Edited by Kristian Petersen NEW APPROACHES TO ISLAM IN FILM

Routledge Studies in Religion and Film NEW APPROACHES TO ISLAM IN FILM Edited by Kristian Petersen

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9780815393221_Full cover_HBK.indd 1 16-03-2021 17:47:15 New Approaches to Islam in Film

Many global film industries fail in expanding the role of Muslims on screen. Too often they produce a dichotomy between “good” and “bad” Muslims, limiting the narrative domain to issues of national security, war, and terrorism. Naturally, much of the previous scholarship on Muslims in film focused on stereotypes and the politics of representation. This collection of chapters, from an international panel of contributors, significantly expands the boundaries of discussion around Muslims in film, asking new questions of the archive and magnifying analyses of particular cultural productions. The volume includes the exploration of regional cinemas, detailed analysis of auteurs and individual films, comparison across global cinema, and new explorations that have not yet entered the conversation. The interdisciplinary collection provides an examination of the multiple roles Islam plays in film and the various ways Muslims are depicted. Across the chapters, key intersecting themes arise that push the limits of how we currently approach issues of Muslims in cinema and ventures to lead us in new directions for future scholarship. This book adds new depth to the matrix of previous scholarship by revisiting methodological structures and sources, as well as exploring new visual geographies, transnational circuits, and approaches. It reframes the presiding scholarly conventions in five novel trajectories: considering new sources, exploring new communities, probing new perspectives, charting new theoretical directions, and o!ering new ways of understanding conflict in cinema. As such, it will be of great use to scholars working in Islamic Studies, Film Studies, Religious Studies, and Media.

Kristian Petersen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Old Dominion University, USA. 15 Together in the midst of war Muslim and Christian coexistence in Lebanese cinema

Sérgio Dias Branco

Popular representations of are often framed around its unsettled social, political, and religious history, especially tensions between Muslims and Christians. Several Lebanese films o!er an alternative vantage point that allows viewers to glimpse at the shape of peace within and between communities. This chapter focuses on depictions of Muslim and Christian coexistence in four films: the Encounter (Beyroutou el lika, 1981), West Beirut (Beyrouth Al Gharbiyya, 1998), In the Battlefields (Maarek hob, 2004), and Where Do We Go Now? (W halla’ la wayn, 2011). I argue that these works provide densely contrasting and complementary perspec- tives that contribute to a more profound understanding of this conflicting and peaceful coexistence. The following analyses of each film detail how they provide these perspectives and contribute to this understanding. My focus is mainly on how Muslim and Christians characters are represented and their storylines unfold. Lebanon is a country with large Muslim and Christian communities that have been entangled in a history of conflicts. O#cial data is not available, because there has not been a census since 1932. Most of the politicians argue that an o#cial survey of the population could lead to further political crises and social divisions. Be that as it may, even without rigorous figures there are some valuable estimates (see, in particular, US Department of State – Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 2015). About half of the population is Muslim, either Shia or Sunni, with no clear predominance between these two branches of Islam. Around 40% is Christian, mostly Eastern Cat