Film

In the same way that your freshman history teacher tried to cram in the rise of Western civilization in a single semester, so too does openly gay Muslim producer and director Parvez Sharma attempt to explain the complex relationship between homosexuality and Islam in 81 minutes. So here’s the first note to scribble down in your three-ring binder: Jihad means struggle, not war, and here it is used to describe the way in which a dozen or so devout LGBT Muslims attempt to reconcile same-sex attraction with their religion.

The trouble is that we dash through too many story lines too quickly. As soon as we connect with Muhsin Hendricks, an out Islamic scholar living in South Africa, we’re whisked away to meet new characters in Egypt, then Iran, Turkey, India and Canada, where story lines develop and quickly dissolve. The film is at its most fascinating when it holds up a mirror to predominantly Christian nations and their own contempt for homosexuality. We see Islamic teachers spouting passages from the Koran that echo the same religious-based bigotry used here (hmm, Islam and Christianity, not so different after all).

Fortunately, the film probably offers its Western audience its first glimpse at the persecution of gay Muslims. As the ax literally falls on their heads, here in America we’re picking out wedding rings. Perhaps its biggest message is that there is still much more work to be done.