Filmmaker Uncovers the Struggle of Gay Muslims in 'A Jihad for Love'

July 26, 2008

Author: Duke Helfand

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-beliefs26-2008jul26,0,664713.story

"A Jihad for Love" may not be the blockbuster movie of the season, but the new documentary about the plight of gay and lesbian Muslims is enjoying a degree of acclaim as it casts light on a subject often shrouded in mystery.

The film's gay Muslim director, Parvez Sharma, has spent the last year touring theaters and festivals around the world.

This month, he and his movie arrived in Los Angeles.

"A Jihad for Love" was the documentary centerpiece last week at Outfest, a gay and lesbian film festival. On Friday it opens at Laemmle's Sunset 5 Theatres in West Hollywood and Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs.

Filmed surreptitiously in 12 countries over six years, the movie offers a window into the distraught lives of gay and lesbian Muslims as they struggle to reconcile their sexual orientation with their devotion to a faith that condemns their way of life.