Etihad CFO James Rigney, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank CEO Tirad Mahmoud, SABIC CFO Mutlaq Al-Morished, and Standard Chartered Saadiq CEO Afaq Khan.

The mosque’s minaret: alongside the dome, there is no more familiar symbol of a Muslim place of worship. But not all mosques have minarets—or even domes. This video describes the evolution of the mosque, or masjid, over time and across cultures by using the mosque at Córdoba, Spain; the Friday Mosque in Isfahan, Iran; and many others from around the world as examples. Common elements like decoration with geometric designs and Arabic calligraphy, the place for ritual cleansing, the imam’s podium, and the niche that signifies the direction of Mecca are presented, along with a capsule history of Islam’s birth and spread.

This seven part video series examines the role the figure of Jesus plays in the Islamic religion.

In this 80-minute documentary, three 10-year-old children leave their native countries to participate in one of the Islamic world’s most famous competitions, a test of memory and recitation known as The International Holy Koran Competition. Up against much older students, these youngsters have committed the 600 pages of the Koran to memory, and will put their skills to the test before the elite of the world’s Muslim community in Cairo, Egypt. In the midst of this intense international competition, the three young competitors – two boys from Senegal and Tajikistan, and one girl from the Maldives – face uncertain futures at home, as they are caught between fundamentalist and moderate visions of Islam. The children discuss their recitation techniques – with accompanying, completely improvised melodies – and talk about their nerves and excitement as they finally compete before a panel of judges. In addition to chronicling the excitement and pressure of the Koran Competition, award-winning filmmaker Greg Barker delicately captures touching moments with the children at home with their families, where they open up about life and religion, their academic dreams and career aspirations. As the competition reaches its climax, Koran By Heart offers a compelling and nuanced glimpse into some of the pressures faced by the next generation of Muslims. An HBO Production. An HBO Production.

The creation of value is a concept dear to Islam. According to Sharia principles, profit should be reinvested into tangible businesses, which in turn create further wealth within society. Sectors such as real estate and infrastructure are ideal. See how Sharia-compliant project financing is playing a pivotal role in developing some of Malaysia’s key industries. Interviewees include Air Asia CEO Aireen Omar, Tabung Haji CEO Datuk Ismee Ismail, Employees Provident Fund CEO Tan Sri Azlan Zainol, and INCEIF CEO Daud Vicary Abdullah.

Public performance rights - GCN Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad's breathtaking work, a searing example of boots-on-the-ground reportage, follows the efforts of the internationally recognized White Helmets, an organization consisting of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives.

French Muslim teenager, Mariam, must choose between her hijab & school when France passes a law in 2004 banning religious symbols from public schools.
A rare portrait of the coming-of-age of a Muslim teen, the film addresses the themes of Islamophobia, the diversity of the Muslim experience, the choice of some Muslim women to wear the hijab, and the assimilation and acceptance of Muslims in the West.

When Muslim writer and activisit Asra Nomani returns to her hometown mosque in West Virginia, she believes she sees signs of trouble: exclusion of women, intolerance toward nonbelievers, suspicion of the West. Her resulting campaign for change alienates would-be allies in the mosque, leading many to wonder who most deserves the label of “extremist.” It isn’t long before members put forward a petition to expel her from the Islamic Center of Morgantown.
As Asra takes an increasingly different path from the community’s moderates – marching on the mosque, posting a manifesto on its door, storming out of a community meeting and challenging a visiting sheik about domestic violence – the film provides a rare look at the real controversies that divide a Muslim community.

In many countries around the world, the mosque is a building increasingly shrouded in controversy. But most non-Muslims have never stepped foot inside a mosque, let alone experienced the day to day activities that take place there, or met its community. This groundbreaking series tackles the myths, misconceptions and anxieties head on. With exclusive, unprecedented 24/7 access, we go inside one of the oldest mosques in Australia to join its community from the inside. We meet its cricket-loving patriarch, mosque leader Imam Uzair; his best mate and community fix-it man, Ali Kadri; as well as a diverse and engaging congregation, including outspoken change-maker, Galila Abdelsalam, ex-bikie turned youth worker, Robbie Maestracci, and fourth generation mosque-goer Janeth Deen. Filmed over the course of a year like no other, the mosque community finds itself tackling Islamophobia, extremism, and a host of everyday adventures, challenges, tragedy and romance.

Miss World is a competition known for glamorous girls and bikini modelling. But today there is an alternative version aimed at finding positive role models for women in the Muslim world—World Muslimah. This global pageant aims to promote modesty and Islamic values and attracts competitors from Iran, USA, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Nigeria. Britain's first entrant, Dina Torkia, is a 25-year-old fashion blogger and stylist from Cardiff with thousands of followers on her YouTube channel. This film follows her journey as she aspires to make it through from her online audition to the selection stages, and into the final in Jakarta in November 2014. With unique backstage access to the competition and the finalists from all over the world, Dina gets to the heart of what being young, Muslim, and female means in Britain and the rest of the world. A BBC Production.

This groundbreaking documentary dissects a slanderous aspect of cinematic history that has run virtually unchallenged from the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters. Featuring acclaimed author Dr. Jack Shaheen, the film explores a long line of degrading images of Arabs - from Bedouin bandits and submissive maidens to sinister sheikhs and gun-wielding "terrorists" - along the way offering devastating insights into the origin of these stereotypic images, their development at key points in US history, and why they matter so much today.

The Saudi Arabia the world sees is a country of wealth and luxury, but with stunning undercover footage filmed by a secret network of activists, FRONTLINE reveals a different side of the country: stark poverty, violence against women, religious police in action — and citizens fighting back against the tightly-controlled kingdom. Distributed by PBS Distribution.

Follow six young pilgrims as they make their way from their homes and families on a journey of a lifetime to Mecca, birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. Features the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the Alhambra in Spain's Granada, the Great Mosque, the Badshahi Mosque, and more. DVD at GCC Library found here: Glendale CC Library - VIDEO - BP163 .S454 2009

As Muslim extremists dominate the headlines, writer and historian William Dalrymple explores an altogether different side of Islam. This program follows Dalrymple on a personal journey into the mystical and musical side of Islam as he charts the traditions of Sufi music in Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, India and Morocco.

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, is filled with greatest treasures of the Islamic world. This film tells the stories behind some of the museum's most remarkable items, including Jahan's Jade Pendant and Shah to Al-Sufi's Book of Fixed Stars. The colorful history of the trade routes of great empires is explored with our elderly Arab narrator and storyteller. Viewers will explore this treasure chest and the history of this fascinating culture. (54 minutes)

In popular Western imagination, a Muslim woman in a veil – or hijab – is a symbol of Islamic oppression. But what does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? In this provocative documentary, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women – one in France and one in Iran – to express themselves freely.

East London Mosque is one of the largest in Europe – over a quarter of a million people walk through its doors during the month of Ramadan, and up to 7,000 fill its walls for Friday prayers. But for most people outside, it’s a place of mystery. Having documented radical Islam in My Brother the Islamist and My Brother the Terrorist, filmmaker Robb Leech now asks what it’s like to be an ordinary Muslim living in the West. He follows the everyday lives of the people in the community, experiencing their faith at first hand.