The ways in which cinema and religion are intertwined are not unique to Indonesia nor to Islam. The rise of Pentecostal “video-films” in Ghana, the Hollywood mainstreaming of ‘Ben Hur’ and Mel Gibson’s ‘The passion of Christ’, and the popular reception of ‘Karunamayudu’, a Telegu retelling of the story of Jesus, watched by over 100… Continue reading A brief note on Islamic film-making in Indonesia
Tag: Religion
Between worlds: the jilbab and being transgender in Indonesia
It is a scene that wouldn’t be unfamiliar in France or Belgium: a woman’s hijab is snatched away by strangers on the street from her head despite her protest. She is told she shouldn’t wear it, or rather, she has no right to because her wearing it mocks other women and femininity itself. But it… Continue reading Between worlds: the jilbab and being transgender in Indonesia
On embracing choice and contraditions
No, I haven’t turned my back on feminism. But rather I want to invite discussion on the things we sometimes do to ourselves that appear contrary to the defining tenets of feminism. I couldn’t bring myself to write or blog about feminism lately because I found myself arriving at a state of crisis, both an… Continue reading On embracing choice and contraditions
The women of Indonesia's Film Religi
Film religi is an Indonesian cultural phenomenon quite unlike any other in Southeast Asia. It is a film genre that is focused on religion (mainly Islam) and its attendant hot issues like polygamy, deviant prophets, interfaith relations, and global ‘terrorism’. Riding on the popularity of the hugely successful Ayat-ayat Cinta (Verses of Love, 2008), a… Continue reading The women of Indonesia's Film Religi
Comments on comments
In the last year, I’ve been getting plenty of Islamophobic comments on my blog. Some of which are unpublished here for my own peace of mind, and some I went on to tackle personally with the commenters who wrote them. Granted, I do not have a policy on comments and perhaps that is a mistake… Continue reading Comments on comments
Muslim feminists have too much to worry about already to think about homophobia
Once a week I meet with people studying gender in the Middle East and we talk about the assigned articles we’ve read during the week. Last week, it was about sexuality and homophobia. Emerging from our discussion on homosexuality rights in the Middle East (particularly in Lebanon and Palestine) is the question why many Muslim… Continue reading Muslim feminists have too much to worry about already to think about homophobia
Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses
Looking back, I knew that I never wanted to be a student in religious studies, but oddly enough, here I am digging into it and taking apart the psyche of believers (and non-). If the case is still true in today’s terms, being a scholar in religious matters in Malaysia would really mean studying Islam,… Continue reading Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses
Whose revolution? Critiquing Seyran Ates and her Islamic sexual revolution
The calls of lawyer, activist, and writer Seyran Ates for a sexual revolution in the heterogeneous Muslim world may surprise many, particularly when the movement is commonly associated with free love, hippies, and public nudity. In a recent interview with German magazine Spiegel, Ates begins with discussing what she means by this and her experiences… Continue reading Whose revolution? Critiquing Seyran Ates and her Islamic sexual revolution
No country for Muslim women
First published at Muslimah Media Watch I am not an Islamic scholar, therefore my opinions on Islam do not count. Worse still, I’m told that it’s not my place to have an opinion on Islam at all. This is the general climate of thought in Malaysia put forth in the recent proposal by the country’s… Continue reading No country for Muslim women
Thoughtful quote of the day
“When talking about aerospace, you ask somebody from NASA, not someone in Somalia,” The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party’s (PAS) president, Abdul Hadi Awang, on the party’s democratic right to ban the Muslim Feminist NGO Sisters In Islam for ‘unqualified’ involvement in Islamic law. [Source]
Alicia Izharuddin 