Documentary Explores American Muslims Observing Ramadan

September 21, 2006

Source: The Dallas Morning News

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-ramadan_0921gl.ART.State.Edition1.3ef7061.html

On September 21, 2006 The Dallas Morning News reported, "Consider the images conjured by the phrase 'Muslims on television.' That phrase has one meaning in today's media marketplace: angry crowds, burning American flags, guns being fired, bombs going off. For obvious reasons, it's a hard time to be a Muslim living in America. It's that cultural context of anxiety and suspicion, not to mention misunderstanding and ignorance, that inspired Naeem Randhawa, a 36-year-old Dallas native and IT project manager, to undertake what became the documentary American Ramadan. 'I was tired of all the negative stereotypes; I was looking for films dealing with Ramadan and the best I could come up with was a 25-year-old documentary by the BBC,' Mr. Randhawa says. 'I wanted something contemporary, that applied to me and other Muslims of my generation, and I realized that since there wasn't a film, I should make one.' So he became a first-time director and started looking for Ramadan stories he could tell. The result is a film that follows five families through the month of fasting and prayer followed by practicing Muslims every year... Watching it as newscasts are brimming with fresh images of angry, flag-burning protests in reaction to comments by Pope Benedict XVI only underscores Mr. Randhawa's motivation for making American Ramadan. In providing diverse portraits – a student, a divorced dad, an interracial couple – the film reflects the diversity of Muslim culture."