Plot
Controversial Pakistani cleric Maulana Aziz, linked to the Taliban, declares jihad against the government to impose sharia law. The government retaliates by destroying his seminary, killing his mother, brother, his only son and 150 students. The film follows charming yet menacing Maulana Aziz on his personal quest to create an Islamic utopia, which causes the country to implode. The Red Mosque has students allied with ISIL, and strong ties to the Taliban. We meet two Red Mosque students whose paths diverge: Talha, 12, leaves his moderate Muslim family to study to be a jihadi preacher. Zarina, also 12, escapes her madrassa and joins a normal school. Her education is threatened by frequent Taliban attacks on schools like her own. In December, 2014, the Taliban massacred 132 schoolchildren in Peshawar, outraging Pakistan's moderate majority. Aziz's longtime opponent, education reformer Pervez Hoodbhoy joins the re-energized anti-extremist movement. Throughout the film, he passionately opposes Aziz on television and public forums. With the tide turning against the cleric, Pervez is determined to see Aziz put in jail. Intimate and brutally honest, AMONG THE BELIEVERS offers rare insight into the ideological battle shaping Pakistan and the Muslim world.
Written by
Jonathan Goodman Levitt
Directed by
Mohammed Ali Naqvi, Hemal Trivedi
Crew
Production Countries
United States of America
Production Companies
Changeworx, Women Make Movies, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), Cinephil, Tribeca Film Institute, Sundance Institute, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Manjusha Films
Languages
English
Awards
21 wins & 7 nominations