Dilshad D. Ali: June 2007 Archives

To bring the story of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl to the big screen was one fraught with difficulties ever since Brad Pitt optioned the rights to Mariane Pearl's (Daniel's widow) book, "A Mighty Heart." Who would be the right director? Who would play Mariane without over-dramatizing her agonizing story? How could you retell the awful true story of Pearl's abduction in Pakistan by terrorists while he was researching a story on shoe bomber Richard Reid--without turning it into a rant against all Muslims?

Though I haven't seen "A Mighty Heart" yet, (it opens today), the early word is that this film successfully avoids being what it easily could've been: "cheesy movie-of-the-week fare, over-the-top love story, violent action thriller, or blatant political screed," as stated in the Beliefnet review of the film by Michael Kress.

And that is so relieving to me, as a Muslim who always believes that religiously- and politically-charged films, especially one based on a true story, should be done carefully and with a balance. In a recent interview with Newsweek, Mariane eloquently said about the film: "To me it's a story about Danny being held by extremely intolerant people. And yet we, in that house in Pakistan--Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Muslim--came together to find him. It's as if two visions of the world were fighting each other."

I hope that Mariane's vision of the world, where--simply put--we all work together to stamp out any terrorist threatening to control us, is the one that will always prevail. So go out and see this film if you can.

Read Beliefnet's review of "A Mighty Heart" and see clips from the film here.

Media outlets yet again had a field day today when everyone's favorite celebutante, Paris Hilton, was ordered back to jail--one day after being released by the L.A. Sheriff's Department, who had released Hilton to serve out the rest of her sentence at home for medical reasons.

"Mom, Mom, it's not right!" Paris was heard crying to her mother as she was being taken away from the courtroom. The hearing was called by L.A. City prosecutors, who demanded that she serve her sentence in jail. You know what, this whole thing is not right. Why are they jerking her around like that? I'm no Paris fan myself, and I fall in the camp of "she broke the law, it was serious, she should serve out her time."

But she doesn't deserve to have her feelings jerked around like that--sent to jail, then released, then sent back to jail. Of course she should serve out her time in jail. But at the very least, make a decision and stick with it, L.A. Sheriff's Department. The American world, unfortunately, is watching you.

My esteemed Idol Chatter blogger Ellen Leventry wrote yesterday that she was outraged like everyone else when Paris was released, but that outraged soon changed to a sort of sadness over how obsessed we are with this little story when there are things like the G8 Summit, Afghanistan, or stories of kidnapped children going on in the world. I so agree with her. And though I wish all major media outlets would drop this story and leave it to the entertainment tabloids, blogs, and magazines, it is our own water-cooler discussions of Paris that keep outlets like CNN, Associated Press, Reuters, and the like reporting on this "story."

So who's to blame, really, for this saga that just won't end? We all are. Paris is back in jail, and she should be. But I do feel bad for her today. It seems like the girl really does have bad karma.

Is it just me, or does it feel like Muslims are still viewed as being on the outskirts of society in North America, though polls and statistics say the opposite? Consider popular CNN talk show host Glenn Beck, who last fall began an interview with the first Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison, with "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."

The latest issue of Islamica Magazine makes this point in its editorial, and then goes on to prove that Muslims in North America form "the most visible microcosm of the global Muslim community." In the same issue they offer intriguing profiles of 10 Muslim visionaries--artists, television producers, novelists, philanthropists, humanitarian workers, doctors and laywers--who without a doubt prove what's right with the Muslim community in North America.

Let me introduce to you to three movers and shakers on the cultural/entertainment scene:

The thing that I appreciate is that these visionaries build off of their faith and culture to produce savvy, sensitive, and really interesting work. Yet they don't limit their work Islamic-themed topics. Because that's how you'll really thrive in entertainment--know who you are, but go beyond that.