Mélange of culture and religion: Khuda Kay Liye

The film Khuda Kay Liye, which means ‘In the name of God’, was made in 2007 in
Pakistan, mainly in Urdu and partly in English. Its plot is a complex story in the current
world context in which Islam, modernity, East and West converge and collide. The film
is a religious and cultural mélange where it projects how culture could be different
despite having the same belief or religion. It is a testimony of Oriental depiction by the
West in which East is portrayed as traditional, reactionary, and superstitious against the
West which is known to be secular, modern, and scientific.

In the post 9/11 era, a majority of the Muslim Diaspora in the West is in a catch-22
situation about how to practice Islam and uphold their cultural identity. In various cases,
Western media brand their cultural and religious practices as fundamentalist, extremist;
as a result, Muslim diaspora in the West are increasingly facing internal problem about
how to come in term with Western modernity and their own cultural belief and religious
practice.

In most of the case diasporic population in the West make a hybrid identity to get
adapted in different conditions. This mixed bag identity, sometimes, creates confusion in
their own society in the East when cultural and religious practices seem different so
much so that their Western modern and hybrid identity does not find space and are not
welcoming in their native society.

What to do in this regard? The film is an answer to such a dilemma. It is an eye opening
film for both western and non-western audience. The whole credit goes to the Pakistani
director Shoaib Mansoor, whose brainchild has shaken our preoccupation and
imagination about orthodox religion and culture. The film deconstructs the prejudices
and stereotypes based on religion and culture. The main theme of the movie is the
portraiture of Islam and Culture, which are two different things.

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In Islam, it is clearly said that there is no coercion in the name of religion. There is no
citation in the holy Quran and Hadith of using perforce if anyone does not keep beard or
wear long dress or veil, or if they watch movies, get modern education, sing song and
so on. The movie refers to different sources to clarify the confusion about Islam of some
wayward elements who misinterprets Islam and derail others form their normal life.

The movie portraits the plight of Western educated Muslim diaspora who languishes in
the incarceration in the USA being persecuted with false allegation of attacking the Twin
Tower. A simple Eastern cultural tradition of wearing amulet with citation from holy
Quran, given by the religious leader, was deemed as plotting map of New York Twin
Tower on September 11, 2001.

Though it is an allegorical representation, in real life we find hundreds of Muslims in the

Western jail and in interrogation cells for months without any trial, being tortured and
branded as Al-Qaeda and Mujahedeen. As it is shown, after a long ordeal, with the help
of human rights activists, when the innocent (male protagonist) comes out from the FBI
interrogation cell to Pakistan, the educated young hopeful forget everything about his
past and become a living dead, that is, physically and mentally challenged for the rest
of his life.

The film is very successful to show the twists and charisma by portraying Muslim force
marriage and physical and psychological torture by the so-called Islamic clergy and
clerics. It shows the incompatibility between misinterpretation of Islam and cultural
tradition. With the misinterpretation of Islam we cannot deform cultural norms and
values, which is why the movie shows the cultural tradition of singing song, having
western education and life style beside religious practices.

It seems a very successful movie in terms of the depth of the story. In the film we see a
western educated woman was forced to marry against her wish. She has no voice to be
heard. Even after getting freedom from a bigot Muslim she cannot take her own
decision. She has to comply with her agency which is nothing but child rearing,

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managing household works and the like. Despite having all other extraordinary aspects
depicted in the movie, it is somewhat bizarre to see the sorry state of the rights of the
women in the Islamic society.

Moreover, any critic can ask what this movie has given to those women who face a
dilemma with their education, freedom, wellbeing, entitlement, and other human rights.
What have the culture and religion left to the people regardless gender, class, race, and
ethnicity? Is it culture that determines religion or vice versa?

Lalmatia, Dhaka, 2009

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