A group Students in Cairo university the faculty of mass communication , the radio and television department made a documentary as a graduation project ; this documentary was discussing Sufism in Egypt and they named it as " The people of interior".
Instead of having an "A" for their final project , instead of praising them for choosing a very interesting topic , a daring topic and a prefect balanced presentation ; this group is now facing what is like an inquisition trial by the administration of the faculty itself !!???
The administration of the faculty accused the documentary of defaming Islam and banned from participating in the final contest of documentaries at the faculty.
I have seen that documentary and I do not see it defames anyone , on the contrary it discusses the famous controversial practices in balanced way presenting the different views in a wonderful manner. "Unfortunately it is not translated despite it should"
You can see the documentary below
Defaming Islam is a very dangerous accusation that can endanger the lives of those students for real. The fact that the administration of the faculty accuses its students of that accusation shows that there is something wrong in that administration because they clearly they have missed or forgot the role of the media , the real role of journalism , to cover every aspect in the society with all its controversy and leave the judgment to the people , the public.
Of course the students did not sit still as they reached for the media because it is not a matter of degrees and projects but rather a freedom of expression matter.
Now regarding Sufism , well knowing its history and its beliefs I think it is very noble but unfortunately just like fundamentalism , it has been deviated , there are wrong practices for sure that should be stopped yet these practices do not give the right for anyone to consider them infidels that should be fought like in time of terrorist years. If you watch the documentary you can see that many of the modern Sufi practices are similar to other practices in other religions and nations.
صحيح مافيش اي سبب يستدعي انه يترفض ويتقال عليه مسيئ للاسلام ..
ReplyDeleteOK, Z, I read the Wikipedia article and watched the video. For clueless foreign readers like me, please consider illustrating this blog post with a picturesque whirling dervish. ;)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, the defaming Islam charge is horrendous, and as this case shows, Muslims as well as non-Muslims are vulnerable. The proper response to a video is another video.
Great post and thanks for linking the very well made, enjoyable and interesting documentary.
ReplyDeleteThe students should have been commended for their balanced portrayal and not reprimanded!
Interestingly enough Sufism is one of the organic commonalities between people in Sudan and Egypt - although the Azhar was coerced into taking a political line denouncing the Mahdi and the Mahdiyya and then discouraging Sufism after the re-conquest in 1899.
The song at the ending credits - by Muhammad Mounir is Sudanese.
Defaming Islam is a crime, the way I see it Islam must be defamed. No, now seriously anyone punishing someone for "defaming Islam" is a criminal.
ReplyDeleteThis shows us the level of an elite education institution in Egypt and the "elite" of society, - the academics.
Ahaa Islam really doesn't slow the progress, they just don't practice the "real" Islam
btw Z the way I see it, you are not a religious zealot - fine with me, you are the nationalist zealot ... my question is, would you punish them if they made a documentary, clamming Egypt lost 73 war or that Egyptian state must ceased to exist?
My Dear Z, the students were punished for thinking and being creative. We all know that academic freedom is absent in Egypt, what can I say except that when the ppl themselves are not free we cant expect the Unis to be free. Thanks for the link to the video, I wanted to watch it when I read the news few days ago.
ReplyDeleteThe documentary is commendable, but skeletal and limited to the discussion of hand kissing, music and dancing.
ReplyDeleteSufi philosophy is universal in nature and involves deep spiritual, mental and physical discipline.Some Muslims consider Sufism outside the sphere of Islam.
On the other hand it is the inner, mystical dimension of Islam.
It is a beautiful spiritual dimension of Islam and very puritanical.
Poverty and Ignorance: Egypt's modern time plagues...
ReplyDelete@John
ReplyDelete"Defaming Islam is a crime, the way I see it Islam must be defamed." Why is it that Islam needs to be defamed and I hope u wont come back w the usual 9/11 and Quranic verses taken out of context crappy reasons.
"This shows us the level of an elite education institution in Egypt and the "elite" of society, - the academics." So, just bec a bunch of professors in a department at one faculty decided to react that way this in your own little mind shows how the entire academics think?!!! Strange logic
"btw Z the way I see it, you are not a religious zealot - fine with me" as if your opinion matters really :D, "you are the nationalist zealot ... my question is, would you punish them if they made a documentary, clamming Egypt lost 73 war or that Egyptian state must ceased to exist?"
what a stupid question really. The only "establishment" that faces such a question today is Israel and we all know were your true feelings really belong hence this strange question. Why would any one question the existence of Egypt the oldest existing country and one that is not established at the expense of the lands, houses, cities, fields and lives of others?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@John 10:44 PM, your Web site is getting a little cobwebby. Better write a new post. Also, I tried to leave a comment there but the capcha image doesn't appear, so it's impossible to answer the text-image challenge. Your articles about Islamic banking are interesting.
ReplyDeleteanonym:
ReplyDeleteOne example is in Z's article.
When the administration of the state's n.1 university acts like the middle ages inquisitor, my little mind's strange logic says there is something wrong with academic education in Egypt.
I hadn't asked you, and you haven't even answered - as if your opinion matters really :D, so let it be.
"but unfortunately just like fundamentalism , it has been deviated , there are wrong practices for sure that should be stopped yet"
ReplyDeletewhy don't u just say: like all religions, it has deviated.
and how about not using right and wrong when it comes to people's beliefs? right and wrong according to whom?