Next month two movies will hit the cinemas and cause controversy. Both movies have the Islamic religion as the central theme but neither of them attempts to portray it in a bad way. The controversy will come from other elements in the movie and how people perceive it.
The movie “Four Lions” is a satirical look at four males – Omar, Waj, Barry (a convert), Fessel- who get radicalized and decide that they should become suicide bombers. While Omar and Waj go off to terrorist camp in Pakistan the other two stay behind and Fessel comes up with a plan to train crows to carry bombs. In Pakistan Omar and Waj recruit a fifth member to the team but they are back to four when Fessel accidentally dies in a training exercise. The ultimate plan that the team has is to blow themselves up at the London Marathon. The film will no doubt cause a lot of uncomfortable feelings in England as there are many similarities to the attacks that took place in 2005 on the London Underground.
“The Infidel” will stir up some very uncomfortable feelings as it is about a Muslim man who discovers that he was born a Jew. The movie follows the chief character as he tries to discover his roots from his main source, an alcoholic Jewish cab driver, while managing to impress his daughter-in-law to-be’s father who just happens to be a firebrand Muslim preacher.
Although both movies are just about poking fun at religion, how the Muslim community at large will receive it is completely unknown. Even though Muslim actors form a large part of the main cast, the reaction is still expected to be unfriendly.