Topic: Race & Diversity

Hijab & Me – Three young Muslim women called Ambar, Ilhan and Athena give their personal (and very different!) opinions on what it means to wear hijab, and the status of women in Islam.

A film by Kim Roden

Created in collaboration with the Advocacy Academy

Shortlisted for Best Short Form Documentary at the Broadcast Digital Awards 2020.

Nominated for the Educational Film Award at The Learning On Screen Awards 2020.

Nominated in the Children’s Broadcasting category at the Sandford St Martin Trust Awards 2020.

Nominated for the Content for Change Award at the Children’s BAFTAs 2019.

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 2: Thematic studies:Theme A: Relationships and families- Sex, marriage and divorce - Islam - Gender roles, Gender equality, Gender prejudice and discrimination including examples.

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 -Section 2: Marriage and the Family -Islam - Muslim teaching about the equality of men and women in the family: divergent Muslim beliefs, teachings and attitudes about the role of men and women in the family with reference to the Qur’an, including Surah 4 and the time of Muhammad.

OCR

Component Group 2–Religion, philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - relationships and families - religious teachings about the nature and purpose of families in the 21st century, sex, marriage, cohabitation and divorce. Issues related to the nature and purpose of families; roles of men and women; equality; gender prejudice and discrimination.

WJEC

PART B- Theme 1: Issues of Relationships - Issues of equality: gender prejudice and discrimination - Diverse attitudes within Islam toward the roles of women and men in worship and authority  Teachings: Qur'an 2:228, 40:40, 4:1

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A):Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World : Theme 1: Issues of Relationships:Issues of equality: gender prejudice and discrimination

Transcript

Hijab & Me

Ilhan I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Ambar Sorry. Yeah.

Athena Okay. Should I start now?

Ambar A hijab, literally is an Arabic word, meaning curtain or barrier. Um, but for a lot of people it means lots of different things.

Ilhan A lot of people do see it as the covering of a woman's hair.

Ambar So for me, for example, to wear the hijab would be to dress modestly. So this could be interpreted as wearing the hijab.

Athena But the real hijab is meant to be the one that covers your whole body. What I'm wearing today is a jilbab, which is the orange colour, and the niqab is anything that covers the face.

Ambar We come in all different shapes and sizes. We dress different ways. Lots of women think different things about hijab, and that's because the ground is open to interpretation.

Ambar And tell the faithful women

Athena To cast down their looks

Ilhan and to guard their private parts,

Athena to make their outer garments.

Ambar Hang low over them.

Ilhan So as to be recognised and not insulted.

Athena I interpret the verse about the hijab as the covering from the opposite gender. Normally girls wear it outside in public, if they were to come across men. If you're at home with other girls or with your family, you don't have to wear hijab. But if you're on camera, then hijab is something that you have to wear.

Ilhan For me, it's not about I'm not going to look at me because really and truly, if men wanted to look, even if you're wearing a bin bag, they are going to look.

Ambar It doesn't say in the Quran that women have to cover their hair specifically.

Athena It's something that I believe we have to do as believing women. And if you don't wear the hijab, you do gain a sin from it.

Ilhan One of the reasons I like to wear it is it's kind of a religious tradition. It's something that's been done for many years. It's always inspired me ever since I was a little girl. So these are my four sisters.

Ruqiya I want to do it myself. My name is Ruqiya.

Ilhan When you're a child, your mum usually puts on the small pull on ones, but when you start to get a bit older, you wear the wrap ones. And at first it is hard to wrap it so that it looks nice on you.

Ilhan It's messy. Maybe fold it a bit, at the front.

Ilhan It makes you feel more grown up. It's quite an exciting experience. Set, go.

Ilhan I feel like we're all part of one massive community of Muslim women all over the world who also wear it. It makes me feel empowered.

Athena When I first wore my jilbab, I felt like a princess, like, I'm not going to lie, I felt like a princess because jilbab just made me feel modest and happy and girly, and I'm a very, very girly person. Growing up, I had a huge crisis in who I was as a person, because my parents didn't want me to wear the hijab. I would do my hair in different ways, my makeup in different ways. Modesty is a very important factor of your religion, and it was something that I wasn't practising, and it felt like that was the one thing that was keeping me back. So on my 17th birthday, I decided that I would start wearing the hijab. I remember spending two hours trying to play with it and putting the pins in the right place. I went downstairs and I told my mum and I told my dad, I'm going to wear this. My dad was like, how am I going to take you to school? It was a time when I was getting ready to basically come out and say, this is who I am, and whether they accepted me or not was something that I would have to face. Every person has their identity of what they like. It could be how they choose to dress or what brands they like. For me, and for majority of Muslim girls, our identity is Islam. We want people to know we're Muslim, to dress the way I'm dressing, it's hard, but we want to do it.

Ilhan I was always around other people who were wearing headscarf. However, being a black Muslim, I would sometimes look at my black community and see how hair is a big part of the culture. Braids, weaves, extensions.

Athena As a woman, you want to appear attractive. You want to do your hair. You want to do your makeup. It's natural. You'll find that we have hair straighteners. We do keep up with the latest makeup trends. We still do these things, but we just don't do it in public.

Ambar I only wear the headscarf when I'm praying or when I'm reading the Qur'an, so when I'm praying, I'm obviously praying towards God, and the same with when you're reading the Qur'an, because it is the word of God that's been passed down all the way from the time of the prophet. It's a symbol of me showing respect, but I don't feel like I need to wear it all the time to show that, it's only in those specific circumstances.

Athena What I would tell a Muslim woman who chooses not to wear the hijab, is that ideally we should try and wear the hijab, but her prayer may be better than mine, her character may be better than mine. So we are told not to judge other Muslim women.

Ilhan When it comes to prayer. Men and women are separated as a way of making sure that your focus is on the prayer, rather than looking around at who's in the room.

Athena For example, for having a wedding, we're told to have it so that men and women don't mix because we believe that they might have lustful thoughts about one another.

Ilhan Because I'm Somali, we like to wear these kind of, like, dresses, that are actually quite see through. It's okay that they're see through, because it's just women in the room, so it just makes it more fun.

Ambar I know a lot of Muslims think that splitting off men and women is something that should happen, but I don't agree with that at all. And I think that the emphasis that some Muslims give within the community on not being attracted to the other sex or not being attracted to the same sex, even. It can be so dangerous for young Muslims who are going through this period in their life, and they have questions about themselves, about their body, about their sexuality. Young Muslims need to be able to talk about it without feeling that they're doing something wrong, because it's not. It's quite normal.

Ilhan A lot of people assume that it's only Muslim women who have to observe hijab. The Qur'an actually addresses the men's hijab, before the women's hijab. Men are encouraged to cover their awrah, which is from their belly button to just below their knees. Even though the Quran does talk about men and women's hijab, a lot of pressure is put on the girls to make sure that they're covering up properly.

Ambar Some Muslim men, the way that they're interpreting the Qur'an, they are purposefully cherry picking the passages that give rights to men and just ignore the rights of women. I think that is the main issue. Um, and until we actually tackle that, then it's going to remain an issue for a while.

Ilhan Because I wear a headscarf, people can see that I'm Muslim. You do face some Islamophobia.

Ambar The Qur'an was being revealed 1400 years ago in a time that was very different to us. Women were told to cover up those parts of their body, to protect them from the kinds of things that were going on at the time. And I think given the current society with what's going on, there are Muslim women who are being identified as wearing the hijab, wearing the niqab, and they're being attacked because of it. So as a form of garment that was initially introduced to protect them, it's now actually having the opposite effect.

Ilhan My grandma's always being like, be careful, there's people out there that don't like Muslims. Imagine your grandmother having to tell you to be careful, because there are people who don't like you specifically because of what you choose to believe. It's like very specific to you as a person and you and your beliefs. And so, yeah.

Athena I do have a YouTube channel. Hateful comments always come with YouTube and so do positive ones. Some girls told me that I have to cover my eyes, or that I'm drawing too much attention to myself by being online in the first place. So, for them, Muslim women shouldn't be online. They should be hidden, they should be at home. And then you get the other spectrum. Why are you covering your face? Why are you covering your hair? Especially as women, we always get people telling us what to wear, how to dress. You have to learn to be confident in who you are as a person.

Ambar I think some of the things that people get wrong about Muslim women specifically is that we're oppressed.

Athena Whatever form of hijab you choose to wear is oppressive.

Ilhan To me, what I see as more oppressive is people trying to, like, plant ideas into my mind that I must feel uncomfortable, but really, it's them feeling uncomfortable.

Athena I don't get pressure from my family. I don't get pressure from my husband. For me, my main thing that empowers me is my religion and being able to practice my religion freely.

Ambar Women have Quranic rights that are drawn out in the Qur'an, and whether or not people pay attention to that is one thing, but nonetheless they are there.

Athena Before Islam came, girls were being buried alive, they were either sold off or married off to people that they didn't know.

Ilhan After Islam came about, women started to have the rights to education,

Ambar the right to marry, to choose who they could marry. They had the right to divorce.

Athena Having a voice,

Ilhan the right to inheritance, and the right to ownership of property.

Ambar It was a liberating religion.

Ilhan One of the women that I find really inspiring is Khadija, who was the Prophet Muhammad's first wife.

Athena Khadija was a businesswoman.

Ambar She was the one who bankrolled the religion, essentially.

Ilhan She even asked for the prophet's hand in marriage.

Ambar And she was also the first person to actually believe him when he was saying that he was getting these verses from God.

Athena The great women of Islam, they give us an example of how we should be.

Ambar What I want people to understand about women in Islam is that, hmm, that's a tricky one.

Ilhan Even though the hijab does hold great importance, it is just a piece of fabric. It is just a cloth that is around my head.

Ambar You are from a different background, different culture, and, but that doesn't mean you're an alien.

Ilhan If you are able to see us as normal people, who live our lives and are struggling just as much as everyone else, I think that would be great.

Hijab & Me

Video length - 09.29

Published date - Sep 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

The View from the Classroom – Intermarriage – What is intermarriage, and what do you think about it? Students from Key Stages 4 and 5 in schools all around the country give us the view from the classroom.

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 2: Thematic studies:Theme A: Relationships and families: Sex, marriage and divorce - The nature and purpose of marriage.

Edexcel

Area of Study 1 - Section 2 - Sex, marriage and divorce - the significance of marriage in religious life; religious teachings about marriage.

OCR

Component Group 2–Religion,philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - relationships and families - religious teachings about the nature and purpose of families in the 21st century, sex, marriage, cohabitation and divorce. Issues related to the nature and purpose of families; roles of men and women; equality; gender prejudice and discrimination.

WJEC

PART B- Theme 1: Issues of Relationships

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A):Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World : Theme 1: Issues of Relationships:Relationships

Transcript

The View from the Classroom – Intermarriage

Intermarriage is when

two people of a different background, for example

different religions,

cultures,

races

or nationalities come together and

marry each other.

I think intermarriage is a good thing. I mean, I'm technically from intermarriage, so my mom is from Zambia and then my dad was British English.

My dad is Welsh, and he was born in Swansea. And he- my mum is Brazilian.

My mom's African and my dad's from Kent.

I think it's a good thing for me that I have parents of different nationalities, because I feel like I have an open mind because of it. I like that because, you know, leaves stuff for possibility.

Oh, I 100% think it's really healthy for society to have all of these different religions and ethnicities and all, like, mingling together because it's, it's it makes it more lively.

In some sense, intermarriage would be confusing on children, because if you had a child and you had two religions in that family, you can't really mix them together, because that's obviously then against your religion in some sense.

It might be confusing for the children because the child may need to pick like what type of religion, what type of path to follow. If he wants to follow the father, if he wants to follow the mother.

Problems that intermarriage might cause for the kids, maybe, uh, they're stuck between two cultures. But it also can be good, because it might bring in more opinions about different cultures and help them improve as a person as well, because it might be different ideas they might take in from different religions and put them all together and make a good person.

Some people might be against, um, intermarriage because they feel like they racially won't be pure.

It could be family influences.

Because of religion and culture.

I think that some people may be against intermarriage as they believe that people should stay within what people like to call their own kind.

I think people are scared of the change. They don't want to have something different because it's not what they know.

If you were like, say, a strong Christian, it might be hard for you to accept the practice of, like, what a Muslim would do.

There will always be a problem when it comes to marriage, like, obviously when it comes to, like if she was a Muslim, she has to pray five times a day, she's not allowed to eat pork, she's not allowed to drink, like to smoke. If I'm choosing to marry the woman I love, I will have to believe what she believes in as well. And, like, not saying I will be a Muslim as well. I will still be Buddhist, however I will, I will understand why she does what she has to do.

In Islam, if you are going to marry someone from a different religion, then the child has to follow the man's religion.

I disagree with the fact that men are allowed to marry someone out of faith, and we're not. I think from back in the days it's all changed.

I don't think it matters if I married someone of a different religion, because if I love them, that's all that matters. I would want to have a Muslim wedding because it's my background and I love being a Muslim. I wouldn't mind also doing their way but incorporating it with mine.

I think intermarriage is neither good or bad. I think it's just two people marrying each other for love.

I feel like everyone should have the choice to like and get married to anyone they want. They shouldn't have to conform to 'Oh, you can only marry, you know, your own religion or your own race'. I feel like the world would be a very boring place if that were to happen.

I think intermarriage is happening much more these days, since it's much, it's much, like, widely accepted in today's society. I think it's a sign of healthy society.

I think intermarriage is a good thing because it brings communities together. It brings everyone together. Um, and it lets, it lets us learn the differences between everyone else. And it, it could end racism.

I think it's a sign of a healthy society if we have intermarriage, because it's showing that we have diversity and that we accept everyone for who they are, and we don't think of someone as Muslim or Christian. We think of them as a human and that person's personality.

The View from the Classroom – Intermarriage

Video length - 04.25

Published date - Sep 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

The View from the Classroom – Britishness – What does it mean to be British? What are British Values? And can you do an impression of the Queen? Key Stage 4 students from around the country give us the view from the classroom.

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA

Component 2: Thematic studies:Theme F: Religion, human rights and social justice - Human Rights - Issues of equality, freedom of religion and belief including freedom of religious expression.

Eduqas

Component 1 (Route A) Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World :Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights: Human Rights and Social Justice: Censorship, freedom of religious expression and religious extremism - Prejudice and discrimination

Transcript

The View from the Classroom – Britishness

Can you do your best impression of the Queen?

All right.

Hello there.

Hello.

I could do a queen impression, but I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

Cheerio.

And she does her wave as well.

God save the Queen.

If we're talking about the stereotype of British people,

they speak in a really weird, like, posh accent.

What is in Sherlock Holmes, in Suits

They live in London.

Fish and chips, scones, a nice Sunday roast. Drinks, tea, the England football team and how rubbish it is.

Cricket and tennis, and like rugby.

Those stereotypes do annoy me. Only a minority of British people are actually like that.

Yeah, I'm British.

I'm British because I was born here.

I was born British, but come from an Indian background.

My blood makes me British.

I am half Maltese, but I've lived in Britain all my life, so pretty British.

I think what makes me British is that I've been here all my life.

I think I'm Welsh because, I don't know, I look at the British flag and I don't see a Welsh dragon.

My dad was British and he is fully British his entire life. My mum, on the other hand, comes from Thailand, so I do not consider my mum a British citizen. However, I still consider her my mum and that's almost just as good.

I've been to a lot of places and they all think British people are just English.

If someone asked me, I'd say I'm Welsh rather than I'm British.

If you're British, you are also English, I think, aren't you?

I'm not too sure what it actually means to be British. That's a difficult question.

I feel as if it's just something on a passport.

To be British, it means to belong.

Britishness is just someone who holds some basic British values, such as tolerance, stoicism and freedom.

Liberty, democracy and diversity, because there's people from all different backgrounds and all different races that are here.

Peacefully living together and, like, being kind and just respecting each other.

I think just living in Britain and following the laws, going to school, being friends with everyone else here, that's just what about being British is to me. You could say, oh yeah, British people, like, are forgiving and all of this and but then that's saying that, uh, people from other countries aren't.

I'm Romanian. I've lived in the UK for ten years now. I'm a British citizen. I have a British passport, but I think it comes down to genes, like, I wasn't born here. My parents aren't British, so I don't think I am.

I don't think that you are born British, because there's people coming from other countries and they are legally British.

They can apply for citizenship if they've lived here for five or more years, if they've come from abroad, but to me, they they won't be British.

I don't think you do have to be born here to be British. I think, for example, refugees and that, that are forced over here through war and stuff like that, if they come over here and it's a better life for them, then why not allow them to be British?

I think that someone can come here and be made British because if they are abiding by the rules, then that means that they are British.

I 100% think it's really healthy for society to have all of these different religions and ethnicities and all like, mingling together.

I think multiculturalism has only increased over time, and like there's Indian shops. It's only shaped us for the better with having a load of different food, instead of just having to eat fish and chips every day, we can have curry once or twice as well now.

I think Britain should be a democracy because many people need to decide their fate.

Democracy is a country in which the people can vote for who they want to be the leader.

It'd be unfair if only one person could decide what everyone's doing. I feel like a vote should count for something because one vote can change a lot.

I think democracy is something that's required to be human. Everyone's different and so all people's opinions should be put together and really decided on to make one decision.

I think the voting age should be brought down to 16. I will do the research on who I vote in, because the same could be said for 18 year olds. Some 18 year olds are stupid, doesn't mean they're not allowed to vote.

I'm not really very into politics, but then I feel if the voting age was lowered, people my age would probably get more involved.

I think it should stay at 18, I think. 16 year olds are too caught up with school and things. They're probably not thinking about politics too much.

Being able to choose your leader is a very important thing, because that makes you feel like you have a choice in the matter of what's happening to your country.

The British has definitely changed over the years, as the Windrush, when the Jamaicans came, they bring a lot of their cultures, their foods, their fashion.

You can't expect Britain to stay as it was 100 years ago.

People with different cultures can get on. You can all share opinions without having to discriminate.

Well, the British Empire comes from many places around the world. The countries that they did invade and take over, of course, have many people of different ethnicities. And all those people I believe are equally British, so race and ethnicity does not matter.

I think people don't like change because it's been the same for so many years. So, when somebody else from a different country is in the same class as them, or in the same room as them, they're going to be like, well, you weren't here before, why are you here now?

I think in like a politician's point of view, that they're not, kind of, over the fact that Britain once was a very white country. And I don't think that, because at the end of the day, Britain is not defined by its past, it's defined by what it is at the moment. And if it's that we've got loads of different faiths, we should, like, really be grateful for that, because at the end of the day, it's trying to say that we encourage this stuff and that we're not racist.

Britain is probably one of the biggest places where you see loads of different colours. I love being British.

The View from the Classroom – Britishness

Video length - 05.04

Published date - Sep 2019

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

What Do You Mean I Can’t Change the World? – Jemmar tells the story of how she went from hating how she looked, to a realisation of the injustices that made her feel that way, to proud acceptance of herself as a beautiful, working class, black young woman. She is now an activist, working for social justice and inspiring other young people to campaign for the issues that affect their lives.

Told by Jemmar Samuels

Directed by Adam Tyler

Created in collaboration with the Advocacy Academy

CREDITS

Winner of the Content for Change category at the BAFTA Children’s Awards 2018.

…and Adam Tyler was also nominated in the Director category.

What Do You Mean I Can’t Change the World?

Video length - 10.54

Published date - Jan 2018

Keystage(s) - 4

Origins – Meet Gabriela. Or Stephanie. Or Yana.

How much do the circumstances of your birth affect the person you become? How much influence does your upbringing have on your beliefs? How different would your life have been if you had been born in a different country? Into a different faith and culture?

What makes you you?

Winner of the Short Form category at the BAFTA Children’s Awards 2018.

Origins

Video length - 05.02

Published date - Sep 2017

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Extremists – A back street brawl between two young men with extreme and opposing views – men who would never take the time to talk, to listen, to understand each other. And yet… a conversation begins. This provocative film reveals some challenging truths about prejudice, extremism and radicalisation, and shows that the best way to understand these problems is to talk.

The attached lesson materials featuring this film have been awarded the PSHE Association‘s Quality Mark.

CREDITS

Curriculum Mapping

TrueTube films are designed for use in a number of ways. Some ideas of where this film could link to your curriculum are below:

AQA Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world Theme D - Religion, peace and conflict - Terrorism -Religious understanding of and attitudes to terrorism Component 2 - Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world: Theme F – Religion, human rights and social justice - Human Rights - Issues of equality, freedom of religion and belief including freedom of religious expression.

Edexcel Section 4: Peace and Conflict -Section 4: Peace and Conflict - Issues surrounding conflict:divergent Muslim teachings and responses to the nature of problems involved in conflict – violence, war, and terrorism; how Muslims have worked to overcome these issues, including Malik's Muwatta 21. 3. 10; non-religious (including atheist and Humanist) views towards the issues surrounding conflict and Muslim responses to them. Area of Study 3 – Islam - Section 4: Equality - Muslim teaching on human rights: Muslim teachings and responses to the nature and purpose of human rights; why Muslims might support human rights as important, including Surah 5: 8; divergent Muslim responses to the need for and application of individual human rights, including the support offered by situation ethics; the problems human rights might cause for Muslims; Muslim responses to non-religious (including atheist and Humanist) arguments about human rights.

OCR Religion,philosophy and ethics in the modern world from a religious perspective - Religion, peace and conflict -Violence and conflict- Key philosophical and ethical concepts: • Forms of violence • War •Justificationof violence • Just War theory - The relationship between religion,politics and terrorism in the 21st century •Different religious attitudes towards terrorism and the causes of terrorism.

WJEC PART B - Theme 2: Issues of Good and Evil - Forgiveness  Peace and conflict: Just War Theory/Lesser Jihad, Pacifism and Conscientious Objectors  Islamic teachings about forgiveness: Qur'an 64:14, 42:30  Examples of forgiveness arising from personal beliefs Good, Evil and Suffering  Philosophical perspectives on the origin of evil: The Devil tests humans: Qur'an 2:34, 155  The belief in pre-destination (al Qadr)

EDUQAS Component 1 (Route A) Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World - Theme 4: Issues of Human Rights - Human Rights and Social Justice ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes toward the dignity of human life: Qur'an 5:32 ➢ Islamic practices to promote human rights including equality: ummah in action ➢ An example of conflict between personal conviction and the laws of a country ➢ Censorship, freedom of religious expression and religious extremism (including Islamphobia) Prejudice and discrimination ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes towards prejudice and discrimination: Qur'an 5:8, 49:13 ➢ Islamic beliefs, teachings and attitudes towards racial prejudice and discrimination, including the actions of the Christian/Muslim Forum

Transcript

Extremists

Man 1 You bloody terrorist!

Man 2 What?

Man 1 You're a bloody terrorist.

Man 2 I'm not.

Man 1 What?

Man 2 I'm not a terrorist. I'm an extremist.

Man 1 Exactly.

Man 2 They're two different things.

Man 1 What?

Man 2 Terrorist and extremist. They don't mean the same thing.

Man 1 They do.

Man 2 They don't. Not all extremists are violent.

Man 1 Well, most of them are.

Man 2 Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Jesus.

Man 1 I was talking about Muslim extremists. You're all Islamists.

Man 2 Do you even know what an Islamist is?

Man 1 Yeah. All right. What's an Islamist?

Man 2 Someone who believes the world should be controlled by Islam. The government, law, society.

Man 1 Well, then.

Man 2 Do you know what Islam means?

Man 1 What, you mean-

Man 2 The word Islam.

Man 1 No.

Man 2 Submission or peace.

Man 1 Submission or peace?

Man 2 Yeah.

Man 1 How can it mean submission or peace?

Man 2 Because to me, submission is peace. I submit myself to the will of God and it brings me peace.

Man 1 But you want more?

Man 2 No, no, no, no, I want everyone in this country, everyone in this world, to submit themselves to the will of Allah Sharia Law.

Man 1 Exactly.

Man 2 Yeah, because then we'll all live in peace and harmony. That's what makes me an extremist. It doesn't mean I want to go around blowing people up. It just means I'm standing up for something. But you-

Man 1 Right, I'll stand up against people like you, trying to ruin this country.

Man 2 And how am I?

Man 1 We used to be the greatest country in the world until people like you started coming here.

Man 2 What do you mean? Brown people like me?

Man 1 Too right. You're all bloody the same, you want free schools and hospitals when you don't even belong here, you don't even try to fit in.

Man 2 And what gives you the right to decide who belongs?

Man 1 Because I was born here, British born and bred.

Man 2 I was born here too.

Man 1 Yes, but you're not English, though, are you? Where are your parents born?

Man 2 Pakistan.

Man 1 Exactly.

Man 2 But I was born here. You can't choose your parents and where you're born.

Man 1 All right, I'll give you that. But-

Man 2 Where was your parents born?

Man 1 Slough.

Man 2 What about your grandparents?

Man 1 England.

Man 2 Yeah, all of them? Do you know, as a white British man, you share a third of your DNA with the Germans? Nearly half with the French. So how does that make you feel? You racist.

Man 1 I'm not racist. I just hate Muslims. You just said it for yourself. You want to take over the bloody world. You're a bunch of medieval barbarians.

Man 2 Man, where'd you get this stuff?

Man 1 9/11, 7/7, ISIS, Al-Qaeda.

Man 2 Do you know, there's over 1.5 billion of us. We're not all the same. We're not all terrorists. We're not even all extremists. Most Muslims just want to live a quiet life.

Man 1 I've read about what you lot want.

Man 2 Where?

Man 1 Newspapers. What? It's the news. They have to check their facts.

Man 2 What you don't think they're going to choose to report some facts and not others?

Man 1 Yeah, they'll report the important ones.

Man 2 Newspapers want drama, blood, death, bad guy. They're never going to report 'Yesterday, millions of Muslims all over the world were living their lives in peace and harmony'. Real world Muslims aren't such a threat to you.

Man 1 Yeah, but you stand out like it's deliberate. I don't see why you can't just be like us.

Man 2 Because I'm a fundamentalist.

Man 2 That means I live my life strictly by the teaching of my religion, the Qur'an and the saying the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, peace be upon him.

Man 1 Why would you choose to live like that?

Man 2 I didn't choose, I was born a muslim.

Man 1 You can't be born a religion.

Man 2 Religion feels good. I look at myself in the mirror and I know who I am.

Man 1 Right. So you want to turn us all into Muslims because it makes you feel good?

Man 2 Yeah, okay, I do.

Man 1 Right, do you know how scary that is? You can't just come here and tell us to speak Arabic, cover up our women and chop off the hands of our criminals and not eat bacon. We're British. It's not the way we do things here. So of course we're going to fight back.

Man 2 So you're allowed to fight back, but we're not?

Man 1 What do you have to fight back against?

Man 2 It's not the British being attacked. I've been really attacked by soldiers, tanks, drones. My people are being oppressed. Of course I want to fight for them.

Man 1 But you said Islam means peace. Doesn't it say in your Qur'an that killing people is wrong?

Man 2 Except in a just cause, and this is a just cause. This is a just war. When America wants to wipe out the Muslim people.

Man 1 Where'd you get that from?

Man 2 What?

Man 1 America wants to wipe out Muslim people. Come on.

Man 2 The internet. What?

Man 1 There are 300 million people in America. They're not all the same either. Some of them are Muslims.

Man 2 Well, fine. But Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Syria, Guantanamo. Look, there's a war to be fought, man.

Man 1 But you're not a soldier.

Man 2 I could be.

Man 1 What, so you want to go die in a desert?

Man 2 Yeah, maybe I do.

Man 1 Why?

Man 2 Because, because I want to feel a part of it. Yeah, danger and glory and brotherhood. It's exciting, okay yeah. Is it, is it so bad? And I, and I hate this country. I mean, how would you feel if-

Man 1 What?

Man 2 If you, if you grew up learning alcohol is wrong? Homosexuality is wrong. Women showing their bodies is wrong. Sex before marriage is wrong. Think how I feel when I walk the streets and I see women in their tiny skirts, tight tops and the sex on TV and movies and music videos, adverts.

Man 1 Jealous.

Man 2 Angry and disgusted and frightened. And, yeah, jealous, because I can't help seeing this.

Man 1 If you don't like it, go back to Pakistan.

Man 2 How did you get like this?

Man 1 Like what?

Man 2 How did you get so radicalised?

Man 1 Hey, I'm not radicalised.

Man 2 Yes, you are.

Man 1 You're the one who's radicalised.

Man 2 Of course I am, because I'm angry. I want the world to be somewhere I can feel safe. I want someone to blame for the things that scare me, and yeah I've met people who felt the same way, and it was like waking up. They understood me and it felt good. And bit by bit we made each other angrier. So yeah, we radicalised ourselves because we wanted to outdo each other, and you're the same

Man 1 I'm bloody not.

Man 2 You're an extremist, you're a racist. How did you get to be like this?

Man 1 Because-

Man 2 Why do you hate me so much?

Man 1 Because the world's a mess. I mean we can't trust the media or the banks. And there weren't any jobs. Dad never had a job, so there wasn't anything for us to do except, you know, watch telly, go online and see these adverts which tell you life's about having money, cars, phones and watches, and we couldn't have any of that. So you look around for something else to make you feel like you're a part of something, a football team, a band, a gang. And then you get older and you still don't have the money or the job or the stuff you're supposed to have, so you start to feel like cut off. Like, you got no, no reason, no purpose, and you look around for for someone to blame, anyone. It could be bankers, immigrants, paedos, and then you hear about these Muslim terrorists waging a war against your way of life, but you don't know any terrorists, but you know, some Muslims and bam! You found a purpose, an enemy, and you do something about it because it gives you a reason to exist, and that's what we all need. We need to feel like we know who we are.

Man 2 No society is perfect in this life.

Man 1 So why don't you think for yourself then?

Man 2 Why don't you?

Man 1 I do.

Man 2 Do you?

Man 1 Well, do you?

Man 2 All right. Maybe I don't always think for myself.

Man 1 Well, maybe I don't either.

Man 2 I still believe Sharia law is the right way to live.

Man 1 I still think the British way of life is disappearing because of people like you.

Man 2 So, what do we do?

Man 1 Well, I guess we keep on talking.

Man 2 All right. I've got to go.

Man 1 Me, too.

Man 2 My daughter.

Man 1 Got a daughter?

Man 2 Yeah.

Man 1 How old?

Man 2 Three.

Man 1 Mines five. You getting the bus?

Man 2 Yeah. 58.

Man 1 That's mine too.

Man 2 Alright.

Extremists

Video length - 09.03

Published date - Jul 2015

Keystage(s) - 4

Downloadable resources

Haringey People: Elaine’s father came to Britain from Jamaica in the mid 1930s to play trumpet in a jazz band, and Elaine was born here in 1939 at the beginning of World War II. She talks fondly of her father’s achievements as a musician and describes how she followed in his footsteps to become an award-winning jazz singer.

This film was made by young offenders taking part in a film training course run by VividEcho and funded by The Big Lottery: Awards for All and Haringey Council.

Haringey People: Elaine

Video length - 03.16

Published date - Feb 2014

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Haringey People: Huseyin came to Britain as a refugee from Kurdistan in 1985 and found work as a teacher in a Kurdish folk dance school. He talks about the importance of keeping Kurdish traditions alive, both to preserve his culture and to educate the wider community.

This film was made by young offenders taking part in a film training course run by VividEcho and funded by The Big Lottery: Awards for All and Haringey Council.

Haringey People: Huseyin

Video length - 02.59

Published date - Feb 2014

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Haringey People: Nevil left Jamaica for England in 1960, searching for a better life. Here he met the woman who was to become his wife, and he started a family. Nevil looks back on his life, his achievements and reflects on how he has contributed to the community in which he lives.

This film was made by young offenders taking part in a film training course run by VividEcho and funded by The Big Lottery: Awards for All and Haringey Council.

Haringey People: Nevil

Video length - 03.10

Published date - Feb 2014

Keystage(s) - 3 and 4

Downloadable resources

Haringey People: Gerassimos came to the UK in 1992 and is now very happy to be a British Citizen. He talks about how welcoming he found the country, and how much he enjoys the diversity of London.

This film was made by young offenders taking part in a film training course run by VividEcho and funded by The Big Lottery: Awards for All and Haringey Council.