A Jihad for Love is part of The Human Rights Watch Collection.

Fourteen centuries after the revelation of the holy Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, Islam today is the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims.

Produced by Sandi DuBowski (Trembling Before G-d) and Sharma, A Jihad for Love was filmed in 12 countries and 9 languages and comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, it reclaims the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, whose true meaning is akin to ‘an inner struggle’ or ‘to strive in the path of God’ - allowing its remarkable subjects to move beyond the narrow concept of Jihad as holy war.

WINNER! GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary, 2009

"Critics' pick! Eye-opening, brave, brutally honest."- New York Magazine

"Revealing and moving!" - Wall Street Journal

"Lifts the veil of secrecy." - National Public Radio

"Courageous...invaluable!" - Boston Globe

"A remarkable exploration, six years in the making, of the lives and struggles of gays and lesbians in the Islamic world today." - Huffington Post

"Fascinating, provocative!" - San Francisco Chronicle

"Powerful." - Entertainment Weekly

"Passionate, essential... Both haunting and inspiring." - New York Sun

"Provocative, deeply felt and emotionally complex." - Village Voice

"Heartfelt... Nail-biting!" - The New York Times

"A powerful, important documentary." - Film Journal International

Illegal Citizens: Queer Lives in the Muslim World by Afdhere Jama

Gay Travels in the Muslim World by Michael T. Luongo

Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East by Brian Whitaker

www.ajihadforlove.com

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