Date: 2018-05-18

A call has been made to Muslims to invest in the film industry as a way of projecting the beauty of Islam and countering the negative depiction of Muslims on the screen.

This call was made by Associate Professor of English, University of Ilorin, Dr. Mahfouz Adedimeji, penultimate Sunday, while reviewing a film produced by Dr. Faoziyah Sulaiman of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Ilorin, at the Africa Hall of Mustapha Akanbi Foundation, Ilorin, Kwara State.

In his review, entitled "Give Little, Get Plenty: A Review of Ojo Ogundoju's 'Charity'", Dr. Adedimeji noted that the global movie industry is partly used in psychological warfare "where violence is unleashed on Muslims through name-calling, character assassination, sheer propaganda and negative framing, which all seem to justify vilifying Muslims, occupying their lands and generally tormenting them," with a typical Muslim portrayed as a "bad guy" and a Muslim woman as "oppressed".

Dr. Adedimeji, who is also the Secretary General of the University of Ilorin Muslim Community, deplored the Western cinematic narrativity that is obsessed with the negative stereotyping of Muslims.

While commending the script writer and producer, Dr. Sulaiman and the Director, Mr. Ogundoju, on a job well done, the reviewer, who is the immediate past Director of the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, submitted that the effort was welcome because the Nigerian movie industry is also not free of films that offend the sensibility of Muslims.

He revealed that the production of "Asewo to re Mecca" in 1992 was detestable to Muslims just like more recent titles like "Basiratu Baseje", "Aminatu Pa-pa-pa", "Osanle Modinat", "Sikiratu Sindodo", "Jelili Oniso"and "Awalu and Awawu", where, according to him,"Islamic names, symbols and identity are caricatured and denigrated".

Congratulating Dr. Sulaiman, the Chairman of the occasion, Chief Yunusa Oyeyemi, said that he had known the producer for some time because of her commitment to impacting on the society through writing.