Interview with Sabi

I would like to propose an interview Sabina Shah, a PhD candidate at the University of Manchester.

Through a set of questions, I have explored the practice based PhD of Sabina (Sabi) on Islamic Feminism and the Portrayal of the Historical Muslim Female on Screen. 

In conversation with Sabina Shah, PhD candidate at Manchester University (Manchester, UK)

Sabi (...and Razia)(SS)

Monia (MA)

Your work is extremely fascinating and, even more interesting is the social impact this work could potentially have on the community. I am fascinated about the way you are re-defining through your research (and practice based work) the role of female Muslim identity, often misread within western societies.

I would love to ask you a few questions regarding this research, and specifically regarding your practice based film, which is branching out and clearly speaks about your topic.

Marc Shiller, in trulyfreefilm.com explores a series of questions that every filmmaker should ask himself or herself. Perhaps it is worth exploring with you some of these questions: 

MA: What does the film say about the world we live in? 

SS: Yes Monia, this work has spurred on by my own British Muslim heritage and visual arts background, my film which is also my PhD project began as a response to the damning portrayal of Islam as an extremist and sensationalist phenomenon by the media.  Terrorism and veiling are nationally featured debates that frequently feature Islam as a tyrannical and oppressive culture.  Post 9/11 a generated fear and anxiety within national borders is also experienced by citizens affected by global conflict living in the wake of the War on Terror.  In Britain, not only British citizens are affected by a multi-racial fear and anxiety, which is to be equally experienced by Muslims living with the backlash affect of Islamophobia. 

This leads on to the most important point of my research, which is the fact that Muslim women have a rich and vibrant history and have their own form of agency.

The aim of my practice is to offer an alternative visual perspective to that of the oppressed Muslim woman stereotype.  By transmitting evidence of Muslim women’s agency may enhance the image of the Muslim woman.  The main reason to use practice-as-research is because the creative practice provides a mode of communication that might appeal to a wider audience outside of academia via: film festivals, broadcast, Internet, and exhibition.

The use of film opens Islam up to the mainstream and I believe this approach to film-making will not only appeal to the Muslim demographic because of the Islamic subject matter but also the general public who may be curious and want to understand more about Islam and women’s roles within the faith.  Hopefully, the outcome of the film will engage an audience in an effort to defuse both racial and gender prejudice by the sharing of culture and knowledge about Islam that offers an alternative perspective to that of oppression and extremism. 

MA: What universal themes are explored in your film?

SS: Well Monia, I must start saying that Muslim women scholar-activists argue that Islam does not oppress women but a patriarchal system derived from male interpretations of religious texts branching into Sharia Law, Hadiths (records and statements made by the Prophet Muhammad) and Sunna (practices of the Prophet) has proved detrimental toward women and the representation of Islam.

My creative practice takes the form of a fifteen-minute stop-frame animation that sketches a biographical account of Sultan Razia, who is both a historical and legendary figure in India, the country in which she resided.  During 634-638 Hejira (1236-1240 C.E) Razia ruled the Sultante of Delhi, which was a vast Empire at the time.  Razia was active in the affairs of State and a great warrior trained in martial arts.  However, Razia was to face adversity from the Amirs based on gender prejudice.  In spite of the peoples’ support of Razia, the Amirs’ rivalry took the form of a coup d’état that led to her death. The film opens with a warrior, dressed in gold armor, riding a horse through the forest, passing historic monument Qutb Minar, on route to the palace.  At the palace the guards on duty are dressed in similar attire to that of the warrior who also have the lower part of their faces covered with chainmail.  When the warrior enters the palace and approaches Sultan Iltutmish, lying on his deathbed, the figure is revealed to be Razia, the daughter of the Sultan.  By presenting Razia in this way may challenge the viewers’ gendered expectation of the rider on horseback.  The audience sees the character as female only when Razia takes off the helmet.

Figure 1 (Warrior on Horseback, image provided by Sabi)

Figure 2 ( The veiled guards)

 

Figure 3 (Razia removes her helmet)

Sultan Iltutmish tells Razia that it is his Will to have her succeed him.  At this point Razia’s step-mother Shah Turkan steps out from behind a curtain, where she has been eavesdropping, and asks Iltutmish why he has not chosen their son Ruknuddin to be heir.  The Sultan explains to Shah Turkan that their son’s debauched manner and laziness is not a means of behaviour to rule an Empire, whereas Razia has been an active administrator dealing with State affairs and has experience with court proceedings.

Figure 4 (The Will of Sultan Iltutmish)

Upon the death of Iltutmish, Shah Turkan arranges a private word with the Prime Minister to challenge the Sultan’s Will and position her son on the throne. 

Figure 5 (Shah Turkan and the Prime Minister)

The Prime Minister thinks to himself that Ruknuddin as Sultan will serve as a puppet leader to which he might pull the strings. 

On the day of coronation, when Razia enters the throne room, the Prime Minister announces that the majority of the Amirs have voted for Ruknuddin to be Sultan.  The argument the Prime Minister uses against Razia’s rule is based on a Hadith that states ‘a nation cannot prosper under a woman’.  The Prime Minister’s use of the Hadith illustrates how religious texts are taken out of context to suit male political agendas and support a patriarchal order.

Figure 6 (A nation cannot prosper)

The writing of events for this scene are inspired and informed by: Fatema Mernissi’s challenges toward this Hadith; Amina Wadud’s Qur’anic reading of Bilqis (also known as the Queen of Sheba); and Margot Badran’s comments on mischievous interpretations of religious texts.  In further detail Mernissi explains this Hadith is often used to limit women’s participation within society and thus sets out to investigate its origins.

In the manner of Mernissi and Wadud, the protagonist character Razia, uses these weightier arguments, based on Ijtihad (independent critical examination of religious texts), to challenge the Prime Minister’s argument.  Unfortunately for Razia, these arguments fall on deaf ears and Ruknuddin is crowned sovereign. 

Whilst Ruknuddin is Sultan he continues to live a lavish lifestyle, which involves women, drinking and a variety of expensive luxuries, never does he attend to his State duties.  To ensure her son remains Sultan and maintain their position within the Royal household, Shah Turkan oversees her son’s leadership and is the point of call for the Prime Minister to discuss State matters.  Ruknuddin’s unorthodox manner begins to annoy the Amirs, who discuss the possibility of his replacement.  Furthermore, his lavish lifestyle, which is funded by the people with a constant rise in taxes, has made Ruknuddin unpopular with the citizens of the Empire.

Figure 7 ( Sultan Ruknuddin’s lavish lifestyle)

Fearful of the Amirs removal of Rukuddin from office, Shah Turkan orders her servants and soldiers to seize Qutbuddin, the eight-year-old son of Iltutmish, and his mother.  They are thrown into a dungeon where Shah Turkan orders the boy to be blinded and the mother executed for treason.  Moreover, for Shah Turkan the execution was a message to scare the Amirs and the consequences for considering a new Sultan.  After evening prayers at the mosque, Razia heads out onto the street to talk to the people of Delhi.  They speak of their unhappiness with the drastic rise in taxes toward non-Muslims. Iltutmish’s dear friend, Tajuddin finds Razia and tells her of the execution.  In solidarity, Razia with the people go to the palace gates and demand to speak with the Sultan.

Figure 8 (At the palace gates)

The soldier tells Razia she is in great danger and requests the people to leave to avoid the wrath of Shah Turkan.  Meanwhile, Shah Turkan looks down on the scene occurring at the palace gates from her window.  Seeing Razia as a threat Shah Turkan begins to plot Razia’s death and calls her servants to carry out her dirty work.  Armed with shovels the servants begin to dig a ditch in the riding ground, where Razia rides her horse every morning.  On the way to the stables, the palace equerry Yaqut sees the servants digging at the ground and watches from behind a bush.  Hearing the servants talk about Shah Turkan’s plot he immediately informs Razia.

Figure 9 (Yaqut informs Razia of Shah Turkan’s plot)

The next morning the riding ground is buzzing with people who have been told of Shah Turkan’s plot by Razia’s friends.  Razia goes to take a jump but her horse rears and does so again at a second attempt.  Razia asks the Prime Minister to check the ground and he reveals the ditch.  The people call for Shah Turkan and Ruknuddin to be brought to justice and Razia to be their new Sultan.  Ruknuddin and Shah Turkan’s reign was to last six months in total. 

As Sultan, Razia appoints Tajuddin as her advisor and Yaqut as the Amir of Amirs.  Yaqut’s promotion did not bode well with the Amirs’ and they were equally disgruntled with the abolition of the levy on non-Muslims.  But for the people Razia proved to be a fair and just ruler.  Razia endorsed the arts and championed education with the opening of schools and libraries.

Part of the film is currently in production. This part recounts the time while Razia was a Sultan, and the prosperity of the country. In Razia’s company the Prime Minister passes judgment on her character based upon her wearing of the veil. In previous scenes the manner in which Shah Turkan wears the veil is very different to Razia.  For Shah Turkan the veil serves as a status symbol that signifies her importance. Razia not wearing a veil is to illustrate Muslim women’s choice to veil or not.  So synonymous have Islam and veiling become, the generally accepted idea is that the veil is an Islamic custom. Womens studies scholar Leila Ahmed has discovered that veiling was in fact a European custom, originating in Greek Hellenic society, which gradually spread to the Middle East.  In the Middle East the custom became a fashionable status symbol signifying wealth and importance. Women of all faiths in the Middle East, whether Jew, Christian or Muslim wore the veil, only the poor, prostitutes and servants did not.  Therefore, veiling appears to be a tradition that has remained with the Muslim community. Further scenes which are currently under productions are dealing with the issue of the veil and the debates on it. The powerfull message that Sultan Razia offers and the adversity she faces offers a means to illustrate Muslim's woman agency in challenging gender and racial prejudice.

MA: List ten or more keywords to describe your film.

SS: Agency, Historical, Women, Islam, Recovery, Filmmaking, Equal Rights, Research, Animation, Alternative, Subversive.

MA:  What emotions do you feel your film brings forth in viewers?

SS: I hope the film will illustrate the heterogeneity of the Muslim woman. Not only do Muslim women have an imbedded history with the development of Islam but also historically Muslim women have and continue to hold positions of power within society.  Thereby using the film medium I hope to debunk such myths about Islam and stereotypes associated with Muslim women.

For a younger audience I hope the animation will fill the racial and cultural gap of representation upon the screen.  For instance cultural studies scholar Jack Shaheen points out that:
 

"Muslim mothers, too, strive to shield their children.  Citing scores of old motion pictures being telecast on cable systems, along with cartoons, re-runs of television dramas and sit-coms, plus newly created TV programs and TV movies-of-the-week, they fear that stereotyping has become more pervasive than ever."
(Jack Shaheen)

As animation is often a feature of children’s entertainment, this film may resonate with Muslim girls who may like to identify themselves with the story of a Muslim princess that represents their own ethnic group and culture, instead of being subjected to racial stereotypes within the media, particularly cartoons.  However, the creative practice is not made specifically with children in mind.  I hope that the film may engage with an adult audience as well in an effort to defuse racial and gender prejudice.  The use of the film medium to illustrate the Muslim woman as an intrinsic and vital part of the heritage of Islam and society just may offer a refreshing take on Islam that breaks away from Muslim women stereotypes supported by common topics of veiling and extremism.

MA: So, do you think your film (together with your research) embeds within its narrative a particular emotion? 
SS: Viewing and reading sensationalist stories by the media about Islam and veiled Muslim women, myself being a Muslim woman found such stories difficult to relate to. Media images are very different to my upbringing and understanding of Islam and the important role women have played within the faith be it religious or historical.  Undertaking this PhD project provides me with an opportunity to explore further my Muslim heritage and culture.  Whilst reading the texts that form the literature review for my PhD, which also forms the foundations of the creative practice, many emotions are stirred within me. I am overwhelmed at the level of eloquence Muslim women scholar-activists use when discussing their research.  What I find frustrating is that these scholars are not given the airtime by the media to communicate their gender-sensitive readings of the Qur’an and history to a wider audience.  Rather the media tends to focus on patriarchal and extremist interpretations that only appear to enforce a particular image of the faith. 
As a consequence of reading Muslim women’s scholar-activist texts that are informative about women’s rights in Islam, I feel frustrated when writing this film, when all I want to do is quash misogyny. The way in which Razia is portrayed in the film I do not think illustrates my frustration due to her patience and strength of character. If any emotions are to be evoked from the film I hope the audience are able to empathise with Razia and be cognizant to an alternative portrayal of Islam that Razia encapsulates. 

MA: What are your research and film’s strengths? 
SS: In light of Fatema Mernissi embarks upon her investigation of historical Muslim female heads of State, in The Forgotten Queens of Islam, and using the film medium to provide an example of Muslim women as Heads of State my work answers Mernissi’s call for a wider dissemination of nisa’ist research. Animation as an expressive cine dialect evokes an attractive way of illustrating Muslim women’s agency that might appeal to a wider audience outside academia.  The use of animation opens Islam up to the mainstream and I believe this approach to filmmaking will not only appeal to the Muslim demographic because of the Islamic subject matter but also to the general public who may be curious and want to understand more about Islam and women’s role within the faith.

MA: What are your film’s weaknesses?
SS: Being a self-funded PhD student has been very difficult and depressing at times.  Although I believe my project is important in order to challenge racial, gendered and cultural stereotypes associated with Islamophobia within a multicultural society, especially post 9/11, the lack of support from film bodies, broadcast associations and the AHRC via the university body are not in support of such a project. As a consequence I question my ability as a filmmaker and researcher and whether I can do the subject any justice.  I feel this rejection is a reflection of how Muslim women-activist scholars research is often ignored.  In regards to the film medium the lack of support mirrors the silencing of an alternative voice.  To offer an alternative perspective and get these stories in to the public domain is a battle of perseverance. Resourcefulness is key and the self-satisfaction in making the film and having belief in my work, when others do not, provides an inner strength that is fundamental to not quit, when trying to strive for racial and gendered equality. Besides the lack of funding, another weakness to the film and filmmaking process may be the time the animation actually takes to produce.  Not only do I have to theorise, analyse and discuss the relationship between theory and practice, I have to make all the sets, props and characters for the film, all of which have been researched for historical accuracy.  The stop-frame animation process, which consists of a frame at a time to capture motion, for this film means each frame has to be treated individually in the post-production process, for instance frames require: colour correcting and the juxtaposing of images against a background made in Photoshop.  Therefore, for a lone-academic filmmaker the filmmaking process requires a lot of time. 

Figure 10 (Research Notes)

  

Figure 11 (Experimental Piece and Storyboard)


   

Figure 12 (Screenwriting)

Figure 13 (Film Documentation)

Figure 14 (Storyboard)

Figure 15 (Making of the puppets)

Figure 16 (Painted papier-mâché heads) 

Figure 17 (Film production)

The interest my research has captured so far has been with National Grassroots Organisations. For example, I have met with ‘Femin Ijtihad’ and continue correspondence with them. They have been kind enough to feature my work on their website and have approached me to find a means through illustration to visually explain the workings of Islamic Law. Femin Ijtihad themselves use Islamic jurisprudence to secure education for women and provides legal aid in Afghanistan.

 

  


 Figure 18 (Femin Ijtihad website)


 

Outside the context of my research but still through visual arts practice during my PhD I have had the opportunity to work in post-war Sri Lanka with ‘Tea Leaf Vision’.  Tea Leaf Vision is a school for 18-25 year old's stuck within the caste system.   The school offers the chance to learn English, IT skills and provides scholarships to those who want to go to university.  Here I designed a lesson plan for students to create shadow puppet plays to illustrate and discuss emotional health issues within the community and various forms of mediation dealing with: genocide; rape; alcoholism; and both physical and mental abuse.  These plays were then shown to the village one evening.

Further opportunities arising from my film may be that the film will be screened at various venues both nationally and internationally.  As I keep emphasising, most of all I hope to offer a subversive image of the Muslim woman and Islam. In this vein I intend to continue making films about Muslim women branching out into documentary filmmaking.

MA: How do you redefine the notions of identity, and how do you speak about south Asian culture? 

SS: Ideas surrounding identity conversely run parallel with issues of representation. Often I tend to ask myself these questions when reviewing media representations of race:

Whose stories are being told, and by whom for whom?

  How do countries broadcast their culture within and outside their borders? How do countries broadcast other countries and cultures as being and why?

These questions are very similar and stem from social theorist Michel Foucault’s three questions that underline the study of representation, both politically and socially:

Who is being represented and by whom?
What are the social and textual power relations that come into play in the act of representing?
Why certain groups have been included and excluded, marginalised and reconfigured through representation? 

Perceptions on how Muslim women view themselves and Islam appear to be strikingly different to the stereotype commonly presented within western ideologies, inclusive of public opinion, academic texts and political agendas.  A common perception in western thought is that Islam is the cause of oppression toward the Muslim woman.  Previous academic texts and feminist thinking have dominated in their representations of race and concepts of gender, often convinced that women have no rights in Islam. Muslim women scholar-activists have seized the reins to challenge prejudice and source the cause for such discrimination.  However, in spite of huge strides taken in activist-scholarship to address the Muslim woman’s condition, the opinion of Islam as the perpetrator for the ill treatment of the Muslim woman persists.  What many scholars point out is the construction of stereotypes are designed to solicit certain political and social agendas.

To paint all Muslim women across the world with the same stereotyped brush is unfeasible but unfortunately the oppressed image is one that has become generally accepted and repeated.  Recovering the identity of the Muslim woman lies at the heart of many Muslim women-scholar activists work and important to my work is to illustrate the heterogeneity of the Muslim woman.  Such diversity I hope is apparent in the animation, characterised by Shah Turkan, Razia and a schoolteacher, through their dress, vocation and approach to life.
  

  

   


 Figure 19 (Shah Turkan)

Figure 20 (Schoolteacher)





In regards to South Asian culture I want the film to depict the diversity of Indian people inhabiting the same space, living equally side-by-side. Somewhat akin to ideas of multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism, the animated characters of Delhi have their own beliefs, religious practices and cultures.  To show this I mainly use costumes along with the figures being sculpted and painted to have their own individual features. 

Figure 21 (From left to right: a Sikh gentleman; a Muslim gentleman; a Hindu lady; and a Hindu gentleman)

MA: Do you see yourself, being part of a new wave of indie south Asian/British cinema, which subverts stereotypes? And how?    

SS: My father is a Pakistani born British citizen for he was born in 1936 when the British ruled India, before the division of India and Pakistan.  My English mother identifies herself as being Muslim and because of my parental backdrop I classify myself as a mixed-race British Muslim.  I do not consider myself as part of a new wave of British South Asian filmmakers, only due to the subject matter and aesthetic approaches I use with the film medium. Indie South Asian British filmmakers; screenwriters and novelists who have contributed to film and come to my mind are: Pratibha Palmer; Gurinder Chadha; Meera Syal; Hanif Kureshi; Zadie Smith; and Monica Ali.  The majority of feature films associated with these artists may be considered to incorporate a realist approach.  To mention but a few: East is East (1999), Bend it Like Beckham (2002); Bhaji on the Beach (1993); and TV series like The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) and White Teeth (1992) all appear to based upon South Asian experience of living in the UK.  These films provide an example of what TV and cinema viewing was once like in Britain during the nineties and beginning of the 21st century but such racially sensitive programming I think has all but vanished from British screens.  At this present time I do not feel there is a wealth of talented screenwriters or filmmakers who are being utilised by the British film and media corporations as once was.
 

I would like to thank Sabi for her invaluable contribute, which explores a neglected area of cultural studies. Her research is inspiring, and brings further reflections on the way emotions moves across discipline smoothly building significances to the reader of this blog.