Akbar Ahmed, an esteemed scholar and the head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the American University in Washington, will soon present to the public a documentary on the European Muslims, which was filmed in 2014.
The documentary deals with the issue of Muslims across Europe, as well as the way in which Muslims are viewed and perceived by their neighbors.
In the documentary “Journey to Europe: Islam, Immigration and Empire”, Akbar Ahmed interviewed various European statesmen, intellectuals, religious authorities, as well as the representatives of European right-wing parties. Also interviewed were quite ordinary citizens of different orientations and beliefs, all with the aim to investigate the phenomenon comprehensively and deeply.
By thematicizing the historical relationship between Europe and Islam, the documentary also deals with modern challenges such as increasing immigration, complicated and challenging issues such as the issue of Shariah, terrorism, the status of women in Islam, as well as the phenomena of globalization and multiculturalism.
Akbar Ahmed visited B&H last year, where he met with the senior state and religious officials, as well as with the BH intellectuals of different profiles. A significant portion of the documentary is dedicated to B&H, especially to Srebrenica.
Mirnes Kovac, a theologian and journalist who cooperated with Akbar Ahmed on this film, said that the example of B&H is of exceptional significance for this topic.
“B&H inherited the autochtonous Islam long before some Western communities inherited Christianity. For example, the Islam in B&H is older than Protestantism in Europe or Christianity in USA… Islam in B&H is the Islam of the far west of the Islamic world and it is autochtonous also for its European spirit, such as the one in Andalusia which, unfortunately, did not survive. Also, the Islam in B&H can serve as a paradigm of the Islam in the West, and it is being realized by an ever increasing number of immigrant Muslim communities which, following the Islam and in everyday life, must search for solutions that have been existing in B&H for over six centuries in terms of orthopraxy, rituals, spirituality…”, stated Kovac.
The documentary should be screened in the Balkans as well, but it is still not known on which television.
(Source: klix.ba)
