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  1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710</id><updated>2024-04-14T00:27:32.744-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Parvez (Hussein) Sharma. 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. A Jihad for Love; A Sinner in Mecca (film+book)</title><subtitle type='html'>started this blog, 2007. today i am a guggenheim fellow, a much lauded filmmaker and author; creator of 3 world firsts: a jihad for love; a sinner in mecca (films) + 112,000 page book. visit parvezsharma.com but this blog is historically important; a partial on the road record; the world&#39;s first ever film on islam and homosexuality; fact = &quot;islam trilogy&quot; = 8 million plus eyeballs; yes, death, defying work, but re-taught me gratitude+ humility; karma backbones = dh; sd; at; hva; pa</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>183</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-7968320057763564912</id><published>2011-01-29T19:54:00.002-05:00</published><updated>2018-08-26T18:26:56.816-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Breaking News from Mohandessin in Cairo</title><content type='html'>&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;I have another friend Yousry. (Different from the other amazing Yousry I just interviewed for a Mondoweiss exclusive) I have blogged about him in the past 72 hours on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/egypt-is-burning-and-it-i_b_815605.html&quot;&gt;the Huffington Post&lt;/a&gt; and on &lt;a href=&quot;http://mondoweiss.net/&quot;&gt;Mondoweiss&lt;/a&gt; and on the &lt;a href=&quot;http://al-bab.com/&quot;&gt;Guardian&#39;s Brian Whitaker&#39;s blog.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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  3. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  5. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;I have just spoken to his sister who just finished talking to him.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  7. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  9. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Yousry and his friends were walking in Mohandessin and this is all still unfolding--so it was recent. They are armed and have guns. A car full of some thugs shot at them but they were not hurt. Seeven men then arrived on motorcycles and attacked them with swords. Yousry and his friends shot back at them making sure they were not killing them and once the shot-at bikers lost control of their bikes--they tied them up to a tree on the roadside.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  11. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  13. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Yousry and his friends have contacted several helplines and are trying to contact the army. They are still on the side of the road. The 7 now injured bikers who attacked them with swords are right there as well, tied to the tree.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  15. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  17. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;This was way too long to tweet so I am putting it here in the hope that you will be able to share it.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  19. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  21. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;It is becoming impossible to tweet this revolution in 140 characters or less so I am going to stop pretty soon and retire for the night--and try and get my life back--perhaps eat and try and have a shower and also try and save my laptop from eternal damage.&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  23. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  25. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/muslims-christians-we-are-all-egyptians-scenes-from-a-revolution-as-told-by-one-eyewitness.html&quot;&gt;In any case my very powerful interview with the other Yousry says it much better than any tweet ever could and certainly better than many of the jokers being paraded on cable television in the United States.&lt;/a&gt; It is up on the front page of Mondoweiss right now. I am hoping that the Huffington Post will publish it as well--they have not responded to my emails or posts in the last 24 hours even though &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.blogger.com/twitter@ariannahuff&quot;&gt;Arianna Huffington&lt;/a&gt; has recommended &lt;a href=&quot;http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/muslims-christians-we-are-all-egyptians-scenes-from-a-revolution-as-told-by-one-eyewitness.html&quot;&gt;Mondoweiss&lt;/a&gt; to her followers for its LOTS OF GOOD RE-TWEETING ABOUT EGYPT GOING ON. I hope she or her staff have noticed that I have been doing about eighty percent of that re-tweeting atleast for the last 48 hours. Write to her though if you feel inspired by Yousry&#39;s &lt;a href=&quot;http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/muslims-christians-we-are-all-egyptians-scenes-from-a-revolution-as-told-by-one-eyewitness.html&quot;&gt;Mondoweiss&lt;/a&gt; interview and feel it deserves to be read. If you don&#39;t that too is fine ;-)&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  27. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  29. &lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Thank You All for your support and interest. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  30. </content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7968320057763564912/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=7968320057763564912&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7968320057763564912'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7968320057763564912'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2011/01/breaking-news-from-mohandessin-in-cairo.html' title='Breaking News from Mohandessin in Cairo'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-4860125440220556767</id><published>2011-01-29T12:10:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2011-02-13T14:02:02.365-05:00</updated><title type='text'>BREAKING NEWS FROM EGYPT/ IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS</title><content type='html'>&lt;style&gt;
  31. @font-face {   font-family: &quot;Courier New&quot;; }@font-face {   font-family: &quot;Wingdings&quot;; }@font-face {   font-family: &quot;Cambria&quot;; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; }p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; }p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; }p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; }p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }ol { margin-bottom: 0in; }ul { margin-bottom: 0in; }
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  33. &lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 180%;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;American television networks and an endless parade of mostly white men pundits (brought out and dusted off with their cobwebs) should take lessons from Al-Jazeera in live reportage, in not having pundits talk over the chants of a mass of humanity, in having Arab reporters covering what they know best, in remarkably evocative and courageous camerawork and in just being able to cover history like no other television network has ever been able to do before. And yes, I also mean that CNN during the first Gulf War was not as good as this.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;It is so important to remember that the vast MAJORITY of those on the streets around the country do not have the time, the ability, the resources (including smartphones) and certainly no access to working mobile phone service. This revolution is JUST NOT BEING TWITTERED by the people who are actually protesting.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;The only people tweeting are either reporters with huge bureaus and live cameras to back them or people like me reporting from the cyber-frontlines talking to the few friends in Cairo we can reach on their landlines.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;To tweet this revolution and Egypt’s complex back-story in 140 characters or less is impossible.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;Interestingly Al-Jazeera which is doing a stellar job is also more interested in covering the revolution (amazingly) in what is essentially wide-shots to show the extent of the chaos. Ayman’s camera is focused on the thousands in Tahrir. Not many correspondents are able to get to neighborhoods like Rihab, Mohandasin, Zamalek, Maadi—which cyber-reporters/tweeters like me are able to do by talking only on landlines (mobiles are not working) to our friends—ordinary citizens. Hopefully this below, is an example of that. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;I must mention that some amazing independent reporters like Ahmed Moor (who is writing for Mondoweiss and sometimes Al-Jazeera English) and  Sharif Koudouss (of Democracy Now—who just flew  into Cairo) are doing remarkable reportage, even though they are not necessarily backed by major news bureaus&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;My friend Fouad was able to get on the landline again. His body and soul are still bruised and yet he has never been more hopeful. His severe anger at Hosni Mubarak’s speech full of lies and his ambivalence about the appointment of Omar Soliman, the head of intelligence as the new vice president. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;It a fragmented conversation on a still functioning landline. And as bullets do rain all around him, here are his bullet points. The thoughts and experiences of an ordinary citizen, not a reporter.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;Mohandaseen is burning—we are surrounded by looters, and the army is just watching&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;They are looting houses and we have no idea who these looters are&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;My parents asked army tank guys and they said we cannot intervene!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;Everyone here is saying that Mubarak is being spiteful-he wants looters so that he can say-&lt;i&gt;Look I gave you calm for 30 years? OK now you want to get rid of me? Well see the chaos my going can bring-Enjoy the unrest and the looting. Only I could have protected all of you!&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;I was driving and 3 men with knives attacked me near Sudan street—I had to sort of run them over&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt; Big rumor that Mubarak is releasing prisoners and arming them so that they can infiltrate neighbourhoods and loot them&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;Maadi, Street number nine-huge vandalism happening—There is looting everywhere in Rihab city, in Mohandasin, in Shubra. In Heliopolis there are plainsclothes police&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;My parents are organizing all the baobabs in our street and making blockades to stop the looters&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt; There are Balkageyah (thugs) everywhere—all rich neighborhoods are being attacked &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;I think he is fucked up yaani--He didnt resign---his speech instigated the violence---now looters and the poor think that when you know there is no hope you might as well get as much as you can as long as the chaos lasts--people were hopeful that he would go&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;Maybe in other governates--people are more organized and closer to each other as community members...so they will organize better, perhaps—In Cairo it is difficult to control the chaos and disorder—there are 19 million people in this city who often don’t talk to each other and are so separated by class and money—I am wondering how they can organize together?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;The people in Cairo are fighting two things--they are fighting police forces but also now fighting looters&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpLast&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;·&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;&quot;&gt;      &lt;/span&gt;People prayed the Salat ul Genaza, the funeral prayer after the evening prayers in Tahrir—we carried a body through the crush of thousands—I was crying, so many of us were crying&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpLast&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  34. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;MsoListParagraphCxSpLast&quot; style=&quot;font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: small;&quot;&gt;    Fouad&#39;s mother is now making Molotov cocktails to protect them-She is 60 plus.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
  35. &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/4860125440220556767/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=4860125440220556767&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4860125440220556767'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4860125440220556767'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2011/01/breaking-news-from-egypt-in-140.html' title='BREAKING NEWS FROM EGYPT/ IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-3803348972782051350</id><published>2011-01-28T11:29:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2011-01-28T12:06:20.743-05:00</updated><title type='text'>EGYPT RIGHT NOW</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;&quot; &gt;FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @parvezsharma where I am live-tweeting the NOT SO JASMINE REVOLUTION currently exploding all over EGYPT&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I HAVE LIVE FEEDS AND ARTICLES ON &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/inshaallah-twitter_b_814709.html&quot;&gt;HUFFPO&lt;/a&gt; ON &lt;a href=&quot;http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/jan28-this-revolution-will-not-be-twittered.html&quot;&gt;MONDOWEIS &lt;/a&gt;and o&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.al-bab.com/blog/2011/blog1101d.htm&quot;&gt;n the excellent blog of Guardian Editor Brian Whitaker&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Keith Olberman, All of FOX need to take LESSONS IN JOURNALISM 101 FROM AL-JAZEERA, the network which I am ashamed to say--cable providers in New York refuse to carry.&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/3803348972782051350/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=3803348972782051350&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/3803348972782051350'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/3803348972782051350'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2011/01/egypt-right-now.html' title='EGYPT RIGHT NOW'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-8465784337819143791</id><published>2010-12-05T11:32:00.005-05:00</published><updated>2010-12-05T11:49:15.311-05:00</updated><title type='text'>NY TIMES REMOVES OFFENSIVE IMAGE AFTER THESE POSTS AND TWEETS-SEE IMAGE BELOW</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmPX5nLiOvK9iSlKA52XNdqu4nH3FdVkz59VqsqMbOQAwUYtxfGUd0GpL8v6SBoJoLS2QstKzYzA05MjUBOsDvAhKsBJeqy7l9XZ9gBNMgSQGCdLtRQnlTFfrxQYBdPzVn7lZYgjBBrA/s1600/NYTIslam.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 163px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmPX5nLiOvK9iSlKA52XNdqu4nH3FdVkz59VqsqMbOQAwUYtxfGUd0GpL8v6SBoJoLS2QstKzYzA05MjUBOsDvAhKsBJeqy7l9XZ9gBNMgSQGCdLtRQnlTFfrxQYBdPzVn7lZYgjBBrA/s320/NYTIslam.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547239250896002994&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;&quot; &gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;At about 11:13 am the image (see below and above) was GONE.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;Timeline of events:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;At about 9:15 am I noticed the image. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;At 9:30 ish I posted the fact of its existence on my Facebook home-page.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;By 9:45 I sent them my first email. (I sent three in total after being asked to provide my contact details from an automated response).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;On my Facebook I posted the image at 10:30 am.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;Friends started writing that they were emailing them.&lt;br /&gt;At around 10:45 am I presciently posted the following on my Facebook page saying:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;h3 class=&quot;UIIntentionalStory_Message&quot; ft=&quot;{&amp;quot;type&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;msg&amp;quot;}&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;UIStory_Message&quot;&gt;Here is the offensive NYT Sunday am photo-before they remove it and say it never existed! See thread below for details.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;&quot; &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;I even posted a quick column on Huffington Post. (Their young blog editors are probably still hungover from the weekend. Lets see if HuffPo publishes it).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;At 10:40 am or thereabouts I tweeted this below-&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;h3  style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; class=&quot;UIIntentionalStory_Message&quot; ft=&quot;{&amp;quot;type&amp;quot;:&amp;quot;msg&amp;quot;}&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;UIStory_Message&quot;&gt;Blatant Islamophobia on display in the NY Times Sunday web-edition @NYTimes &lt;a href=&quot;http://bit.ly/hTfU6a&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;http://bit.ly/hTfU6a&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;&quot; &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;This is the power of us watching the media, folks. Thankfully I was able to take a screen grab of the image and hopefully it now exists for posterity and can go viral, as it should. Post your comments here or connect with me and/or the links on Facebook and Twitter.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8465784337819143791/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=8465784337819143791&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8465784337819143791'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8465784337819143791'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2010/12/ny-times-removes-offensive-image-after.html' title='NY TIMES REMOVES OFFENSIVE IMAGE AFTER THESE POSTS AND TWEETS-SEE IMAGE BELOW'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmPX5nLiOvK9iSlKA52XNdqu4nH3FdVkz59VqsqMbOQAwUYtxfGUd0GpL8v6SBoJoLS2QstKzYzA05MjUBOsDvAhKsBJeqy7l9XZ9gBNMgSQGCdLtRQnlTFfrxQYBdPzVn7lZYgjBBrA/s72-c/NYTIslam.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-7810403984466771377</id><published>2010-12-05T10:32:00.007-05:00</published><updated>2010-12-05T11:42:54.209-05:00</updated><title type='text'>A *New* New York Times Faux Pas</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur=&quot;try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}&quot; href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyqGJIM1DFj0j8tx2wNVpMFAwxSAQ5-RYVbt3t2RX9oA5mAUWnemezdaSRrDUlVCo4Vj4gCM2FwYqiQs05RVO44pBpYsokNvJMXRx2FgXroT2JV8IS6YpTTjcQJOBakg_hXTY6GRe4Y4/s1600/NYTIslam.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 163px;&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyqGJIM1DFj0j8tx2wNVpMFAwxSAQ5-RYVbt3t2RX9oA5mAUWnemezdaSRrDUlVCo4Vj4gCM2FwYqiQs05RVO44pBpYsokNvJMXRx2FgXroT2JV8IS6YpTTjcQJOBakg_hXTY6GRe4Y4/s320/NYTIslam.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; id=&quot;BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547222301958743538&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;The Gray Lady is wearing her Islamophobia on her sleeve this morning.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;Sunday morning, like most mornings I opened from years of habit-the  home page of the Times. Peering at the lead story without my glasses I  was horrified to find the image of Muslim men praying near Mecca-next to  a cable excerpt from (the now hard to access) Wikileaks-the Times had  decided this was the top story for us this Sunday.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;However next to the excerpt which began: &quot;Terrorist funding emanating  from Saudi Arabia remains a serious concern....&quot; there was the  unmistakable image of Muslim men praying near Mecca wearing the  requisite&lt;em&gt; Ihram&lt;/em&gt; during pilgrimage.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;Is the Times saying that all Muslim men who go for the&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt; Hajj &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;or &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;Umrah &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;pilgrimages to Mecca are a part of terrorism emanating from Saudi Arabia? Are all Muslims stepping into that holy (and unjustly &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;Wahabi&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt; controlled land) getting classes in Terrorism 101 ?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;Living in the US, I am now not surprised by the Islamophobia of  others. I cringe when cartoons depict  our (undepictable) Prophet. And  yet as a moderate Muslim, I always fight for freedom of expression (I  usually attach the rider-&quot;with responsibility&quot;)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;Throughout history words and images used together convey powerful  meaning. All dictatorships, genocidal regimes and problematic systems of  power know this. Journalists and photo-editors should know this better  than most.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;I often defend the NYT to Muslim friends elsewhere who don&#39;t trust it.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;Now, I am not so sure.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;I wonder if I am the only one to notice what I hope is a lapse of judgment and not an editorial decision. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;Below is my hurriedly written letter to the Times. The image grab  can be found on my Facebook and if I am able to include it, with this  blog-post as well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To the Times.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;As a Muslim writer and filmmaker based in NY, my home-I have  always turned to this paper as my primary source of information. In my  travels through Muslim majority nations, I have also been very aware of  the untrustworthy label easily assigned to your reportage, which I have  often defended. This more from a place of knowing that you are also much  reviled by the right-wing here in America as being part of some  imagined &quot;progressive conspiracy.&quot; However, this Sunday morning--like  every Sunday morning when I opened the paper in my web browser I was  horrified to see an image of Muslim men praying during the Hajj, wearing  the requisite &quot;Ihram&quot; next to a  Wikileak cable excerpt that says  &quot;Terrorist funding emanating from Saudi Arabia remains a serious  concern...&quot;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;This is blatant &quot;Islamophobia&quot;, which your editors surely know is  currently much in fashion. Surely a less provocative image can be found  to depict a nation, which for many of us moderate Muslims-remains a  place we deride for its hypocrisy and totalitarianism but respect as  being the home of our two holiest cities. I wonder if the current  climate makes it acceptable to use Muslim males in prayer as a suitable  image for them usually being branded &quot;terrorists&quot; or singled out at most  airports in the world.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Words and images together, convey powerful meaning. Your editors,  your web-editors and your photo-editors, I hope know this better than  anyone else.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;In the past I have considered myself fortunate to have been profiled and written about in your paper. Now I am not so sure.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Thank you.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;br /&gt;New York&lt;br /&gt;December 5, 2010&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7810403984466771377/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=7810403984466771377&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7810403984466771377'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7810403984466771377'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2010/12/new-new-york-times-faux-pas.html' title='A *New* New York Times Faux Pas'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyqGJIM1DFj0j8tx2wNVpMFAwxSAQ5-RYVbt3t2RX9oA5mAUWnemezdaSRrDUlVCo4Vj4gCM2FwYqiQs05RVO44pBpYsokNvJMXRx2FgXroT2JV8IS6YpTTjcQJOBakg_hXTY6GRe4Y4/s72-c/NYTIslam.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-4782457348706208816</id><published>2010-09-22T14:21:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2010-09-22T14:24:17.716-04:00</updated><title type='text'>My new article in The Guardian</title><content type='html'>I write about the appalling distaste of a &quot;Slum&quot; birthday cake for Bollywood film star Shabana Azmi&#39;s 60th birthday in the British newspaper - The Guardian&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/22/slumdog-birthday-cake-shabana-azmi&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please comment on their website and the link is here&lt;/a&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/4782457348706208816/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=4782457348706208816&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4782457348706208816'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4782457348706208816'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-new-article-in-guardian.html' title='My new article in The Guardian'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-5462256647493300601</id><published>2010-09-22T13:54:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2010-09-22T14:02:07.730-04:00</updated><title type='text'>First Screenings in Arab World, LA Times and Al-Akhbar articles</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;I write after a long time and realize now more than ever, how relevant &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; is. Two weeks ago we returned from Beirut where the Heinrich Boell Foundation organized the first ever public screenings of the film in any Arab nation-there were two screenings-one at The Beirut Art Lounge and the other at Hamra&#39;s Zico House. Both were packed and the response was amazing.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/09/lebanon-gay-muslim-film-sex-parvez-sharma-lesbian-sunni-shiite.html&quot;&gt;There is an interesting and short interview with the LA Times here, and the comments section remains, well, interesting!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.al-akhbar.com/ar/node/204172#comment-59442&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There was a strong reaction in the Arab media, as expected and leading Left newspaper Al-Akhbar published a piece here and the comments were not all as friendly (though some were).&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/5462256647493300601/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=5462256647493300601&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/5462256647493300601'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/5462256647493300601'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2010/09/first-screenings-in-arab-world-la-times.html' title='First Screenings in Arab World, LA Times and Al-Akhbar articles'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-563096389860504786</id><published>2010-08-22T16:14:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2010-08-22T16:16:51.008-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Why I am against the &quot;Ground Zero Mosque&quot;</title><content type='html'>You can find this entire post at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/americas-imam-and-his-pro_b_689821.html&quot;&gt;The Huffington Post.&lt;/a&gt; I encourage you to comment &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/americas-imam-and-his-pro_b_689821.html&quot;&gt;there.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I had always been taught to believe in the homogeneity of the pious. But  a year after September 11, as I snuck into a Thursday afternoon &lt;em&gt;zikr&lt;/em&gt;  at the Masjid al-Farah twelve blocks from the still smoldering Ground  Zero, I was not so sure. It was Ramadan and the tradition of breaking of  the fast, the &lt;em&gt;iftar&lt;/em&gt; was going to happen after the &lt;em&gt;zikr&lt;/em&gt;, or Sufi chanting.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Looking around, I felt this was hippie for the Muslims. It was like the  Muslim Woodstock or Burning Man. Clearly the congregants would prefer  granola bars to kebabs. They wore all manner of what my neighborhood  mosque in Nizamuddin, New Delhi, would consider un-Islamic clothes. Men  and women were together. It was beautiful and affirming and yet  strangely foreign. &quot;Only in America,&quot; I thought, &quot;can I enter here as a  gay and Muslim man,&quot; and yet I felt no sense of connection with the  place. It was strangely new-agey.  In the center sat the tall Sheikha  Fariha Friedrich, a gaunt Caucasian woman in all white, who was the  first female leader of this order (the &lt;em&gt;Nur Ashki Jerrahi&lt;/em&gt;) in 300 years. It was time for &lt;em&gt;iftar&lt;/em&gt; and all manner of micro-greens and broccoli came out. Used to dates, greasy kebabs and butter-layered &lt;em&gt;rotis&lt;/em&gt; for this kind of meal, I fled.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A few weeks later, I visited the Manhattan apartment of one Imam Feisal  Abdul Rauf and his wife, Daisy Khan. I was a spiritual orphan launching  on a journey of trying to document homophobia within Islam and I was  looking for a home. Imam Faisal was dapper and articulate and spoke in  carefully calibrated soundbites. His wife, Daisy, a lovely host, was  also, it seemed to me at that time, getting ready for prime-time  television. Throughout the &lt;em&gt;zikr&lt;/em&gt; I could not shake off the  feeling of being part of a project that would present Sufi Islam as a  credible alternative to the mindless violence of the Sunni/Wahabis who  had killed three thousand people at what was by now already called  Ground Zero. I did not know how much at that time if America could be  fooled into thinking that Sufis had any credibility with orthodox  Muslims. Traditionally they had been the bastard children of Islam.  Everyone in the room spoke in hushed whispers of an Islam that was a  religion of peace. I was still not at that time sure of this line (I was  able to refine and reach my own conclusions after seven years of study  and travel to Muslim communities around the world, but this was way  before that).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sure enough, in a few months, whenever there was a PBS special on  Islam--and there were many--Imam Rauf would be paraded about as the face  of moderate Islam. He was not the only one jumping on the Islamic  bandwagon. Islam was hot and sexy and later the success of my own film  on homosexuality and Islam, &lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_hplink&quot;&gt;A Jihad for Love&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt; benefited from that very sexiness.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Over the years I heard still unconfirmed rumors and whispers of a  vicious power struggle that had raged within this Sufi order between the  Sheikha Fariha and the Imam Feisal, who had been a regular  prayer-leader there since 1983. It was widely believed that the Sheikha  emerged victorious and that Feisal Rauf was thus trying to build his own  following, which he clearly did.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Knowing Islam as intimately as I do, I have always found it extremely  difficult to paint this complex religion of more than a billion  followers with broad brushstrokes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Even after a decade of living here, I still feel relatively  fresh-off-the-boat in this country and, to me, seven years in New York  make me a new New Yorker. Many of the mosques I have experienced, in  more than twelve Islamic nations around the world, do not manufacture  pithy sound bites about peace. I have often had to sit through deranged  diatribes against women and minorities. And yet I love mosques, for the  spiritual sustenance they have always given me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the other hand, most of the Muslims I have encountered in my own  family and elsewhere are just ordinary folk, not really following fatwas  and diktats issued by Islam&#39;s self-appointed ruling elites, be they the  Taliban, Al-Qaeda or the predominant Deobandi School of Islam of the  Indian sub-continent (and, ironically, the school of Islam that the  Taliban comes from). Most Muslims seem to be just ordinary people trying  to get by in life and hoping for better futures for their children.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have also lived in America for ten years as an out and proud Muslim. I  have faced &quot;Islamophobia&quot; only twice. Once was in Washington, DC, when a  group of white boys in a speeding SUV yelled &quot;Fucking Arab&quot; at me. I  realized, unshaven as I was and wearing my favorite and trademark &lt;em&gt;kaffiyeh &lt;/em&gt;(Yasser Arafat&#39;s distinctive Palestinian scarf), I could pass for Arab pretty easily. The &lt;em&gt;kaffiyeh&lt;/em&gt;  came to haunt me again in 2004 outside a synagogue on 14th Street in  Manhattan, when a bearded, young, Jewish man called me &quot;Palestinian  Terrorist&quot; and then thoughtfully added &quot;Go back.&quot; I muttered &quot;I am  Indian&quot; and ran.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The arguments against the xenophobia and the re-victimization of the  &quot;other,&quot; the continued demonization of all Muslims and the right wing&#39;s  hysterical evisceration of what they think constitutes Islam continue to  be made on cable television and pretty much everywhere else.  Right-wing, anti-Muslim vitriol has been spilled everywhere and in this  hot summer of election politics this &quot;Mosque/Cultural Center&quot; has  clearly become a wedge issue and a potent one at that. So I don&#39;t need  to add to the rhetoric emanating from the mostly White men of cable  television, like the Keith Olbermanns of the world, as they tie  themselves up in knots defending the Constitution and the unfortunate  tendency of xenophobia, with righteous anger and pain at the level of  discourse in America. I certainly don&#39;t need to add anything to the  fears at &lt;em&gt;Fox and Friends&lt;/em&gt; of a Muslim takeover of this deeply Christian nation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Three weeks ago, in Delhi&#39;s old Muslim quarter around the Jama Masjid, I was shopping for my &lt;em&gt;kaffiyehs.&lt;/em&gt;  The controversy of the &quot;Ground Zero mosque&quot; had been raging on my  Facebook messages, already with many asking me to come out and write  against the &quot;right-wing nuts&quot;. As the merchant and I bargained about  whether the &lt;em&gt;kaffiyeh&lt;/em&gt; should be a dollar or two, I asked the  older gentleman selling me the scarves why he would want to sell them at  inflated prices to me. &quot;Because you come from &#39;Amreeka,&#39;&quot; he said. Clad  in &lt;em&gt;kurta pyjama&lt;/em&gt;, without a hint of an American accent (which I  have tried and failed to cultivate) I was surprised he thought I was  &quot;Amreekan.&quot; &quot;They can sense it,&quot; said my friend accompanying me, sotto  voce. &quot;It&#39;s about how you carry yourself now, that you have been away  ten years.&quot; Clearly, my demeanor would give me away. I asked him what he  thought of Obama. &quot;Obama,&quot; he said with a smile that elongated his  henna-dyed beard substantially, is a bhai, brother. I wondered if this  was just the kind of sentiment I had encountered in Arab countries after  2008, when most discussion about Obama&#39;s positive Muslim cred would  stop at his middle name, as if that was enough.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I must confess here that my middle name on Facebook since October 2008,  when a particular voter with questionable hair-drying techniques spat  out &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c-Ijky95dc&quot; target=&quot;_hplink&quot;&gt;He&#39;s an Arab&lt;/a&gt;!&quot;  at John Mc Cain, has been Hussein. I have proudly proclaimed to my  Facebook friends that the moment I lose faith in him, the middle name  will go. I haven&#39;t yet.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Fact is that any discussion of Obama&#39;s religious affiliations makes me  deeply uncomfortable. I am profoundly proud of this president and have  personally experienced how people in Muslim communities around the world  treat my choice to continue living in America differently after his  election.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But I also know the Islamic laws of patriarchy rather well. They have  been used to disabuse me of my own Muslim identity, by so many fellow  Muslims in the past.  Obama, unlike me, was born to a Muslim father who  may or may not have been religious. But for some who narrowly interpret  Islam&#39;s laws of patriarchy, this means that at best he is a Muslim and  at worst, a murtad, or apostate. Obama has made his preference for Jesus  over Muhammad rather well-known, in which case I guess for the  &quot;right-wing nuts&quot; in Islam, he would deserve the death penalty for  abandoning the religion he was born into.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Meanwhile, in the mindless chatter of cable television news, mostly  White men sit around these days throwing about poll numbers in which one  in four Americans apparently think that their President is a Muslim.   Occasionally the ones on the Left (read MSNBC) will parade a &quot;Muslim&quot;  guest like Irshad Manji--to many moderate Muslims I know, she is a much  reviled figure and an &quot;Islamophobe&quot; herself--who will speak in pithy  soundbites, with usually American, Canadian or British accents, about a  cultural universe they may know little about, having grown up Muslim in  the first world. (And this I have always said-there is a huge difference  between North American/ &quot;accented&quot;/ &quot;first-world&quot; Muslims and people  like Usman, who you meet below or the &lt;em&gt;kaffiyeh&lt;/em&gt; seller in Delhi).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rarely do we hear from fresh-off-the-boat Muslim immigrants who do not  have the invisibility of their accents, the types who populate the halal  food carts that can be found on every corner of Manhattan now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I spoke to one on Sixth Avenue. Usman is a rather handsome, young,  Egyptian man whose audio system belts out Beiruti diva Fairouz&#39;s lyrics  from his halal Food cart in this very commercial district, as he churns  out lamb gyro platters. &quot;I don&#39;t want this mosque,&quot; he says. &quot;I have one  in Queens. We pray in a basement and we are happy and left alone.&quot; He  adds, &quot;How can I go and pray in a place that will cause so much pain to  so many people?&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Usman, I wish you were on cable television instead of Irshad Manji and  all the other North American Muslims brought to air this political  season.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Usman, I agree with you. It&#39;s simple, really.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I, a mosque-loving Muslim, am against this mosque. (And like many of you  I detest Sarah Palin&#39;s rhetoric but at the same time have little  patience for Keith Olbermann&#39;s theatrics on this issue.) This leaves me  in a very uncomfortable (and probably not popular) middle.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Within the discipline of prayer and the sense of brotherhood and awe I  have felt in mosques around the world, I have discovered whatever little  spirituality I still possess. At the same time in America, I have also  been vocal and critical about everything that ails modern Islam and have  certainly had no time for the hateful rhetoric of the Rush Limbaughs of  the world that paints all Muslims with the same terrorist-red  brushstrokes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I still remain undecided about whether post-September 11 rhetoric in  America is just simply Islamophobic and whether this fundamentally is a  Christian nation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What I am certain about is this: I do know that the mostly tolerant  fabric of the city, which is now my home, is being damaged, irrevocably  perhaps, in this discussion.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Only in New York can I take the 1 train downtown and have a Rabbi with  his Torah sitting close to a North African man clutching a pocket Quran  with a scantily dressed Columbia University student reading Proust  sandwiched in the middle of them. But this same New York is now divided  around this rather expensive Cultural Center aka Mosque aka Culinary  school, two blocks from Ground Zero.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a nation that is notably short on history (compared to many of the  Islamic civilizations that predate it), Ground Zero definitely is sacred  ground. It is also a unique American space, where what seemed like  hours after the attacks, T-shirts and models of the towers were to be  found for gawking tourists, who eagerly posed for photographs amidst the  destruction.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My father always says there is a time and a place. My mosque-loving Muslim self doesn&#39;t feel this is the time or the place.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don&#39;t want to give the lunatic fringe of Islam (the Al-Qaedas and the  Talibans) reason to gloat. I do not want America&#39;s mostly tolerant  fabric destroyed by a structure so divisive that it will be hard for  someone like to me even go there and pray during Ramadan.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I come from a nation where Hindu-Muslim &quot;communal&quot; riots have been part  of life and where more than a thousand Muslims were massacred in their  ghettos in the Gujarati city of Ahmedabad by angry Hindu mobs in 2002. I  wonder how the Muslims of those neighborhoods would react to a prime  real estate Hindu temple being built in the vicinity of their ravaged  homes and lives?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Truth is that the media-savvy Imam Rauf, of Cordoba Initiative fame, has  come upon a public-relations gold mine. I have not met him for years  and am sure he would not even remember me. But I wonder if becoming a  nationally discussed and debated figure is such a bad thing for anybody.  He could well become &quot;America&#39;s Imam,&quot; just as a certain former mayor  of New York has appointed himself America&#39;s spokesperson for all things  9/11.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/563096389860504786/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=563096389860504786&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/563096389860504786'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/563096389860504786'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-i-am-against-ground-zero-mosque.html' title='Why I am against the &quot;Ground Zero Mosque&quot;'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-3987041692639444064</id><published>2009-12-21T08:00:00.003-05:00</published><updated>2009-12-21T08:03:38.267-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Public Screening in Dhaka !</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;For some time now, the film has been widely shown in Muslim countries-including a multi-city tour in Indonesia, where even protesters showed up at a screening and a hugely successful screening in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia attended by many including the former Prime Minister&#39;s daughter, who was reduced to tears.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;The latest is the following screening in Dhaka, Bangladesh-where I had filmed as well.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;If you are in Bangladesh, please go and tell all your friends to go as well.Click on this link below for details.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.goethe.de/ins/bd/dha/ver/en5423244v.htm&quot;&gt;A Jihad for Love in Dhaka, Bangladesh&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/3987041692639444064/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=3987041692639444064&amp;isPopup=true' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/3987041692639444064'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/3987041692639444064'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/12/public-screening-in-dhaka.html' title='Public Screening in Dhaka !'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-1716458766228338787</id><published>2009-10-19T09:40:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-10-19T09:42:27.972-04:00</updated><title type='text'>50 Visionaries Who are Changing Your World</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;I am honoured and excited to be named one of 50 visionaries by the leading progressive journal, UTNE Reader. The list which includes people far more deserving than me is headed by the Dalai Lama.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.utne.com/Arts/Parvez-Sharma-Filmmaker-Gay-Lesbian-Muslim-Islam.aspx&quot;&gt;Read more about it here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/1716458766228338787/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=1716458766228338787&amp;isPopup=true' title='9 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1716458766228338787'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1716458766228338787'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/50-visionaries-who-are-changing-your.html' title='50 Visionaries Who are Changing Your World'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>9</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-8246807292906451514</id><published>2009-09-22T13:50:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2009-09-22T13:53:02.045-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Lost in (translation) in Bishkek!</title><content type='html'>Yes, I am in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan!&lt;br /&gt;Will update when I can find the internet-&lt;br /&gt;For now-&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;profile_status&quot;&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;status_text&quot;&gt;Sweet Sixties bar in Bishkek- My bar buddies-An Uzbek couple, a Mongolian filmmaker, a Serb, a Russian and a Croatian Czech-scintillating conversation veers from Putin&#39;s sexiness to Balkan politics to Brezhnev to Shashtri&#39;s statue in Tashkent to Obama&#39;s unpopularity in the CIS-this is the life ;-) Coming up tomorrow-Horse meat for lunch! On TV now-Church TV!!! (The only English language channels are Church TV and &quot;Fox Crime&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&quot;)-and yes Russian MTV, Russian News or Putin News, and Tajik TV, and Turkmen TV and Kyrgyz TV.&lt;br /&gt;Got to love it.&lt;br /&gt;My ethnic Russian-Kyrgyz translator informed me how much locals (especially the older ones) long for a return to Soviet times. I can see why.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8246807292906451514/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=8246807292906451514&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8246807292906451514'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8246807292906451514'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/09/lost-in-translation-in-bishkek.html' title='Lost in (translation) in Bishkek!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-1614245897991216867</id><published>2009-08-16T23:07:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-08-18T13:32:01.280-04:00</updated><title type='text'>GET JIHAD AND ROCK YOUR CAMPUS!</title><content type='html'>&lt;h3 class=&quot;post-title entry-title&quot;&gt; &lt;/h3&gt;  &lt;div class=&quot;post-body entry-content&quot;&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;;font-family:courier new;font-size:130%;&quot;  &gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Thousands of students across the United States have participated in fierce and urgent discussions and engaged in an amazing learning process with &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; accompanied by filmmaker Parvez Sharma. These lecture/town hall screenings take students and faculty into a surprising world of an Islam that is poetic and erotic and sensual and dogmatic at the same time.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;In his inimitable style Parvez takes the audiences through a riveting journey at breakneck speeds through 14 centuries of Islamic history!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers.aspx?name=Parvez+Sharma&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;CLICK HERE AND BOOK THE FILM NOW FOR FALL 2009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-16/iraqs-anti-gay-pogrom/?cid=hp:mainpromo2&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;READ MY LATEST FEATURE ON THE DAILY BEAST HERE ON A SHOCKING NEW REPORT FROM IRAQ&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;THIS IS ALREADY ONE OF THE MOST READ AND SECOND MOST EMAILED STORIES ON THE IMMENSELY POPULAR WEBSITE!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/1614245897991216867/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=1614245897991216867&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1614245897991216867'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1614245897991216867'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/08/get-jihad-and-rock-your-campus_16.html' title='GET JIHAD AND ROCK YOUR CAMPUS!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-8334794124945889031</id><published>2009-08-09T12:55:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-08-09T12:58:44.795-04:00</updated><title type='text'>My Live Chat on NDTV</title><content type='html'>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/new/Ndtv-Show-Special.aspx?page=2&amp;amp;ID=257&amp;amp;#surfer&quot;&gt;This is the text of my live chat on NDTV with viewers, a few hours ago. (The abusive questions are not reproduced).&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;NDTV 24X7 is the TV broadcaster that has just shown &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; to millions of viewers across the world.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;14:30&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NDTV.com&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33072351&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: rgb(128, 0, 0);&quot;&gt;The forum is now closed for questions. But do keep sending us your comments on the film, A Jihad for Love.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33072092&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;14:06&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33072092&quot;&gt;The DVD can be bought at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ajihadforlove.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.ajihadforlove.com&lt;/a&gt; where links guide you to buying it outside the US and Canada! All your friends and family need to see it as it is a valuable resource for those who still live in fear or feel that they are alone and have no role models to look up to. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33072081&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;14:05&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33072081&quot;&gt;Thank you everyone! I applaud NDTV&#39;s courage and vision for showing a film like this and in generating a debate that is critical. Believe me not many broadcasters would have dared. So you should all support NDTV for its courage and you should please spread the word widely about the film, buy it (it has subtitles in 8 languages including Hindi and Urdu), vsit my blog and the website and if you wish-talk to me on Facebook and Twitter! Thanks again! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33072021&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;14:01&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33072021&quot;&gt;Hey Peter&lt;br /&gt;I certainly think the film tried to cover way too much! Islam is complicated and I wish I had just made the film about the closeted gay Muslim penguin on the beach in South Africa (for those of you who have not seen the film yet, this happens in the first 20 minutes!) But seriously-this is a complex issue and I think the film covers pretty tricky terrain rather well &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071996&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:59&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From peter ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071996&quot;&gt;Did the film try to cover too much? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071950&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:56&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071950&quot;&gt;Hey Miraj:&lt;br /&gt;My Jihad continues in many many ways. Do visit my blog all of you at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.ajihadforlove.blogspot.com&lt;/a&gt; and you will see how. I have been doing a lot of work with the situation in Iran as well for example. And tonight (or this morning, after this) there will be a Jihad for sleep ;-) &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071922&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:54&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071922&quot;&gt;Hey Deepak! Please watch the film again! Its a documentary-not a fiction film (though sometimes it does seem a little bit unreal!) Its almost 4:30 am here on the East coast in the States, so maybe my tongue is way more in my cheek than it usually is as well! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071891&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:52&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071891&quot;&gt;Hey Rahul&lt;br /&gt;I am not very good at predicting the future! I dont think in our lifetimes we will see a worldwide acceptance of homosexuality, not from the Vatican and certainly not from Islam or even lets say the RSS/BJP gang. Now my own future? Thats way more interesting. There is a book in the works. I travel a lot and speak way too much around the world and people seem to listen so far (so thats a good thing) and honestly I am plotting a return to India to make a subversive Bollywood film-that is if they can deal with a completely out and proud homosexual filmmaker! (so many in that town are completely in the closet ;-)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071851&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:48&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071851&quot;&gt;Hey Komal&lt;br /&gt;The greater Jihad in Islam is the Jihad ul Nafs, or the struggle within the self. This can manifest in many ways and most of them are ones of faith and contemplation. Jihad has been used variously through Islamic history-for example a particularly rich period of Arab (mostlt Egyptian) literature was referred to as the Jihad of the Pen. However there are also those who claim that Jihad is just Holy War and equate that with killing innocent people and that is the kind of interpretation that needs to be challenged by many more Muslims and condemned publicly by more Ulema in the Muslim world. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071811&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:45&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071811&quot;&gt;Hey McLovin: I seem to get a lot of McLovin from most Muslims, most of the time! I am mostly fatwa-free still and there is a reason for that. Unlike &quot;Muslim&quot; opportunists like Irshad Manji I do not attack my own religion and I feel that people value that. There are way too many people like her who have made an industry out of working with right wing conservatives in defaming a 1428 year old religion while having pretty much no understanding of it. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071766&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:42&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071766&quot;&gt;Eisha: Islam has a very large heart and more Muslims need to pick up cameras and tell our stories unfiltered! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071742&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:40&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Komal ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071742&quot;&gt;My view-- &quot;jihad&quot; speaks not of holy war but of spiritual struggle...do you agree ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071700&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:38&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Eisha ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071700&quot;&gt;Does islam have room for this kind of cinema &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071691&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:37&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071691&quot;&gt;Hey Athar&lt;br /&gt;A simple google search will correct the many falsehoods in your question. Homosexuality is NOT a major factor in HIV-infact the largest number of infections happen in heterosexual populations. My film DOES NOT show Islam as a backward religion because the people in the film are true believers who love their Islam. And as far as condemning homosexuality as a Muslim goes Athar, I agree that most Muslims think it is wrong. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071642&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:35&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071642&quot;&gt;Tina: Fundraising is a huge challenge and young filmmakers like me struggle a lot. I hope things become easier with the huge success of this, my first film. But independent filmmaking is tough. It took us years to get the big broadcasters on board even though the subject matter for them was &quot;sexy&quot;. A record number of foundations also funded this film. And we were extremely lucky to get distribution in theaters in the US and Canada atleast &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071604&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:33&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Tina ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071604&quot;&gt;Hi Parvez, does money ever become a constraint for a young filmmaker like you ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071596&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:33&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071596&quot;&gt;Manisha: I lived through eight years of George Bush when the values of democracy and free speech were a mirage! So America was not the greatest place to be in. Its only now, after Obama that it feels a little bit (and not always) like the promised land again! I even took on Obamas middle name as my Facebook name when he won (and I was not alone). Lets see what he does with Muslim issues. With immigration. With healthcare and yes &quot;gay marriage&quot; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071594&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:33&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Michelle ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071594&quot;&gt;Any part you wish you had shot differently ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071560&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:31&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071560&quot;&gt;Sure Saurabh: I did feel like running for cover because I was always filming undercover anyway! Whenever I was in tricky situations I was able to bribe the police and found that the bribe system works as well in Cairo as it does in your local police station in Gurgaon! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071540&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:30&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071540&quot;&gt;Hey Yashika&lt;br /&gt;The film has been playing around the world. You can see it on NDTV now and it is also on DVD which you can buy when you click on &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ajihadforlove.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.ajihadforlove.com&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071521&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:29&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071521&quot;&gt;Vijay:&lt;br /&gt;I agree that calling homosexuality &quot;unnatural&quot; in 2009 makes no sense! However we have to understand that for the majority of people all over the world, cultural and/or religion dictate the heterosexual norm. I am able to understand the other side (and it took me a long time to get there). It is also interesting as I said earlier that Hindu and Muslim &quot;leaders&quot; in India can agree on little, but definitely seem to agree on the sin of homosexualty! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071520&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:29&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Saurabh ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071520&quot;&gt;Hi Parvez, did you while filming at any point in time feel the desperate urge to leave your camera behind and run for cover !! Just a fun question !! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071515&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:28&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Yashika ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071515&quot;&gt;Hey! When does the movie release and where? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071479&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:26&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071479&quot;&gt;Hey Saurabh&lt;br /&gt;The reaction in the West has been amazing! This film has now been seen in 49 countries by more than 4 million people at last count (and I dont have the NDTV numbers yet). I think for Western audiences the film has also been a primer on Islam, almost like an Islam 101 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071439&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:24&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Saurabh ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071439&quot;&gt;How has the western world reacted to your film ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071434&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:23&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071434&quot;&gt;Lokesh: All three monothesims condemn homosexuality and let us not forget that even in America there are large sections of the country that are deeply moralistic, conservative and Christian-and disapprove of homosexuality in ways that mirror Islamic disapproval. I think the problem lies in a nation like Egypt, where a supposedly &quot;secular&quot; but dictatorial regime carried out a pogrom against gay men and whenever the state starts policing peoples bedrooms we have problems &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071396&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:21&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071396&quot;&gt;Hey Muneera:&lt;br /&gt;Its about time a prehistoric law like 377 was sent to the dustbin of history! Its the worst thing the British left in India,Pakistan, Bangladesh. It is outdated and creates huge problems. I am not sure how this will play out at a governmental level and I am very interested in seeing how the ruling by the Delhi High Court will be seen in Pakistan and Bangladesh especially. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071386&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:20&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Lokesh ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071386&quot;&gt;Parvez, if the world’s most popular religion denounces homosexuality, what sets this brand of anti-gay sentiment apart from others? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071382&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:19&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071382&quot;&gt;Hi Carla: Yes racism and Islamophobia are a way of life in the West, post September 11. Interestingly in Muslim communities/countries I was invisible because I looked like everybody else but it was always coming back to the US when the visas in my passport lead to fun times at the airport! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071363&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:17&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071363&quot;&gt;Hey Roshan: For me the gay Imam in South Africa with the three children was the most intelectually engaging. However the two women you see in Egypt were the most compelling (Maryam and Maha) because their struggle was just so impossible-Maryam infact said repeatedly that in order to feel that she was a good Muslim she felt she needed to be punished. That was tragic and also at the very heart of the film. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071344&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:15&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071344&quot;&gt;Dear Mr Coorg:&lt;br /&gt;I am actually a great defender of Islam! Have you seen my film or read any of my interviews easily available on the web? Infact I think it would be very wrong to compare me to the people you mention. Please see and absorb &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; and I promise you that your conclusion will be different. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071320&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:14&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Mishi Raina ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071320&quot;&gt;Your film fails to address the issue of how has homophobia evolved in the Muslim world? Could you elaborate? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071309&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:13&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071309&quot;&gt;Hey Rahul: Most filmmakers will look at their work in critical ways and I am no exception ;-) If I was to do the film again I would have done the parts in Iran completely differently and perhaps I would also have let some of my current pessimism shine through a bit more. Because now, after a year of traveling I do not think that there can be a Quranic or theological &quot;solution&quot; to the &quot;problem&quot; of homosexuality (please do note the quotes) that is acceptable to one billion plus Muslims. I also do not think that any religion is going to be &quot;comfortable&quot; with homosexuality in any of our lifetimes. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071276&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:11&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From mr.coorg ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071276&quot;&gt;Those who write against Islam will always become famous! tatz what history tells us! example: salman rushdie, naipul, tasleema and there will be no doubt next in the number will be U, can u please comment on this? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071267&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:11&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Roshan ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071267&quot;&gt;Who was the film&#39;s most compelling subject ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071260&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:10&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071260&quot;&gt;Tanmay: I do not feel there is a sense of Muslim brotherhood at all! Islam is way too diverse and for most of the time Muslims cannot agree on most things. I certainly feel no brotherhood with Bin Laden or Kassab. And I think this lack of unity worldwide has created tremendous problems-but the complexity of what is the worlds fastest growing religion (Islam) makes it pretty impossible for there to be any kind of unity &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071212&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:07&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071212&quot;&gt;Shailija: I have traveled very widely around the world with this film, in more countries than I can even remember and yes that travel and exposure to diverse cultures (and also the diversity of Islam) has lead me to believe that one persons terrorist can be another persons freedom fighter. It may not be very kosher to say this in India, but Kashmir is a perfect example where people across the border look at the same situation in completely different ways. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071164&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:04&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071164&quot;&gt;Noopur: In some ways it took a lifetime, of trying and understanding parts of my faith and parts of my mixed heritage and my own sexuality. And in reality I started filming in 2002 right after September 11. I dont live in India anymore, but I do feel it is easier to be gay in India today. I came out at a young age when I was in India, but at that time not many people were able to do so. However strong cultural and religious barriers remain. And isnt it interesting to see right wing Hindus and Muslims speak in the same voice to condemn the Section 377 ruling? I always say-nothing unites Hindus, Muslims and Jews more than their fear of homosexuality! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071116&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:01&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071116&quot;&gt;Imran: Nothing has given me greater pleasure than seeing Western audiences go up to the box office here in the US for example (the film was released in theaters across the country) and say &quot;Can I have two tickets for Jihad please?&quot;. This is why I chose the title. To take the discussion of Islam away from just violence. To reclaim some of the true meanings of words that we have been taught to forget and that includes Jihad which really means an inner struggle (Nafs) to be a better Muslim. And to put Jihad and Love right next to each other is a powerful statement for a powerful film. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071080&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname altcaster_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;12:59&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext altcaster_text altcaster_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://media.coveritlive.com/media/avitars/phpwWE8L9parvez.JPG&quot; style=&quot;margin-right: 5px;&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;48&quot; width=&quot;48&quot; /&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Parvez Sharma&lt;/strong&gt;:  &lt;span id=&quot;txt33071080&quot;&gt;Salam alaikum Yassir- I have read the Holy Quran very well and do consider myself a good Muslim. Let me ask you this-where in the Quran does Allah swt ask us to judge the faith of other Muslims? Is he not the one who will decide finally? Lets respect the basic tenets of our religion and believe me when you see the film, the respect for Islam is what you see. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33071043&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;12:56&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Naman ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33071043&quot;&gt;If Islam is okay with polygamy, why not homosexuality? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33070587&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;12:32&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Yasir ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33070587&quot;&gt;I want to ask, just one thing. Have you read the Quran or are you a Muslim just by name? You need to follow Quran and Islam to be called a Muslim. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33070569&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;12:31&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Imran ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33070569&quot;&gt;I want to ask you the sole meaning of keeping this name &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33070261&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;12:11&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Noopur ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33070261&quot;&gt;Parvez how long did it take you to make the film? Do you feel it&#39;s easier to be gay in India today as compared to say 7-8 yrs ago? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33062936&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:18&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Surekha ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33062936&quot;&gt;Parvez, even while exploring the religous and cultural differences of the gay community across Islamic countries, how did you manage to retain the commonality in all of them: that of Jihad? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33062283&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:10&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Carla ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33062283&quot;&gt;Have you ever been a victim of racism, manifested mostly in just getting around with your muslim names in western nations ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33062278&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:10&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Shailja ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33062278&quot;&gt;One person’s terrorist is another persons freedom fighter- do you believe that&#39;s true ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33062271&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:10&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Tanmay ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33062271&quot;&gt;Parvez, do you believe there still exists a sense of Muslim brotherhood around the world ? Any instance that makes you believe that ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33061810&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:04&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Akshit ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33061810&quot;&gt;Parvez, through this film, could you reclaim the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad? What is Jihad, please explain. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33061802&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:04&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Muneera ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33061802&quot;&gt;Your film comes at a time when Section 377 of the Indian penal code has been successfully challenged. Do you believe acceptance of the film will now come by more easily ? also what&#39;s your view on the judgement &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33061789&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:04&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Rahul ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33061789&quot;&gt;Parvez, do you disagree with any part of your film and feel you could have executed it better ? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33058850&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;08:32&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Suhail Ahmed ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33058850&quot;&gt;Kudos to Parvez to highlighted this thorny issue of homosxuality. Its natural desire one cannot deny it. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33010664&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;18:52&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From rahul ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33010664&quot;&gt;the film is great. But what&#39;s the future? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33000235&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;11:56&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Nadeem ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33000235&quot;&gt;Almost of third of countries worldwide still criminalises same sex relationships and seven carry the death penalty for the offence. Parvez, what in your opinion will ensure a change in mindset? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33000229&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;11:56&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Sunaina]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33000229&quot;&gt;Your film is an intelligent and honest appraisal of Islam as a multi-denominational religious experience. Share with us your most memorable thoughts or discoveries while shooting the fim? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33000222&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;11:56&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Miraj Qureshi ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33000222&quot;&gt;Parvez, we Muslims are members of the world&#39;s fastest growing religion, indeed the second largest. We are all waging several jihads within ourselves. Does the Jihad still continue for you? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row33000221&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;11:56&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Manisha ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt33000221&quot;&gt;Values of tolerance, of democracy, of free speech-- is that why you chose America? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row32999308&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;11:07&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From vijay ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt32999308&quot;&gt;I am not sure about what the scriptures say, but both muslims and hindu fundamentalists are against homosexuals, much like Hitler was. We dont know yet if homosexual traits are conditioned or are genetic. Whatever the case may be, calling it un-natural is foolishness. If humans really blv in natural living then we should stop wearing clothes, using technology, cooking food, etc. since all this is un-natural too. What&#39;s your take? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row32928567&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;09:49&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Athar ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt32928567&quot;&gt;Well homosexuality is not illegal but prohibited not only in Islam but other major religions like Christianity, hinduism, etc. It is a major factor in rising cases ofHIV/AIDS. So don&#39;t know why we are promoting such an evil and that too by using Islam as a scapegoat and displaying it as a backward religion which has not upgraded but in fact it is a way of life decided by the creator (who knows much more than we do) and when HE commands us not to indulge then why do we question it when there are so many scientific proof out there. Parvez why are you trying to show that muslims will have to accept homo stuff, if we want to coexist? What is your take Parvez? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;div id=&quot;row32859728&quot; class=&quot;chatmsg&quot;&gt;&lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;16:19&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From McLovin ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt32859728&quot;&gt;Hi I was wondering how the Muslim community reacts to the fact that you are gay and a Muslim? Considering the fact that homosexuality is illegal in Islam. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;table&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr valign=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;chatmsgname viewer_text&quot; nowrap=&quot;nowrap&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;width: 45px;&quot;&gt;13:14&lt;/div&gt; &lt;/td&gt;&lt;td class=&quot;guestmsgtext viewer_text viewer_text_size&quot; style=&quot;background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;&quot;&gt;[Comment From Deepak ]&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span id=&quot;txt32856838&quot;&gt;Parvez does this reflect your own thought with actors playing it out or are they projecting their own struggles? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8334794124945889031/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=8334794124945889031&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8334794124945889031'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8334794124945889031'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-live-chat-on-ndtv.html' title='My Live Chat on NDTV'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-7162440297786851364</id><published>2009-08-07T13:35:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2009-08-07T13:39:17.949-04:00</updated><title type='text'>GET JIHAD AND ROCK YOUR CAMPUS!</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Thousands of students across the United States have participated in fierce and urgent discussions and engaged in an amazing learning process with &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; accompanied by filmmaker Parvez Sharma. These lecture/town hall screenings take students and faculty into a surprising world of an Islam that is poetic and erotic and sensual and dogmatic at the same time.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;In his inimitable style Parvez takes the audiences through a riveting journey at breakneck speeds through 14 centuries of Islamic history!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers.aspx?name=Parvez+Sharma&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;CLICK HERE AND BOOK THE FILM NOW FOR FALL 2009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7162440297786851364/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=7162440297786851364&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7162440297786851364'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7162440297786851364'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/08/get-jihad-and-rock-your-campus.html' title='GET JIHAD AND ROCK YOUR CAMPUS!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-8914251908522899172</id><published>2009-08-05T10:47:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2009-08-05T10:50:59.850-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Jihad in India, UAE, Africa, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and more!</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Hello everyone&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;NDTV 24x7 is doing a great job promoting the second broadcasts of &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; this coming weekend.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Check it out-visit the site-chat live with me at 1 pm India time on Sunday and much, much more.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Spread the word. This is the first chance that people in many countries will have a chance to see the film and react. For me personally this is very significant as India is my home country and I also know that enormous numbers of Muslims will now be able to watch the film easily. Click on this link below and even see Part 1 in the region (only available for a limited time)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/new/Ndtv-Show-Special.aspx?ID=257&quot;&gt;A Jihad for Love : Being Gay and Muslim ONLY ON NDTV!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/8914251908522899172/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=8914251908522899172&amp;isPopup=true' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8914251908522899172'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/8914251908522899172'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/08/jihad-in-india-uae-africa-middle-east.html' title='Jihad in India, UAE, Africa, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and more!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-3161587964186717996</id><published>2009-08-01T08:20:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2009-08-02T17:37:06.206-04:00</updated><title type='text'>STILL ALIVE AS MY FILM DOESN&#39;T ATTACK ISLAM</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;That, my friends, is the screaming headline on the front page of the Bombay newspaper Midday today. I must clarify that there are several misquotes, which is a fact of life I should be getting used to, having spoken to media all around the world. For example, I did not say &quot;Fatwa-fine&quot; but I said &quot;fatwa-free.&quot; I did not speak about family at all. The quote, &quot;Leaving it means leaving your food, music,&quot; is a simplification of a more complex quote in which I said leaving Islam is like leaving your family, your community, your culture and even seemingly small things like what you eat, the kind of music you listen to, how you view the world, etc.  And there are several more. However, I must also give credit to the journalist who did spend a considerable amount of time with me on the phone, though she did not manage to get all of my quotes just right.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;Here it is; the abusive comments are already on there. Decide for yourselves.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.mid-day.com/whatson/2009/aug/010809-Muslims-Parvez-Sharma-photographs-Jihad-Muslims.htm&quot;&gt;MIDDAY article and interview on the Indian broadcast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;Here are just two of the recent comments:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div  style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; class=&quot;discusstopic1&quot; align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;       &lt;span style=&quot;font-size:100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic;&quot;&gt;You r an Ignorant and Abnormal person       &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;              &lt;span style=&quot;font-size:100%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;        Dear Parvez &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;NO harsh words but an advice: DONT MESS WITH THE NATURE OR NATURE WILL MESS WITH YOU &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;Have u ever seen a lion mating a donkey? a snake mating a rat????? then why on Earth are you bent on making this obscene act as worthy and ok to carry on???? Go and make the movie but why are u using a religion in between???? May Allah Guide you and Show you the Right Path and give you strength and wisdom to accept and follow the Right Path. amen. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; &gt;and then this, a more positive one.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;       &lt;div  style=&quot;font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; class=&quot;discusstopic1&quot; align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:100%;&quot;&gt;       WELL DONE       &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;              &lt;div  style=&quot;font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot; class=&quot;discusstext1&quot; align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:100%;&quot;&gt; I THINK BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH US IS THAT WE ALL ARE HYPOCRATS.WE DON&#39;T WANT TO FACE THE REAL WORLD.WHATEVER PARVEZ IS SHOWING IT EXIST IN THE SOCIETY AND WE SHOULD APPRECIATE HIS EFFORTS. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt; 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&lt;/textarea&gt;        &lt;/td&gt;       &lt;/tr&gt;       &lt;tr&gt;        &lt;input name=&quot;reply_message_parent&quot; id=&quot;reply_message_parent39000&quot; value=&quot;39000&quot; type=&quot;hidden&quot;&gt;         &lt;input name=&quot;reply_iMsgid&quot; id=&quot;reply_iMsgid39000&quot; value=&quot;39000&quot; type=&quot;hidden&quot;&gt;         &lt;input name=&quot;reply_level&quot; id=&quot;reply_level39000&quot; value=&quot;0&quot; type=&quot;hidden&quot;&gt;         &lt;td colspan=&quot;2&quot;&gt;         &lt;input name=&quot;Submit&quot; value=&quot;Submit&quot; onclick=&quot;validateReplyForm()&quot; type=&quot;button&quot;&gt;        &lt;/td&gt;       &lt;/tr&gt;       &lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;       &lt;/form&gt;      &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/3161587964186717996/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=3161587964186717996&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/3161587964186717996'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/3161587964186717996'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/08/still-alive-as-my-film-doesnt-attack.html' title='STILL ALIVE AS MY FILM DOESN&#39;T ATTACK ISLAM'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-1741628996759562830</id><published>2009-07-31T11:17:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-07-31T13:40:58.095-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Watch &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; on Indian Television and across Asia, Africa, Middle East!</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;&quot; &gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I have just returned from being a keynote speaker at the World Outgames in Copenhagen. I was humbled to learn the extent of the worldwide impact of this film from delegates from countries we had not been able to easily reach.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;And now-that impact is going to increase a thousand fold when beginning tomorrow you can watch &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; on one of the most watched networks in Indian Television.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;NDTV 24X7 which has a very large footprint across the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East will be broadcasting &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; on the following dates and times (Indian time/calculate accordingly for your own region if you get this television channel in your own country). &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;This is historic and important in a time when Section 377 of the Indian penal code has been successfully challenged and this will increase the number of viewers and nations this film has been seen in, significantly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Here are the times (all times are Indian Standard Time)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Part 1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Aug 1, 2009: 3 - 4 pm&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Aug 2, 2009: 1 - 2 pm&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Part 2&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Aug 8, 2009: 3 - 4 pm&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Aug 9, 2009: 1 - 2 pm&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;NDTV 24X7 can be seen in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, UAE (including Sharjah, Dubai and Abu-Dhabi), South Africa, Singapore, Mauritius, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and on many platforms in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the UK and Canada. Check your local TV/cable listings for your individual countries and times.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Please tune in, in your own countries and spread the word widely. This is a huge opportunity for millions across the world and in many countries we have not been able to reach before, to view the film.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div  style=&quot;font-weight: bold;font-family:courier new;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/1741628996759562830/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=1741628996759562830&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1741628996759562830'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1741628996759562830'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/07/watch-jihad-for-love-on-indian.html' title='Watch &quot;A Jihad for Love&quot; on Indian Television and across Asia, Africa, Middle East!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-4789231490073144770</id><published>2009-06-21T12:50:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-06-21T13:13:01.560-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Iran</title><content type='html'>For the last few days I have been reporting from various sources on the situation inside Tehran.&lt;br /&gt;Some of these reports can be found at the following links.&lt;br /&gt;I even ventured into enemy territory (Fox News) yesterday to try and highlight the stories of these amazing people without punditry. Not being Iranian, I was extremely reluctant to go but also realized that all I really needed to do was report back what I knew.&lt;br /&gt;We need to tell the news broadcasters to stop being arrogant about the unfiltered reports from the streets, which I prefer any day to pontificating stand-ups from reporters.&lt;br /&gt;I urge everyone to also exercise extreme caution in what you post about the situation. Remember that all of us have friends there. Remember that it is very hard for them to send us information. And remember that lives are at risk here&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-20/eyewitness-account-my-brother-was-beaten/?cid=bsa:moreauthor1&quot;&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&quot;Eyewitness Account: My Brother was Beaten&quot; Daily Beast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-18/memo-from-the-streets-of-tehran/?cid=bsa:moreauthor3&quot;&gt;Memo from the Streets of Tehran: Arash Aryan, Part 1, Daily Beast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-19/memo-from-the-streets-of-tehran-part-ii/?cid=bsa:moreauthor3&quot;&gt;Memo from the Streets of Tehran: Part 2, Daily Beast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-06-20/memo-from-the-streets-of-tehran-part-iii/?cid=bsa:moreauthor1&quot;&gt;Memo from the Streets of Iran: Part 3, Daily Beast&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On the Huffington Post you will find reportage and some opinion (based on real conversations and not punditry) at the following links.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/there-will-be-blood----ex_b_217903.html&quot;&gt;There will be Blood: Huffington Post&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/a-report-from-tehran-this_b_216339.html&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A Report from Inside as Tehran Twitters: Huffington Post&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/the-basij-will-face-retri_b_218311.html&quot;&gt;The Basij will face retribution: Exiled by regime Mohsen Kadivar gives his own sermon: Huffington Post&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/tehelka-in-tehran_b_215581.html&quot;&gt;Tehelka in Tehran: Huffington Post&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If I am not responding to your many emails on facebook, on my personal email and here-it is beacuse I am likely talking to someone there or tracking reliable information to put out there. Reliable is the key word. This is not the time for hysteria or factionalism.&lt;br /&gt;I have not been a reporter for some nine years, but circumstances, dear friends and the messages I could no longer ignore-have made me one in some way, for the time being.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Finally I leave you with the Surah Fatiha, the first Surah in the Quran, the translation of which may give you some insight on how those fighting the custodians of religion in Tehran are not without faith themselves. Their Allahuakbars (God is Great!) resound louder from the roooftops of Tehran every night.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot; lang=&quot;ar&quot;&gt;بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيم&lt;br /&gt;الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين&lt;br /&gt;الرَّحْمـنِ الرَّحِيم&lt;br /&gt;مَـالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّين&lt;br /&gt;إِيَّاك نَعْبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين&lt;br /&gt;اهدِنَــــا الصِّرَاطَ المُستَقِيمَ&lt;br /&gt;صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنعَمتَ عَلَيهِمْ غَيرِ المَغضُوبِ عَلَيهِمْ وَلاَ الضَّالِّين&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/4789231490073144770/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=4789231490073144770&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4789231490073144770'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4789231490073144770'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/06/iran.html' title='Iran'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-7528998139330307888</id><published>2009-06-17T14:12:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2009-06-17T14:13:50.782-04:00</updated><title type='text'>New on Huffington Post: A Report from inside as Tehran twitters</title><content type='html'>&lt;div class=&quot;entry_body_text&quot;&gt;      &lt;p&gt;Suddenly there is no dearth of Iranian punditry on cable television, with &quot;academics&quot; and &quot;Iran experts&quot; languishing in the dank closets of academia, brought out to air on every US network. Unfortunately none of us can easily watch BBC World or Al-Jazeera here, to even begin to fathom another perspective.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The results within the limited-attention-span-and-mind-numbing-stupidity of cable news have been mostly laughable. It is admirable that pretty-boy &quot;journalists&quot; like Anderson Cooper can at least start to pronounce Azadi Square right, though the shrill reportage of CNN&#39;s Pakistan correspondent Reza Sayah who has a distinct American accent remains humorous. Just yesterday he invoked his knowledge of Tehran geography repeatedly with his Vali Asr sounding like &quot;Wall Ass&quot;.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Ridiculous debates with neo-con Iran &quot;experts&quot; continue and will probably only rise in crescendo in the next hours and days. I almost wish that those in Tehran could watch the spectacle of US &quot;media&quot; falling all over themselves trying to report from behind the Chador, while exclaiming the virtues of Twitter (though those virtues do need to be acknowledged in this case). If for nothing else, the profound discovery they (the US media) have now made of the net-savvy Iranian citizens (better at beating every firewall known to man than most) is a cause for celebration.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;One Iranian friend I managed to get on the phone had an interesting theory about why the Guardian Council would rather hang Ahmadinejad (now conveniently traipsing in Russia) out to dry than see any erosion in their (now uncertain) stranglehold of the country. She also pointed out that it was fascinating to see a loyal servant of the revolution (and certainly not a reformist in his recent past life) Mousavi turn into the &quot;great green hope&quot; for reform. While there is blood on the streets and an amazing energy as well, from my brief conversations with Tehran, there seems to be a surplus of cynicism too, at least from those who are living it, unlike many of us, including me, sitting here and pontificating. (and Iranian punditry, I do not claim-but getting blogs out from people there, is a critical concern for me).&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;However, what happens today with the Assembly of Experts meeting is going to be fascinating. Maybe the abiding principle of the revolution -- the &quot;Valiyat e Faqih&quot; (the guardianship of the &quot;jurists&quot;/the rule of the clerics) is finally under enough threat to warrant such a meeting.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;There are also widespread rumours on the street that Basij-like Arabic speakers are on the street wielding truncheons. If this is true-it is disturbing and alarming because then the regime has flown them in by the planeloads as it had done before, during student unrests in the nineties.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Another friend pointed out that she was not optimistic that this 1388 would bring a revolution -- and her only hope was that all those lovely people in Sabz (green) would be the precursor for a larger movement that will build over the next four Ahmadinejad filled years and finally unseat the Mullahs.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;As I promised, here is a blog report filed in the middle of the night by a dear friend in Tehran.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Negin is a blogger and a filmmaker who works part time with state television -- and as you can see she writes with irony and despair. Negin&#39;s tongue usually is firmly in her cheek. English is not Negin&#39;s first language and I have decided to reproduce this just as she wrote it.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;My mobile phone kept on ringing all day long and I missed most of them because of bad connection. When I arrived home I had more than 20 messages on my answering machine. Friends from all over the world are trying to reach us to get the news and be sure of our safety. The connection is cut or that bad that we have to guess our conversations. But among the entire phone calls one was very clear and that was my mother who was asking for some computer assistance; she has recently joined the facebook and cannot stand the fact that her favorite site is filtered. &lt;p&gt;She seems to be that excited that has stopped complaining my father for following the news day and night. They both are either outside in the middle of the city or have glued to the television to follow their missing news.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Until a few days ago most of the people believed that this is just the voice of suppressed students and youngsters but now we don&#39;t believe our eyes. &quot;No fear, no fear...we are together.&quot; This is what we all heard today from millions of people from different generation in Tehran. &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;When our coordinator from State television studio called me this afternoon to confirm the appointments for the next week, he asked me about the background noise. We hardly could hear each other. He has the image of a typical secret agent to me. He never takes part in any discussion at work. &quot;I got stuck in traffic and a big crowd.&quot; This is how I replied. &quot;I got stuck in the same thing last night and went back to the state TV and stayed over the night in my office!&quot; I heard something different in his tone of voice. I guess he wanted to share something but hesitated. &quot;God bless you wherever you are.&quot; He said this before hanging up.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;The number of people participated in the demonstration surprised everyone but what has fascinated me is the variety of people in their outfit and social status.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;At the beginning I thought this is going to be the fight between lower class and middle class but what I saw today changed my biased opinion. I saw many old and young women wearing black chador and covered from head to toe shouting and chanting among the demonstrators and joining the young girls in the front line whom were sitting on the ground in the middle of the street to stop Bassij militia walking inside the crowd. I&#39;m happy to say that that image will never wipe away from my mind. Those women with loose colorful scarves had opened their arms ready to be killed in the front line while the others were beaten up at the other side of the street. I didn&#39;t need a tear gas; my tears were rolling down already.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;People want to be heard and supported by the rest of the world. They were sending messages to the west in front of the western cameras. Appointing to Obama and Sarkozy they were demanding the free west to not to recognize this government. I saw a few women shouting: &quot;Now it&#39;s your turn to support the democracy and human rights.&quot; &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;&quot;The fear is gone; nothing seems to be an obstacle anymore, they can filter all the websites and shutdown the internet, sms service or mobile but they cannot shut our mouth.&quot; This is what I hear all the time. &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;Late at night everyone wants to share his/her experience with others. Telephones are none stop ringing. Sara my girl friend called me half an hour ago; she had heard the gun fire near her house and had seen many people in blood. Although she was panicked and need to talk to someone, she hanged up the phone to go to the roof to shout, and within a few minutes I heard my neighbors shouting Allaho Akbar (God is great) from their balconies.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;I remember how sometimes irritated I was by hearing the loud prayer call which starts by the same phrase: Allaho Akbar and now this phrase is turned to be the most beautiful one.&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;After a while I called back my mother to help her out with her computer problem. She didn&#39;t answer the phone, perhaps she is on the roof too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;  &lt;p&gt;I have just introduced Negin to a major US newspaper who were looking for voices out of Tehran -- and hopefully you will see her blog reports on there soon. (watch this space).&lt;/p&gt;            &lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/7528998139330307888/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=7528998139330307888&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7528998139330307888'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/7528998139330307888'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-on-huffington-post-report-from.html' title='New on Huffington Post: A Report from inside as Tehran twitters'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-5164120856277989618</id><published>2009-05-20T12:10:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2009-05-20T12:12:27.771-04:00</updated><title type='text'>India Shining? Not Quite.</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Please go &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/india-shining-not-quite_b_204928.html&quot;&gt;here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt; to the Huffington Post and post comments on a very different perspective on the Indian elections. It is better if comments are posted on &lt;/span&gt;&lt;a style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot; href=&quot;http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-sharma/india-shining-not-quite_b_204928.html&quot;&gt;the Huffington Post page&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: courier new; font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt; to generate a discussion.&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/5164120856277989618/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=5164120856277989618&amp;isPopup=true' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/5164120856277989618'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/5164120856277989618'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/05/india-shining-not-quite.html' title='India Shining? Not Quite.'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-4996341981949015215</id><published>2009-04-22T08:41:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2009-04-22T08:41:49.700-04:00</updated><title type='text'>There are no direct flights from Tel Aviv to Tehran</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;The Facebook Universe is remarkable. After my recent post &quot;Poor, Israel? Sure, and I am Barack Obama&quot; I got a flurry of immediate responses. I had blogged hastily, still shaking with anger at the events that unfolded yesterday on a panel organized by UN Watch, an organization with a very particular worldview, as I now know. I blogged pretty much on the run and realized that in an instant world, people do react instantly. One gentleman took it upon himself to berate me repeatedly in comments that came fast and came furious.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;He said: &quot;I was responding entirely to what you wrote in your HuffPost piece: ‘an erudite Canadian professor. . . threw around a baffling and hard-to-explain term: “genocidal anti-Semitism.” Only he knows what he means, I certainly do not!’ As far as I can figure, there are only two ways to interpret this statement: either (1) you&#39;re casting doubt on the existence of genocidal anti-Semitism as a phenomenon; or (2) your vocabulary is so challenged that you literally don&#39;t understand the meaning of the words.&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;He then proceeded soon after to &quot;un-friend&quot; me making a ceremonious announcement on my &quot;wall&quot; and this of course lead to other messages from &quot;friends&quot; who either agreed with me or with him.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Shattered (!) by the un-friending I have now composed myself enough to offer the following.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I do understand &quot;genocidal anti-Semitism&quot; rather well, at least as it applies to the horrors of the Second World War. As someone said to me once, &quot;Parvez, but all your best friends are Jewish!&quot; This still remains true. On the misguided panel at the UN, sitting next to me was a Rwandan woman, survivor of a rather recent genocide, which receives close to no attention compared to the annual commemorations of the Shoah. Next to her sat a man from Darfur, where the genocide that is now fashionable for Hollywood stars to opine on, continues. Both the Rwandan and the Darfur-ian got time to speak in their accented English and there were collective sighs from the assembled, majority White audience when they mentioned the recent massacres of their entire families. When it was the turn of the moderator to introduce a Canadian professor I felt a complete shift in rhetoric as he chose to preface his introduction with the presence of the President of Iran in the same building. What followed was the Professor’s written argument against the Iranian state and the conflation of the Shoah with the massacres in Rwanda and Sudan. The Professor was not interested in discussing the continuing racism and apartheid of the Israeli nation. He extolled the virtues of a shared history of genocide with the unsuspecting Africans. He went on to share his horror and disgust at Iran’s parading of its missiles and the possibility of its nuclear program. The coming Islamic bomb and its ability to add to the insecurity and neuroses of the Israeli state were cause for immense fear in his argument. What finally did it for me was to use the horrific history of the genocidal anti-Semitism of the second world war as a contemporary argument to denounce Ahmadinejad, who has been more bluster than action and has certainly not yet engaged in any kind of Hitlerian pogrom to annihilate millions of Jews.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I was angry at how the Rwandan and the Darfur-ian were paraded in front of this group, only to have their real loss confronted with the polemics of an obviously well-paid, comfortable, white professor living clearly in the so called “free world”. Later this very shy Rwandan woman thanked me quietly for being ”honest” as she put it. I still wonder if she fully understood the flawed logic of that particular panel and how I atleast perceived her as being “used” to present reductive anti-Iran arguments.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;As the room nodded sagely and mostly in agreement, my turn to speak arrived. I was horrified by his reductive logic and the hysterical fear-mongering that the Israeli state does and most of its Western allies buy into. Most horrific was the idea of a second holocaust, of a second wave of genocidal anti-Semitism wrought forth by the evil and dictatorial Ahmadinejad who had dared to enter the UN.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I was there to speak as a gay Muslim, my current raison d’être, supposedly. The panelists had surely assumed that I would be the perfect candidate to trot out to launch into anti-Iran and also anti-Muslim rhetoric. I knew I could not. In the last year I have often disagreed publicly with some of the content of my own film and certainly felt I would have executed its Iranian content differently if I knew then what I know now. I have treaded a fine line, continuing to defend my religion and somehow successfully criticize it for its alleged persecution of homosexuals. I have insisted that the film cannot be shown in what I view as the Israeli apartheid state and even resisted the possibilities of filming with Palestinian-Israeli gay couples, knowing that to enter that contested land and its politics would merit a separate film. The recent massacre in Gaza and falsehoods of the Israeli state during the bombardment--the loss of more than a thousand lives; the use of white phosphorous on civilians who live in abject poverty, surrounded and hemmed into a tiny piece of land; the very fact that Gaza is nothing but a large and fetid concentration camp created by the Israeli state--these were the issues that came to mind. I could not sit there and attack Islam or Iran. I had to speak out and I did so, briefly also pointing out to the Professor that in his harangue on the missile power of the Iranians and the impending doom of the Islamic bomb, he had conveniently, amongst other things, forgotten to mention the “undeclared” nuclear arsenal that Israel possesses and the infinitely more sophisticated weapons it uses on the Palestinians from its own tiny nation, which has all the trappings of the West, including nice homes, smooth-as-silk roads and constant water and electricity. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I have never been to Israel with the principled notion of not going and submitting to its checkpoints to go and look vicariously at a trapped and stateless people, beaten into submission by the state itself and their own supposed Arab allies that have done nothing for them. But now I would need to speak briefly and get out. The claustrophobia of the room was enormous and I would see later throughout the building not an Israel hate-fest, as surely the US media would portray it back home, but quite the opposite. The ability of the well-funded Zionist lobbies to function as well oiled machines in portraying an Iranian president with limited powers as almost the next anti-Christ and certainly a Hitler, reborn.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Three other non-white people in the audience clapped when I spoke. As I ran from the room after the panel, they met me outside. Two were Palestinian and thanked me for speaking up for them. I reminded them that I was an Indian and had never been to their land. They said it did not matter and called me “brother,” in the comfortable (for all of us) assumption that there still existed some sense of Muslim brotherhood. As we walked past some young, white protesters holding signs against both racism and Iran—I still fail to see the connection—a young Egyptian activist said simply to me: “One person’s terrorist is another persons freedom fighter.“ That is a powerful statement that does lack a certain nuance of complexity. However coming from India, where similar logic could be applied to Kashmir depending on what side you are on or even coming from a family that had been split apart by the blood of partition that followed the freedom movement from the British colonizers, I understood the truth of that statement.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;The farce that was this Geneva round became clear to me as soon as I stepped into the haloed confines of the UN. As the much reviled, almost made-to-be Hitlerian Mr. A. was a few minutes into his speech, the all-Caucasian EU delegations (23 members, we are told) walked out ceremoniously only a few moments after the “humble” (his own term) former mayor of Tehran was pelted with red clown noses, also by Caucasian protestors. But as they made their displeasure known, delegates from African and Asian nations applauded. I wonder if a discussion of race, in terms of skin color, and indeed, the institutionalized racism in many European nations, is even noticed by the White gentleman’s club that usually represents European nations at the UN. Where, indeed, were the voices from within Israel who oppose the disturbingly rightwing, bellicose government that has been chosen to speak for the entire Israeli nation?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;The schism between the West and the Rest on Israel and its racism or its institutionalized apartheid of the stateless Palestinians cannot be more obvious. As Mr. Ahmadenijad walked into his press conference, again a motley crew of twenty-something, entirely White protestors hissed at him with quickly printed signs and hissed, stressing their sibilants: “Racccissst.” A British Pakistani man and I were the only two who questioned them on whether they actually had any experience of racism, manifest most simply for both of us in just getting around with our brown skins or Muslim names in most Western nations. These well-dressed kids surely had not experienced racism.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;The vilification of the Iranian state is complete. I am no supporter of the “humble” former mayor of Tehran. If anything my work has been harsh in its criticism of the Guardian council-run Islamic state. However, as I chatted to two Iranian delegates just outside of the press conference, I felt briefly that they were actually the underdogs. Dressed in tie-less suits (since that “Western” appendage is so reviled by the Shia intelligentsia) they agreed when I said that their PR was the worst. I even dared in a brief moment of courage to propose that having an easily caricatured provocateur as President could not help the case. The latter case was met with cautious looks. The former was agreed. As we stood there, two young girls carrying the Israeli flag hissed at me and spat in our general direction and said they were going to the anti-Iran protest.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;“You mean the commemoration of the Shoah?” I said.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;“Yes, and you should see what has been done to our people,” they yelled.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;Bewildered, I did stop by the concert held to commemorate the Shoah. Despite the large banner over the stage, it seemed to be was a Bash-Iran concert with signs and banners aplenty and rousing invective. The Iranians were nowhere to be seen. And yes, once again, it was a sea of mostly Caucasians.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I emphasize skin color here for a reason. The way I have understood racism as it pertains to the color of my skin has always been about being a minority in a majority White nation, which now does have a Black president. At the UN there has been a successful conflation of racism with anti-Semitism, which I continue to find problematic. Many of my Jewish friends would hesitate to be identified in reductive terms that disavow the diversity of the people of the Jewish faith. And I do have an immense problem with “White” or “Caucasian” people who, while not aware of their own privilege, accuse an entire nation in which the successfully implemented post-1979 identity has been one born from the Islamic nation state, not based on the colour of one’s skin. These are complicated ideas and certainly the blogosphere and its often off-the-cuff writing style does not invite the easy articulation of complexity and nuance.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;I leave Geneva disappointed and sad. Disappointed at the amazing success and desire, evidently, of the Iranians to add value to their ever growing bad rap. Sad that, at least on my panel, the real victims of genocide, discrimination, and racism in our own time were mostly ignored--the dark-skinned African man from Darfur and woman from Rwanda. Disappointed that the mostly Caucasian room at the sham-panel I spoke at could only understand these dignified victims of painfully fresh wounds in relation to the victims of the horrors of the Shoah, now at least five generations past.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;The biggest joke in all of this is the continually ineffective, gargantuan bureaucracy also known as the UN. The joke remains on them in their inability to get a single head of state to attend other than the continually reviled Ahmadinejad, a candidate in an upcoming, contentious election, who clearly speaks neither for all of the Mullahs in the Guardian Council nor the anxious youth of Iran, but is, like George Bush was for the grim period just ended, a convenient scarecrow and bogeyman for the rest of the world. &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold; font-family: courier new;&quot;&gt;The last and only time I was in Iran was as a young student morphing into a journalist, and that was brief. The fact that I have never been to Israel and the lands it occupies makes me now wonder if I really need to go. Perhaps, they, the Israelis need to see “A Jihad for Love.” And perhaps then I can discover the much-touted claims of this most enlightened “Middle-eastern democracy.” If they allow me to cross from their first-world, well-paved streets into the third-world rubble and chaos of Ramallah and Gaza, I should definitely want to go.  I am told that the enlightened Israelis not only tolerate but supposedly love their gays. I also know that the Iranians seemingly do the opposite. I wonder indeed if Mr. Ahmadinejad would now allow me to enter Iran, since I have made some kind of case in the defense of his nation.  I already have stated my regret at portions of “A Jihad for Love” that I would now construct very differently. Maybe, now forgiven, I could cross over into both of these forbidden lands that I have feared in the past. Maybe, just maybe, they will even soon have direct flights from Tel Aviv to Tehran! And maybe, just maybe, we will stop waiting to see who destroys whom first. The Israelis clearly have their nuclear arsenal safe and ready. The Iranians are supposedly working on theirs. The Israelis clearly still have Barack Hussein Obama’s America behind them, which reminds me: Is it time to remove the middle name I adopted willingly and proudly during that most famous American election from my Facebook profile?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/4996341981949015215/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=4996341981949015215&amp;isPopup=true' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4996341981949015215'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/4996341981949015215'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/04/there-are-no-direct-flights-from-tel.html' title='There are no direct flights from Tel Aviv to Tehran'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-1305212648321465007</id><published>2009-04-20T11:50:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2009-04-20T12:05:50.107-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Poor Israel? Sure, and I am Barack Obama!</title><content type='html'>&lt;span style=&quot;font-size:130%;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;I write from Geneva, where I was invited to speak at the UN &quot;Durban II&quot; conference on racism and have just today been spat at by two Israelis. I found myself (unknowingly) on  what turned into a &quot;bash Iran&quot; panel with a problematic Zionist agenda. The expectation, perhaps, was that I, being Muslim and gay, would sit and join in the Iran-bashing choir. In doing the opposite I did not make myself the most popular person in the room.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Later, two Israeli delegates spat at me. Surprisingly, an erudite Canadian professor and member of Parliament threw around a baffling and hard-to-explain term: &quot;genocidal anti-Semitism&quot;. Only he knows what he means, I certainly do not!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Still later as the Iranian president walked into his press conference, clueless, young (all White by the way) UN workers stood and hissed, accusing him of &quot;racism&quot; (a term problematically applied in this case).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Today for the first time I was witness to the extent of power the pro-Israel , anti-Iran and anti-Palestinian lobbies wield, even here in Geneva.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;Cleary Ahmadinejad made provocative comments which were in poor taste. But the complete lack of discussion of Israel&#39;s continuing genocide of the Palestinian people, its use of banned weapons of mass destruction like white phosporous on Palestinian civilians, the shameful loss of Palestinian life and its skewed ratio with the loss of a few Israelis are not topics of discussion here.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-weight: bold;&quot;&gt;A greater dispatch will follow but let me very clear: the first day of this UN conference was not an Israeli hate-fest. Quite the opposite; Israel and its many lobbies in majority Caucasian countries (and sometimes mine like India) are loud enough to drown out the rhetoric of the humble former mayor of Tehran.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/1305212648321465007/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=1305212648321465007&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1305212648321465007'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/1305212648321465007'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/04/poor-israel-sure-and-i-am-barack-obama.html' title='Poor Israel? Sure, and I am Barack Obama!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-644141235991772589</id><published>2009-03-04T21:48:00.004-05:00</published><updated>2009-03-04T21:55:54.028-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Parvez Sharma is going to die such a bad death...</title><content type='html'>&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;  style=&quot;font-family:&#39;courier new&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;So I re-visit my blog, after a long time-many travels, sold out screenings in eight cities in Holland and the day after the film showed on More4 in the UK (that tiny little island that has more Muslims than it knows what to do with!) to find some new fan mail.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;  style=&quot;font-family:&#39;courier new&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;I reproduce below. Comment if you wish.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;  style=&quot;font-family:&#39;courier new&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot; style=&quot;font-size: large;&quot;&gt;&quot;Parvez Sharma is going to die such a bad death, one that will startle those that dared to support him. Watch out paddy! every Devout Muslim from here to Azerbaijan will be hot on your trails trying to rid you from the face of this earth, we know what you look like so I guess thats a start. If I ever see you and your homo-herd in public I&#39;m going to beat the shit out of you all, I&#39;m going to tie a noose around your bits collectively, tie the other end to the tow bar of my car and drive off leaving off leaving you without your pistols&quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;  style=&quot;font-family:&#39;courier new&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;  style=&quot;font-family:&#39;courier new&#39;;&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/644141235991772589/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=644141235991772589&amp;isPopup=true' title='16 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/644141235991772589'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/644141235991772589'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/03/parvez-sharma-is-going-to-die-such-bad.html' title='Parvez Sharma is going to die such a bad death...'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>16</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-2088169911704967155</id><published>2009-01-08T21:59:00.001-05:00</published><updated>2009-01-08T22:01:16.713-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Poor Israel!</title><content type='html'>Please read in their very own newspaper-&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1053605.html#resp&quot;&gt;Israel&#39;s PR war&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;My thought for the day-&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;story_comment_back_quote&quot;&gt;Gideon Lichfiled once again in Haartez says it like it is. Poor Israel cant do PR? Right... And I am Obama...My heart bleeds every minute still, for the terrified population of southern Israel-poor things. I guess they don&#39;t have rather fancy bomb shelters, homes, internet, electricity and medical facilities for the useless rockets that fall into their perfectly paved neighborhoods. The rockets that they so fastidiously collect to parade to the foreign journalists they have forbidden entry into a fetid concentration camp called Gaza.&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/2088169911704967155/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=2088169911704967155&amp;isPopup=true' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/2088169911704967155'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/2088169911704967155'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/01/poor-israel.html' title='Poor Israel!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2965628469210024710.post-2948728781514524814</id><published>2009-01-07T17:32:00.002-05:00</published><updated>2009-01-07T17:35:14.338-05:00</updated><title type='text'>Help us make history!</title><content type='html'>Dear friends:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We have an urgent need.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We must raise $6,766 to subtitle A Jihad for Love in Farsi, Urdu, Arabic, Hindi, and Turkish for global DVD distribution.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If even 14 people gave $500 or 27 people gave $250 or 45 people gave $150, then we would reach our goal. If we add Turkish, it is $1,458 more.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are very proud of this groundbreaking work and have worked very hard to reach this point. A Jihad for Love has now been seen by 700,000 people in 30 nations with many lives transformed. People are convening, sometimes at great risk, private screenings in homes and organizations in Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and Bangladesh. However, the film cannot reach those in crisis who do not understand English. It is imperative that A Jihad for Love is available in the languages spoken by a majority of the world\&#39;s 1.4 billion Muslims. There are tens of millions of Muslim gay and lesbian people, and their imams, families, and friends for whom A Jihad for Live has been and will be a lifeline. From Tehran to Istanbul, Cairo to Mumbai, Marrakech to Karachi, and Beirut to Dubai, a subtitled DVD will have impact for years to come as it is nearly impossible to screen the film on TV, in cinemas or safely in any public spaces in many countries.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Please help us make history!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Contact us immediately with ideas.</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/feeds/2948728781514524814/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2965628469210024710&amp;postID=2948728781514524814&amp;isPopup=true' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/2948728781514524814'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2965628469210024710/posts/default/2948728781514524814'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://ajihadforlove.blogspot.com/2009/01/help-us-make-history.html' title='Help us make history!'/><author><name>Parvez Sharma</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/13664570550701959269</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVzM9HJ6YOle8qBex8CH63j7tA1isNkZ5lznSJ2b_YNwZnwzPjn7ntnv7lAJGt-5llLmOkXdwAsR7QvkaOkcUzBiW4TxelUEwmK6zz9301fjRlGiVTJDdraMuZDUz0Ew/s113/parvezsharmalorezheadshotparvezsharma.com.jpg'/></author><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry></feed>

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