The
extra security provided openly gay Muslim filmmaker Parvez Sharma when it
premiered at this year’s Hot Docs was an ominous but not entirely shocking
development. Yet, in a perverse way, the death threats prompted by his latest
film constitute a ringing endorsement. Nonfiction-filmmaking does not get much
gutsier than Sharma video-documenting his Hajj. Arguably, it is a bit
surprising the ever-so open Saudi government granted his Hajj visa. They
probably already regret it, but not for reasons you suspect. Ignore the
overheated internet trolling and honestly engage with the issues raised by
Sharma’s A Sinner in Mecca (trailer here), which opens
today in New York.
Sharma
had already been on the business end of a minor fatwa, because of his prior
documentary on the Muslim LGBT experience, A
Jihad for Love. After marrying his partner, Sharma decided to take his Hajj,
hoping to reconcile his faith with his sexuality. Of course he will secretly
document the process. He is a filmmaker. That is what he does. Frankly, nobody
is more aware of the potential danger for an internationally recognized LGBT
activist in Wahhabist Saudi Arabia than Sharma. He was consciously risking his
life to make the film, but he was completely unprepared for the rampant
exploitation and abuse all pilgrims must endure.
Critics
of Sharma will latch onto his sexuality because they are homophobic (and
misogynistic and anti-Semitic), but the real arsenic in the film are the many
scenes exposing the Saudi government’s neglect and overt commercialization of
Islam’s holiest site, bar none. Tellingly, one fellow pilgrim tells Sharma:
“I’m glad they don’t allow non-Muslims, so the Western world cannot see this.”
As
Sharma struggles to complete the pilgrimage rituals, he must navigate filthy
streets teeming with rubbish, amid what is supposedly a holy and protected
city. Unquestionably though, the most disturbing incident comes when Sharma
relates a conversation he had with a man whose wife was sexually molested while
circling the Kaaba, which Muslims consider to be the first house of worship,
constructed by Abraham. Apparently, this is not an uncommon experience.
Much
of Sinner would be legitimately
horrifying even if Sharma was not constantly worried his true identity might be
revealed. That is why the coda in which he declares his faith is renewed feels
completely out of place and inconsistent with everything that preceded it. One
suspects that Sharma is trying to convince himself for his own personal
reasons. We have to respect that, but the footage he covertly shot (on
mini-handhelds and his iPhone) speaks thunderously.
First and foremost, Sinner thoroughly indicts the Saudi custodianship of Mecca. If you
really wanted to be provocative you could argue the global Muslim community
would be much better served if Mecca were in Israel, because the Israeli
government understands how to respect and preserve artifacts and landmarks
associated with other religions (exhibit A: the Dead Sea Scrolls). Regardless,
Sharma’s Hajj is a very personal act, but his documentation has much greater
implications. Bold and stingingly truthful, A
Sinner in Mecca is very highly recommended when it opens today (9/4) in New York,
at the Cinema Village.
