In
2003, journalist Anisa Mehdi
opened a window onto Islam that few non-Muslims
had seen before. In the National Geographic documentary Inside
Mecca,
producer/director Mehdi followed three Muslims during the Hajj, the
pilgrimage required of all able Muslims to holy Mecca, a city off-limits
to anyone other than followers of Muhammad. The documentary is just
one part of a body of work the Emmy-award winning Mehdi has created
illuminating the lives, beliefs and challenges faced by Muslims today
as members
of not only the fastest growing religion, but one that is oftentimes
misunderstood. Through her documentaries, radio commentaries, articles
and talks Mehdi has worked to clear away some of the misperceptions
and stereotypes many non-Muslims hold, and present Islam as the religion
of love and harmony that she has known all her life.
In the interviews that follow, explorefaith asked Anisa Mehdi about
her faith background, her personal relationship with God in an era
of ongoing terrorist attacks, her understanding of Islam, and the
roles and rights of women in Islamic society. Mehdi’s candor,
clarity and insight offer yet another window into the Islamic faith;
her examples of inter-religious harmony—both personal and
in community—demonstrate that windows opened through understanding
can also become doors.
Anisa Mehdi on...
Being an American Muslim,
Pre and Post September 11
We were going to Sunday school to make friends, to
learn about the stories of the Bible, to learn music (I had a fabulous
music director at this church.... We were always encouraged to explore
our own spirituality. We were never told: This is what you need
to believe. Simultaneously,
we were learning about Islam....Read
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Religion,
Terrorism & Politics
What people are angry about is what
human beings have been angry about forever. Political inequity,
economic inequity, dictators who are keeping all the money for the
upper classes and leaving their nations impoverished. The aggression
of a more-powerful nation upon a less-powerful nation. It’s
all politics. It really has nothing to do with religion....
Read More
Women's Rights and Islamic Law
I would also like the stories to be told of what the reality was
for Muslim women in the early days of Islam. That is very different
from what we see typically in the media today…scenes of oppression,
lack of opportunity professionally, lack of opportunity for education,
which, as I've said before, are cultural mandates rather than religious
mandates on these people....Read
More
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