Being Muslim in India

dir. James MacDonald. In the 1980 census, it was determined that 80 million Muslims lived in India, 11% of population, more than Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Turkey combined. This film explains how Islam arrived in India, and explores the madrasas schools), in which neighborhood individuals contribute enough money each month to pay a teacher mulvi, or mullah) to teach from the Qur’an. We also visit the home of Qasim, a middle-class Muslim in Lucknow, who, like many Indian Muslims, is a religious conservative and a social progressive he encouraged his daughter to study clinical psychology, and supported her when he decided to emigrate to Canada. We also meet two of Qasim’s three wives, one of whom runs the family’s thriving tobacco business. To round it out, a rousing party is held, featuring Qawali music.