As violence continues to spread throughout the Middle East, a growing number of young Muslims in Europe are leaving their home towns to fight for ISIS.
In the last year alone over 400 young Belgians have traveled to Syria. In My Jihad, directed by Mark De Visscher, reporter Rudi Vranckx visits the region of Vilvoorde to investigate why young Belgians from the area are becoming radicalised, and how the Muslim community is working to combat this trend.
“Everyone in Vilvoorde knows someone who’s left” explains Moad, a young Belgian Muslim. In the last year a number of Moad’s schoolmates have left Belgium for Syria to take up arms for ISIS. What is driving these young men to turn their backs on their families and their friends to sacrifice everything? Moad believes that “it’s a shared responsibility… there is nowhere else here for young Muslims to go.”
The film also introduces Imad, a youth counsellor. Like many other Muslims in Vilvoord, Imad has responded to cases of radicalisation by engaging with the local Muslim youth through charity; offering them guidance and support to create a sense of belonging within the community. One of Imad’s pupils explains, “ISIS is an ideology. You cannot bombard an ideology… an ideology has to be fought intellectually.”
Encouraging residents of Vilvoorde to voice their own perspectives, director Mark De Visscher creates a moving and revealing portrait of a small community confronting extremism. My Jihad offers a fascinating and topical insight into a growing issue, providing a valuable perspective on the impacts of extremism for Muslim communities in Europe.
Directed by: Mark De Visscher
Runtime: 52′
Country: Belgium
Distributor: Journeyman Pictures
The Frontline Club is delighted to partner with Cinema for Peace to bring you a night of short films illuminating the experiences of refugees and displaced persons.
Cinema for Peace is a non-profit organisation based in Berlin that aims to raise awareness for the social relevance of films, and to make active use of the influence of film on the perception and resolution of social, political and humanitarian challenges. Since 2002, the group has been inviting filmmakers, humanitarian and human rights activists, and public figures to its annual awards ceremony in Berlin to honour a selection of cinematic works on humanitarian and environmental issues.
The programme will comprise international short documentaries, narrating the personal experiences and journeys of refugees, asylum seekers and stateless and internally displaced persons from several areas across the world and representing multiple environmental and humanitarian issues.
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sharron Ward.
The lineup:
MY ALEPPO
Director: Melissa Langer
2015 / 18 min / USA
http://melissalanger.com/
The young Abdullah family fled the Syrian civil war and settled in Pretoria, South Africa. There, in their little one-room apartment, the Internet is all that connects them with Aleppo.
THEN I CAME BY BOAT
Director: Marleena Forward
2014 / 11 min / Australia
https://marleenaforward.wordpress.com/
Tri and his family escaped by boat from Vietnam to Australia. Now he has found a way to say thank you to Australia.
A LIFE ON HOLD
Director: Marc Silver & Nick Francis
2013 / 6 min / UK
http://www.marcsilver.net/projects/a-life-on-hold.php
When the 2011 war broke out in Libya, thousands of refugees from countries such as Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea were forced to flee for their lives. They are now waiting in refugee camps along the Tunisian and Egyptian borders – unable to return home due to war or persecution, unable to return to Libya due to ongoing violence and discrimination.
RESIDENT ALIEN
Director: Naiara Eizaguirre-Paulos
2015 / 17 min / USA/Spain
http://www.naiaraeizaguirre.com/
15-year-old Carlos saw his best friend shot dead in front of him in Honduras and escaped gang violence by fleeing to his grandmother in the U.S., but his undocumented status leaves him vulnerable to deportation.
SYRIA: HIDDEN WAR ON WOMEN
Director/Producer: Sharron Ward
2015 / 7 min / UK / Channel 4 News
www.katalystproductions.co.uk
As the Syrian war enters its fifth year, the pressures on displaced families have caused a dramatic rise in violence against women. But domestic abuse is a taboo subject in Syrian society and the true scale of the problem is unknown. Violence against women is the hidden war on women in Syria. Filmmaker Sharron Ward gained rare access to brave Syrian refugee women in Jordan & Lebanon who spoke out in their own words about their experiences of forced child marriage, domestic violence and other gender based violence.
Please join us in celebrating the official launch of the Cambodian Children’s Fund UK.
With Scott Neeson, Founder & Executive Director of the Cambodian Children’s Fund and patrons of Cambodian Children’s Fund UK Michael Mansfield QC and Janet Templeman representing Miles Templeman.
The Cambodian Children’s Fund UK is dedicated to improving the lives of young people from Cambodia’s most destitute communities. We provide them with life-changing education, nutrition, healthcare and training. CCF aims to equip vulnerable children with the knowledge, skills and confidence that will allow them to play a positive and dynamic role in their own families and communities.
CCF-UK is a charity registered in England & Wales (NO. 1135214).
]]>If you’ve nipped into the Frontline Club recently you might have noticed the Fixers Fund gift donation envelopes, on the stairs, at the bar and in the forum. We’ve also put together a short video explaining more about the fund and how it was started following the murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi. Afghan journalist and fixer Najibullah Razzaq discusses the importance of their job along with BBC journalists Alan Little, Jeremy Bowen and Martin Bell. You can donate to the fund on the Charity Giving website.
]]>Prompted by the murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi in Afghanistan in 2007, the Frontline Club has initiated the Fixer’s Fund – a special project to raise money for the families of fixers killed or injured around the world while working with the international media.
Please support this worthy cause. The death of fixers and support staff in the field are all too often swiftly forgotten but foreign reporters could not operate in the field without them. To try and help these unsung heroes of the industry, the Frontline Club has set up this fund and pledges to pass on 100 percent of all the contributions it receives to the families involved.
All cheques should be made out to The Frontline Club Charitable Trust or donate to the fund on the Charity Giving website.
If you’ve nipped into the Frontline Club recently you might have noticed the Fixers Fund gift donation envelopes, on the stairs, at the bar and in the forum. We’ve also put together a short video explaining more about the fund and how it was started following the murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi. Afghan journalist and fixer Najibullah Razzaq discusses the importance of their job along with BBC journalists Alan Little, Jeremy Bowen and Martin Bell.
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