Asia Sentinel

A movie and book about Islamic lovers is a vehicle for marketing fundamentalism

Indonesians have been flocking to a wildly popular novel by a young Indonesian named Habiburrahman El-Shiraz, and now an equally popular new movie, “Ayat-Ayat Cinta,” (translated as Love Verses). At first blush the work sounds hopelessly and religiously romantic, just like Kahlil Gibran’s poems to his mysterious lover whom, in the end, he never even met.

But don’t be fooled. Love Verses is far from a story of innocent platonic love between pen friends.  It is about romanticizing polygamy and re-packaging fundamentalism in a modern Hollywood way. Both the book and the film have been embraced by Indonesian Islamists, who may see it as a chance to embed Islamist ideology into the wider moderate majority. Parliament chairman Hidayat Nur Wahid, who represents the Islamist-oriented Prosperous Justice Party, reportedly met with the cast of the film and praised the story because it was written by an author who had attended Islamic boarding schools and could popularize Islamic teaching.

Habiburrahman begins the story with Fahri bin Abdullah Shiddiq, a hardworking, honest, smart, pious, handsome college student at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. There he encounters four gorgeous young women of various backgrounds, of which three are Muslim and one is a Coptic Christian. Two are Indonesian, the other two are not. Inexplicably, the Christian converts to Islam at the end of the film. Fahri chooses to marry one of the three but his weeping wife insists that out of mercy he take another as his second wife. Ultimately Fahri falls for the richest of the four and they no doubt live happily ever after

Since it is a dakwah or “preaching” story, the author seeks to convert one of his fictional women, as otherwise she would not have been able to enter heaven as a non-Muslim. In the eyes of common people who don’t think critically about the message and how religions have evolved to what they are today, such plots are easy to digest and, unfortunately, to emulate.

Other than the typical good-man-receives-good-rewards plot, this story is sprinkled with fundamentalist messages. Of course, such messages can be found in all religions and are not limited to Islam. For instance, fundamentalist Christians believe that Christ was sent by God to herald the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Some literalist Christians even praise warfare and conflict as signalling the so-called end times in which Jesus will supposedly walk the earth again. American fundamentalists have long used books like Tim LaHaye’s popular fantasies about the Book of Revelations to popularize their ideas.

In Love Verses, Islam is the religion of choice. There are at least five prevalent messages in the story that must be greeted critically. First, a hardworking, pious and handsome man has no problem finding multiple women to fall madly in love with him. Second, a man can have more than one woman willing to marry him. Third, a woman who loves a man dearly might be willing to have her man take another woman as a second wife. Fourth, a person must be a Muslim to enter Heaven. Fifth, a man might eventually choose a rich and attractive woman as his wife.

Indonesians, provided they wish to have a heterogenous pluralistic country based on Pancasila, or The Five Principles, must be careful in digesting all kinds of propaganda, including that packaged in a pop culture coating.  And some of the most effective soft-power vehicles known to date are the visual media and print and online publications.

Despite this portrayal of Islam, my respect for it as a religion of peace, and that the moderate majority are peace-loving and tolerant people, has not diminished. The thing is, Indonesia as the most populous country with Muslim followers, should set an example for being modern and open-minded like Turkey.

Islamic scholars in Turkey are currently working on modernizing Islam through re-evaluating and re-interpreting Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Many of these scholars say parts of the Hadith have been falsely attributed to Muhammad and while they might have been applicable in the early Islamic period, they no longer apply today. The sayings include, but are not limited to, those regarding women’s role in society and Islam’s relationship with other religions.

According to Ismail Hakki Unal, head of the Hadith department at Ankara University's divinity school, many recorded sayings are in conflict with the Koran. Thus, since the Koran is the basic guide, anything contradictory should be re-evaluated, re-interpreted, and eventually, eliminated.

Love Verses might be a reflection of many Indonesian Muslims’ mentality, as it portrays an overly romanticized vision of spiritual suffering and romance. And apparently and unfortunately, fundamentalist messages can be appealing on the silver screen.

The world does not need any kind of fundamentalism, not Islamic, not Christian, not Hindu, Buddhist or atheist, because polarization breeds opposing polarities, which do not make the world a safer place to live. At last, can’t we simply make movies conveying messages of neutral and unbiased humanitarian values? Remember when Chow Yun-Fat said to Jodie Foster in Anna and the King:  “I finally realize that one woman is enough.” That is a true happy ending.

The writer is a columnist for The Jakarta Post.

Comments (12)

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louis vuitton
written by louis vuitton , October 22, 2009

I read. Better if you translate to B.Indonesia, or write/publish in your blog. Thanks

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written by ilyas , April 03, 2008

I think this film if compare with the novel is quite different... so I think Jennie must read the novel how the polygami happen in the story... So the double standard of western people must be lay down... judge the film especially the novel with your heart. I think western people make propaganda film more than islam... much more... and many lie story... in there. About fundamentalism in cristian.. much more than islam... like klux-klux klan... and many others...

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Islamic Values
written by taufik kurniawan , March 28, 2008

Dear Ibu Jenny,

I read some of your writings, and tell you the truth that most of them are inspiring and motivational.

However, I read some of your writings which are about islam, moslem, islamic value and the like etc.



Your writing is very contradicting with your own quotes "At last, can’t we simply make movies conveying messages of neutral and unbiased humanitarian values?"

Can you simply write something of neutral and unbiased humanitarian values?

If it is difficult, maybe you should restraint to write such.

I don't think your writing here is reflecting that? CMII.

regards,

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Long road to heaven
written by Suratno , March 28, 2008

Relegion is a choice. some people said it's fundamentalism. but, what the true definition about fundamentalism? If you wanna know what kind of fundamentalism, please make a comment for "Fitna". a movie who made by Geert Wilders. And than u can comparing with "Verses Love". Which one do you like?

Now, please make an equal and balance opinion.

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written by indi , March 27, 2008

The film might be a propaganda, but let me remind you that Christians make much more propaganda movies than muslims and many based on lies.

If your heart and mind already full with hatred and prejudice againts muslim, even a film with good messages like Ayat-ayat Cinta will be dissed by you and other anti-muslims as 'fundamentalist".

Oh yeah, you're right, Turkey would be a good example, especially their act of banning moslem women with hearscarves to enter certain public places/institutions. Some moslem women choose to wear headscarves, they were not forced. So now you forced them to let go their headscarves?? What a champion of human rights!!!!
You guys are just double-standard hypocrites.

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Only one way?
written by Perkasa , March 27, 2008

Suratno, any religious follower who believes there is only one way to go to heaven is considered a "fundamentalist". You might not realize this.

There are many messages that are not universal in that novel/movie. Packaging them in beautiful words/images is just sugar coating. You need to keep your eyes and mind open.

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Open Minded
written by Suratno , March 27, 2008

Key word : Open minded.
Before you make comment, please watch the movie first. The film is not a propaganda, it's a true and pure Islam, nor fundamentalism. Islam is a peaceful religion.
I think the author of this article just make negative perception about Islam without an enough knowledge about this religion.
I'm Moeslem, for me, Islam is beautiful

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written by Jim Pollard , March 26, 2008

Religious fundamentalism is not a concept rooted in democratic rules of majorities. It matters little if the extremists don't "represent tha majority of Muslims," so long as they do number well enough to set the political agenda. And they do, don't they?
Also, most commentators in the West go out of their way not to offend Muslim sensibilities, no matter what atrocity may have been committed in the name of Islam by the religion's practitioners. Incidentally, these pundits would never treat people of any other creed with the same leniency.
Note also that the majority of Islamic fundamentalim's victims are Muslim themselves (who just happen to belong to a different denomination than the perpetrators), often leading to a low-key, tit-for-tat civil war as in Iraq.
It should be very much in the interests of the "silent majority" of Muslims to disassociate themselves unequivocally from extremists. That this doesn't not seem to be happening is likely due to Muslim "brotherhood," as well as to the clear theological underpinnings of fundamentalists' bigotry and militancy, which are backed up by Koranic verses and hadiths alike.

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written by Mark Shim , March 25, 2008

The author's tone is not due to weakness but the ability to reason. She is against fundamentalism, not only Islam's but of rigid reactionary portrayals of Islam.

The history of Christianity is not one of peace but of violence, however, its history does and should not discredit it. Presently, here is extremism in Islam, more than in other faiths, yet the author is right to point out that it is in the minority.

Far too many prefer to portray Islam in a negative light, preferring to point out the opinions of extremists that do not represent the majority.

After reading the article I did not think the author was pussyfooting, but was balanced.

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Great insight, thanks
written by Advocatus , March 22, 2008

This article is worthless as a piece of commentary on the medieval mindset prevalent in fundamentalist Islamic teachings at large. The author pussyfoots around the real issues of misogyny, bigotry, diehard anti-modernism, single-minded anti-Semitism, magical thinking etc . . . and zeroes in on polygamy as a root cause of Islamic extremism.
Right.
The idea of polygamy in Islam, granting a man (but not a woman) the right to have multiple marriages, is part and parcel of Islamic teachings that reduce women to the status of mere chattel and men’s properties – even if a woman is independently wealthy, as apparently one of the female characters in the movie mentioned desperate to marry the protagonist is. Polygamy isn’t a “fundamentalist” teaching in Islam; it’s a core, mainstream one. Wasn’t the Prophet Muhammad a proud polygamist and aren’t faithful Muslims expected to emulate him?
“espite this portrayal of Islam,” Bev adds boldly, “my respect for it as a religion of peace . . . has not diminished.”
The dozens that die every day at the hands of Muslim “insurgents”/”separatists” from the Philippines to southern Thailand to Iraq to Afghanistan will be happy to hear that.
From there, it’s on to the usual boilerplate equivalence: “The world does not need any kind of fundamentalism, not Islamic, not Christian, not Hindu, Buddhist or atheist, because polarization breeds opposing polarities, which do not make the world a safer place to live.”
Thanks for making that clear. Maybe it’s just me, though, but of late I haven’t heard of “Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or atheist” fundamentalists vowing to subjugate the world to their brand of thinking at the end of guns and suicide belts.

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duh!
written by rad , March 20, 2008

puh-lease. how people wanna have more than one wife is beyond me!
I don't even think I can afford one

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Translate to Bahasa Indonesia, please.
written by AACINTA , March 20, 2008

I read. Better if you translate to B.Indonesia, or write/publish in your blog. Thanks.

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