Parvez Sharma

Parvez Sharma is an Indian film director. He is best known for the film "A Jihad for Love", on gay and lesbian Muslims.

Personal life

Sharma was born and raised in India. He has been educated in India, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Parvez studied English Literature at Presidency College of the University of Calcutta. He received his master's degrees in Mass Communication (Film and Television) from Jamia Millia Islamia University, Broadcast Journalism from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and Video from American University's School of Communication. He currently lives in New York.

Sharma identifies as gay and as Muslim.cite news
last = Hays
first = Matthew
coauthors =
title = Act of Faith: A Film on Gays and Islam
work =
pages =
language = English
publisher = The New York Times
date = 2 November 2004
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/02/movies/02alla.html?ex=1257138000&en=65bd923d140d39c0&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland
accessdate = 2007-02-05 ]

Work

A journalist, Sharma has worked with numerous media, including radio [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Democracy Now! Staff Talks About the Blackout of 2003
work =
publisher = Democracy Now!
date = 2003-08-15
url =http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/08/15/1415212
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-02-11 ] , print, and broadcast.

He has worked with award-winning filmmakers and on programming for BBC World Television (India), the Discovery Channel (United States), and the World Bank (United States).

"A Jihad for Love"

Sharma is best known for directing the film "A Jihad for Love", a documentary that seeks to refute the belief that LGBT Muslims do not exist. The film has also been known by the working title "In the Name of Allah". [ [http://hartleyfoundation.org/development/in_the_name_of_Allah.php A Jihad for Love ] ]

Sharma, director and cinematographer of the film, came up with the idea after listening to the stories of gay Muslims when he attended American University. He decided to give a voice "to a community that really needed to be heard, and that until now hadn’t been. It was about going where the silence was strongest." cite news
last = Rajan
first = Sujeet
coauthors =
title = Film of Muslim gays stirs up sentiments
work =
pages =
language = English
publisher = Indian Express
date = 10 March 2006
url = http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=2546
accessdate = 2007-02-08]

The film's website describes the film:

cquote|Filmed in twelve different countries and in nine languages, "In the Name of Allah" [working title] is the first-ever feature-length documentary to explore the complex global intersections of Islam and homosexuality. With unprecedented access and depth, gay Muslim filmmaker Parvez Sharma brings to light the hidden lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Muslims and goes where the silence has been loudest in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt and Bangladesh, as well as in Turkey, France, India, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom. cite web
url=http://www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com/inthenameofallah/invite.html
title=In the Name of Allah
publisher=
accessdate=2006-08-28]

The film premieres in early 2007. Sandi Simcha DuBowski, the filmmaker behind "Trembling Before G-d", a documentary investigating the lives of homosexual Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, is the producer of "A Jihad for Love". The film is produced in association with Channel 4 Television (UK), ZDF (Germany), Arte (France), MTV-Logo (US) and SBS (Australia).

While the film reveals homophobia and persecution in the Muslim world, Sharma has stated that the purpose of the film is not to vilify Islam. Instead, he said:

cquote|The Islam that this film is seeking to reclaim is rich, it is pulsating, it's welcoming, condemning sometimes, it's loving, it's erotic, it's sensual, it's poetic and it's musical. cite news
last = Dettman
first = Katie
coauthors =
title = Benefit held for gay Islam film
work =
pages =
language = English
publisher = Bay Area Reporter
date = 19 October 2006
url = http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=1258
accessdate = 2007-02-05]

Work on Islam and homosexuality

The film is not Sharma's first work dealing with Islam and homosexuality. His piece "Emerging from the Shadows" for "The Telegraph" in India was the country's first major newspaper article to discuss the life of Indian lesbians.

Sharma has written for The Huffington Post as an authority on issues concerning Islam and homosexuality.

He was involved in the organization of the first organized LGBT effort in the state of West Bengal and has spoken internationally on LGBT issues in a South Asian context.

ee also

*Islam and homosexuality
*"Trembling Before G-d"

External links

* [http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/wonews036.htm Director of Film on Muslim Homosexuals Frets over His Subjects' Safety]
* [http://www.ajihadforlove.com A Jihad for Love]
* [http://islandia.law.yale.edu/reblaw/panelists.htm Parvez bio]
* [http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=2546 Film of Muslim gays stirs up sentiments]
* [http://www.frameline.org/pv/Queer_Present_Danger_.mp3 Queer and Present Danger (mp3)] , with Kathleen Mullen, Gretchen Hildebran, Malcolm Ingram and Parvez Sharma
* [http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1719 Parvez Sharma Interview] on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
* [http://www.kepplerspeakers.com/speakers/speakers.asp?1-4PBZU Parvez Sharma Biography]

References