about the film
Following the assassination of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004, Hearing the Other Side features inspiring conversations with diverse Muslim youth in the Netherlands. Showing what it means to be a faith community in an absolutely secular context, how the religious identities of young Muslims are under scrutiny, what it means to be a Muslim woman choosing to wear a headscarf in Europe, and, more than anything else, what is missing in the dialogue. Amidst media stereotyping and the subtle yet deep-reaching racist mindsets, Dutch Muslims share their perspectives with others, with the hope of being heard.
The documentary follows the journey of young Muslims of Moroccan and Turkish origin raising questions of identity, women’s concerns, and dialogue amidst the release of films like van Gogh’s Submission that led to heated debates on Islam in Europe. The honest opinions of the Dutch youth show complexity of the Muslim community in the Netherlands, which derive itself from religious Sufi and secular traditions. Influential thinkers such as Karen Armstrong, Anil Ramdas, Rene Danen and Lucien Van Liere also share their perspectives in the film.
Hearing the Other Side has been produced as part of the WCC –
World Youth Programme initiative called “Building Bridges”
developed in 2007, in collaboration with the Inter-Church
Organisation for Development Cooperation (ICCO) Kerk in Actie.
The documentary attempts to give voice to the concerns of young
people and promote their positive role in dialogue and efforts for
an integrated society.
“The murder of Theo van Gogh was a big shock… not only due
to the murder itself, of course, but also due to the effect
it had on Muslims in the Netherlands.”
Rene Danen (activist)
“A lot of Muslim young people get attention...only when
something [is] negative on television, only questions about
terrorism, the war, or the position of the women.”
Amin Touhami (student and social worker)
“It’s very easy to say that the Muslim woman is repressed...
but that is also due to the failure of being concerned and to
do something about it.”
Famile Arslan (lawyer)
“...indeed it is very important that we learn to speak to each
other, but it’s also very important that we listen.”
Karen Armstrong (religious historian)
“Moroccan or not Moroccan, we always have the same feelings,
if it’s pain, if it’s hurt, or if it’s being in love...”
Shida Boukhizou (actress)
“...a secular liberal perspective always believed that religion
was backward, and that became part of the problem.”
Lucien van Liere (Christian theologian)
“Everything has a good and a bad side…and it’s our job to make
difference between them and choose between them.”
Allaedin Touhami (student)
introduce an alternative perception of Islam and Muslim communities
in Europe. With this, we hope to give voice to the young people,
mostly the third generation Dutch who are making a positive
contribution to society, yet would like to share their aspirations
for the mutual respect for religious diversity. They acknowledge
the economic contribution made by their parents in the labour force
of the country, and stress the support they need from policymakers
to better the situation in the communities. ... (continues on next page)
Naveen Qayyum is a post-graduate in media studies. She
produced her first documentary film Talking Faith with WCC –
World Youth Programme featuring young people exploring interfaith
relations in post 9/11 Pakistan – a special mention by jury of
the Karachi International Film Festival and official selection for
Independent South Asia Film Festival Seattle and London International
Documentary Festival. She is now focusing on Dutch Muslim youth in
dialogue with Hearing the Other Side. Naveen has been associated
with Simorgh, a feminist activist organisation in Pakistan, World
Council of Churches – Communications Department in Switzerland, and
the Christian Conference of Asia in Thailand. She is International
Jury member for United Nations Alliances of Civilization PLURAL+ Youth
Video Festival, and is involved with WCC – Christian and Muslim Women’s
Network and World Association for Christian Communications - Asia Region.
Naveen also writes about social issues, dialogue and ecumenism as a
freelance journalist.
Woranuch Pramualkarn, a new Christian convert herself,
was inherently interested in the dialogue on religion.
She spontaneously agreed to support this project and
administered the entire process of pre-production and
post-production that took place in Thailand. She is an
English major from the Rajabhat Institute in Chiang Rai,
Thailand and has worked previously with the Christian
Conference of Asia and UNESCO as an administrator. She
has also participated in ecumenical initiatives in
Malaysia, Indonesia, and the USA. She is now
coordinating a programme on the issue of women’s
trafficking in Asia- Pacific with the Adventist
Development and Relief Agency in Chiang Rai
Sander Lopes Cardozo is the talented cinematographer of
Hearing the Other Side in the Netherlands. While
filming the footage and interviews for the documentary,
being and anthropologist himself, he contributed a
sensitive insight to the way conversations on camera
were being captured. He also assisted with the
translations from Dutch to English and technical
matters of production. Most of Sander’s experience is
with television. He has been associated with the TV
channel RNN7 and now takes up media tasks as a freelance
journalist. Sander is based in the Netherlands.
Prichayon Punda, a postgraduate student of media studies
at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, is the upcoming
editor of this documentary. He ‘cut’ the first draft of
the film (as popularly referred to in technical terms)
along with the rest of the post-production team. Being
interested in filmmaking himself, he recently produced
a short film called Hello as a student project with the
Media, Arts and Design department at Chiang Mai University
known as “New Space for Thinking.” He also works for
the production house Mute Mute Studio, where he
undertakes filming and editing tasks.
Georg Peter Mueller is a renowned producer and journalist
from Germany who has been based in Asia for more than
ten years now. He completed the post-production of
Hearing the Other Side and contributed a perspective
from his own experience of being a European living an
immigrant’s life in Thailand. He works with Living
Films, a production company, as the post-production
supervisor and editor in Chiang Mai.
Anne-Marie Tremblay from Canada is a graduate in
agricultural engineering from McGill University, and has
a great interest in social issues and intercultural
dialogue. Her travels in Asia and the Middle East have
influenced her research in several ways. She volunteered
to support the post-production of Hearing the Other Side
in the Netherlands. As part of the crew she assisted
with interviews that took place in Polder Mosque in
Amsterdam. Anne-Marie is now based in Paris and works
for a development organisation.
Busarin Lertchavalitsakul assisted with the initial
research carried out for Hearing the Other Side. She is
a freelance journalist and a researcher based in Thailand.
She is currently completing her post-graduate studies from
Chiang Mai University and is writing her thesis on Burmese
migrant workers and sustainable development.
Anam Gill is a graduate student of media studies at
Kinnaird College Lahore. She developed the distribution
strategy for Hearing the Other Side. She is also associated
with the “Building Bridges” project as she assisted with
the making of Talking Faith in 2007 in Pakistan. Due to
her interest in ecumenism and dialogue, she represented
Pakistan as a youth participant in the WCC 9th Assembly
in Brazil, and was a member of the WCC Living Letters
delegation to Liberia and Sierra Leone as part of the
efforts to accompany churches in conflict areas. She is
now writing her thesis on “The Role of Religion in World
Politics.”
