Summary: Filmed in Istanbul and Oslo, this artistic documentary by Turkish/Norwegian filmmaker Nefise Ozkal Lorentzen openly explores what it is like to be both gay and Muslim. Through the interrelated stories of a gay rights activist, a gay imam, drag artists, and others, Gender Me gently denounces homophobia in general, encourages discourse and engagement within Islam as a positive societal approach...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: A series of intimate, 10-minute portraits explores the lives and beliefs of six young people whose usual places of worship are beautiful and historic mosques in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The documentary follows the six Muslims of different cultures and traditions as they go on the journey of a lifetime - the pilgrimage to Mecca, where the prophet Muhammad was born. The seven wonders...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: The Five Pillars of Islam-belief in one God, praying five times a day, fasting, giving to charity, and going on pilgrimage-guide all Muslims. But cultural and political influences have shaped the observance of the faith in various ways from country to country. This program explores the beliefs of four Islamic leaders and scholars who communicate penetrating insights and observations on the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This program portrays the Crusades as a response to the rapid rise of Islam. It looks at various orders of Christian monks and their role in the preservation of religious, artistic, and cultural aspects of civilization. The Inquisition-the Church's response to the rise of heresy and the practice of witchcraft and magic in the Middle Ages-illustrates the ultimate in religious intolerance which...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings presents a tour of the political, religious, and cultural complexities of the Islamic world, providing a country-by-country assessment of relations with the United States. This special, produced a month after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, provides a better understanding of the current crisis. A wide variety of diplomatic and military...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Europe's Muslim population has doubled in the last decade, with the largest numbers settling in France. This Wide Angle documentary reveals the hopes, frustrations, and political aspirations of French-born Muslims and explores their potential to alter the landscape of France's national identity. Focusing on the recent decision to ban the wearing of traditional Muslim headscarves in public...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program examines the surprisingly rapid growth of Islam in the heart of America's Bible Belt, a predominantly fundamentalist Christian locale. Yet for Muslims living in Appalachia, the daily challenge lies not so much in acceptance by their neighbors as with practicing their religion in a country whose overall culture is so often at odds with their own beliefs. Interviews with refugees...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program, Dennis Wholey has a conversation about Islam with Imam Sayed Hassan al-Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America, in Dearborn, Michigan. Topics of discussion include the meaning of the words Islam, Muslim, and mosque; the two predominant denominations of Islam, Sunni and Shia; the Five Pillars of Islam; the Muslim view of life after death; and the deplorable hijacking of Islam...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: With the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States, Americans have become deeply concerned about all things Muslim. This compilation of recent NewsHour segments sheds light on issues ranging from Islamist extremism to Islamic religious observance in order to open-mindedly address Islam-related issues. Episodes include…* Observing Islam: Ray Suarez and three Islamic scholars examine Islamic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: In the world of business, Muslims are striving to remain faithful to Islamic law while accommodating economic changes and technological advances. After providing a concise overview of the Muslim religion, this program explores the third pillar of faith-zakat, or alms-giving-and the Islamic financial system, where usury and speculation are forbidden but profit-sharing and dividends are...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: A meaningful understanding of Islam begins when its principles are discussed with an open mind. In this program, Amina Wadud, of Virginia Commonwealth University; Ibrahim Kalin, of the College of the Holy Cross; and Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, join together to examine the meaning of Islam-both within a Muslim context and in relation to the Christian and Jewish...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: With a total population estimated between three and six million people, the United States is home to one of the most diverse Muslim communities in the world today. But what is the experience of the Muslim American? How does it differ from European Muslims? A part of the PBS America at a Crossroads series, The Muslim Americans was produced in conjunction with the PBS NewsHour and, by means of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Unlike the founders of Christianity and Judaism, much is known about the life of Muhammad, enabling Muslims to closely emulate him. This program featuring Islam scholars Ibrahim Kalin and Amina Wadud and Beeson Divinity School's Timothy George examines the life of Muhammad in detail. From his birth in 570 to his death in 630, it covers key experiences both before and after his transformation to...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program studies European exploration and conquest, beginning in the late Middle Ages and leading up to the emergence of the major colonial powers. Byzantium's fall in 1453 sets the narrative stage for Henry the Navigator's massive initiative to find new trade routes into Asia. Henry's nautical school at Sagres is described in detail, along with the voyages of Columbus, Gil Eannes, Vasco da...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Over the last decade, Islam has swiftly grown in popularity-so much so that today one in every five people on Earth is a follower of Muhammad. But with this resurgence has come an increase in friction between Muslims and non-Muslims. Segment one of this program focuses on four divinity school students from Tatarstan who dropped out to join the jihad in Chechnya, while segment two tracks the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program offers fifteen stand-alone segments, or "lecture launchers," from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on a wide range of subjects concerning Islam, including the Hajj, W. D. Mohammed and the Nation of Islam, Muslim voter turnout in the 2000 elections, and the role of women in Islam. The program provides an introduction to Islamic beliefs and practices, as well as reporting on timely...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program examines the historical relations between Islam and Christianity and the long history of conflict between them. Iran's ambassador to the Vatican, Mohammad Masjed Jame'i, explains the basic differences and similarities between Islam and Christianity: the roles of Christ and Mohammad, the Bible and the Koran, and the main differences of approach. The program also examines the reasons...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Residing to the north of India, the population of Kashmir is primarily Muslim. This program travels to the place known as "the Switzerland of the East" to study the beliefs and practices of Islam. Topics such as the Koran, the Pillars of Islam, the influence of Sharia, and traditional Muslim festivals and holy sites are addressed. Background on the arrival of Islam in Kashmir and its spread...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Since the time of Icarus, man has tried to fly. This program covers the history of flight, from the invention of the propeller through the Wright Brothers' first flight and Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic solo; profiles Robert Goddard and traces the development of the rocket from the beginning, through the development of gyroscopic instruments, the V-2, Sputnik, and Explorer 1; traces the advances...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: It is the summer of 2006, and a bus filled with Iranian men and women sets out on a perilous journey to the holy sites of Najaf and Karbala in war-torn Iraq. Wide Angle accompanies them on their pilgrimage-revealing many of the attitudes, beliefs, and emotions that add to the complexity of modern Islam. As the bus rolls through breathtaking desert landscapes, the five-day odyssey takes on...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: As the shadow of the Dark Ages fell across Europe, the scene for the advancement of Western civilization shifted to the Near East. This program charts the rise of the Arab empire, from its roots in the long-standing rivalry between the Byzantines and the Sassanids. Nodes along that timeline include the dual role of Mecca as a place of worship and as a center for trade, the life of Muhammad and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Smith discovered Islam as an adult, and became enamored with Islamic conceptions of order, justice, mercy, and compassion. He still prays five times a day as Muslims do. The Sufis opened the doors of Islam to Smith. Through their trance-inducing dances, these mystics bring God into the immediate moment. Smith and Moyers discuss misconceptions about Islam held in the West today.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Under Muslim rule, Spain became the most advanced, wealthy, and populous country in Europe, with great leaps forward in art, architecture, and many other fields. In this program, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon travels from Cordoba to Seville and on to Granada as he tells the story of art in Islamic and medieval Spain. Richly designed and decorated buildings such as the Great Mosque in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: With the grandeur and geometric sophistication of the Alhambra as a powerful opening example, this program looks at Islamic culture in southern Spain following the Berber invasion of 711. Scholar Bettany Hughes talks with Professor Antonio Fernandez-Puertas of the University of Granada, who has studied Nasrid art and architecture for 40 years; with Professor Lauro Olmo Encisco of Alcala...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007