After the propagandist movies like Kashmir Files, Kerela Story, 72 hoorain, India is now set to release another highly Islamophobic anti-muslim movie titled “Hamare baarah (Our 12)” Directed by Kamal Chandra, it is set to release on 7th June 2024.
The poster of the film has a tagline that reads, “Cheen Ko Picche Chhod Diya (We have left China behind [in population]).”
The trailer of the movie was brought to my attention.
Will refute what the trailer fabricated and misrepresented.
Before heading towards the points mentioned in the trailer, I would like to draw your attention on why is it important to address such misinterpretations and lies, especially when they are portrayed in movies. Some might say that addressing it will give it more popularity. Well! Such propagandist movies are always made quite popular on priority basis already, as they are institutionally endorsed for creating a particular narrative.
Movies play a remarkable role in shaping the narrative of the masses. Before holocaust of the Jews, the Nazi made sure to create enough propaganda and create a public opinion against the Jews. For this mission, they even appointed a Nazi propaganda minister: Joseph Goebbels. He played a significant role in creating and promoting anti-Semitic films. Joseph Goebbels was the Reich Minister of Propaganda and National Enlightenment, responsible for creating and disseminating Nazi propaganda through various media, including films, speeches, and posters.
His propaganda efforts aimed to shape public opinion, demonize minorities, and justify the Nazi regime’s atrocities. This we can resonate well with, especially due to the abundance of Islamophobic movies all around us, and especially due to the recent increase in this trend in Bollywood movies. Hence, this role of movies in creating propaganda which precedes a genocide, as seen in Nazi example, makes it important for us to refute them.
Coming back to the trailer of “hamare baarah” movie.
The trailer shows that a “muslim religious figure” is lecturing muslims in congregation, in an aggressive tone (with a villainous sound effect as background), misquoting Surah Baqarah ayah 223, that your women are your tilth, do whatever you want, and they can’t deny you physically even if they are pregnant or unwell. That “religious figure” also screamed in an authoritative way that “women are made for men, and men are the only important beings created by God.”
On doing a bit of research, it is evident that the movie revolves around the story of a muslim man – Manzoor Ali Khan Sanjari, who has more children with his second wife despite losing his first wife during childbirth. The daughter Alfiya, takes her father to court to demand an abortion when the doctors say the pregnancy is putting her stepmother’s life at risk, but Manzoor Ali Khan is not ready for abortion as he considered it to be a “sin” and “kufr”.
Before I proceed, would like to clarify the alleged claim that “women are created for men.” Allah Al-Khaaliq (The Creator) has clearly mentioned that
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ ٱلْجِنَّ وَٱلْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ٥٦
(Qur’an, 51:56)
(I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me).
Our purpose is to worship and obey Allah Al-Khaaliq. The term is clearly وَٱلْإِنسَ which means humans altogether. The purpose of all humans (including women) is to worship and obey Allah ta’aala.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍۢ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَـٰكُمْ شُعُوبًۭا وَقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ أَتْقَىٰكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌۭ ١٣
O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.
(Qur’an 49:13)
And in the above ayah Allah Al-‘Aleem has clearly told us that the best in His sight is the one who is more righteous, more conscious of Him.
Now, coming to the ayah of Surah Baqarah ayah 223, it was revealed in a context. If we read the tafseer (the commentary), then we will understand the context of this verse being revealed. It was in response to the beliefs of the Jews during that time that any child that resulted from a couple having physical relations while the woman was on her knees, would be cross-eyed or mentally unstable.
The Jews also believed that the only proper way to have physical relations was when the woman was on her back. The verse was revealed to deny these beliefs and to give dispensation to the Muslims that they can approach their wives as they want having in mind few other prohibitions as per Islam (which is not a matter of discussion here in this post).
Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 223, says –
نِسَآؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌۭ لَّكُمْ فَأْتُوا۟ حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّىٰ شِئْتُمْ ۖ وَقَدِّمُوا۟ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُم مُّلَـٰقُوهُ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
The noteworthy point is that in the ayah 223 of Surah Baqarah, which has been misinterpreted in the Islamophobic movie “hamare baarah,” Allah Al-Hakeem (The Most Wise) has given the parable of the حَرْثٌۭ which means tilth/farmland.
What is a farmland to a farmer who cultivates it? It is the most precious for him, he cares for the land, he loves that land, he has to be well equipped with the knowledge to know how to take proper care of the farmland which if ignored will wither away, implying that similarly a woman is to be taken care of by a man.
The very same ayah also further says –
وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّكُم مُّلَـٰقُوهُ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ٢٢٣
“…Be mindful of Allah, and know that you will meet Him. And give good news to the believers.”
- “And be mindful of Allah”: This reminder emphasize the importance of taqwa (piety) and accountability to Allah in all aspects of life, including marital relationships.
- “And know that you shall meet Him”: This reminds believers of their ultimate accountability to Allah on the Day of Judgment, encouraging them to lead righteous lives in marital relationships.
- “And give good tidings to the believers”: This final part is a message of hope and encouragement for believers.
SubhanAllah! This very ayah is a guidance for marital relationships, emphasizing mutual respect, and spiritual growth, while also reminding believers of their accountability to Allah Al-‘Adl (The Most Just).
There is another beautiful analogy in the same surah of Holy Quran about husband and wife as garments for each other.
هُنَّ لِبَاسٌۭ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌۭ لَّهُنَّ ۗ
(Qur’an 2:187)
The verse “They (your wives) are your garments, and you are their garments” –
It is a beautiful metaphor emphasizing the close and intimate relationship between spouses.
In Arabic, the word libaas (garment) connotes protection, comfort, and adornment. Just as garments cover and protect the body, spouses provide emotional, spiritual and physical support to each other. Like a garment they cover each other’s fault symbolizing –
- Mutual support and protection.
- Comfort and solace in each other’s company
- Beauty and adornment, symbolizing the joy and grace that spouses bring to each other’s lives
- Intimacy and closeness, as garments are closest to the body.
SubhanAllah!
As far as the point raised in the movie is concerned that a woman cannot say no to her husband to physical intimacy, then we just have read the above ayah where the spouses should regard each other as a garment, protecting and caring for each other, so if wife is not feeling well and is sick she can communicate to her husband about it, and he should take it into consideration. But yes to deliberately say no to her husband without any valid reason from Islamic perspective is not allowed.
As a wisdom of this commandment, we need to understand that a muslim is prohibited to watch porn, is commanded to lower the gaze on all non mahram (people of opposite gender that one can marry), a muslim is prohibited to have premarital or extramarital affairs and cannot masturbate. The only permitted option for muslim man is his wife, so a wife should not say no to him for invalid reasons, as it is equivalent to denying his right, but yes if she is unwell or has some other issues, they can always communicate and make each other understand.
As far as abortion issue is concerned, which is another misinterpreted issue highlighted in this movie, then yes, in Islam one cannot go for abortion just because “it is my body, my choice.” But if it is a legitimate justification for doing it like medical emergencies which can lead to mother’s death, then it is allowed as per Islam.
Conversely, it is surprising how no one today criticizes and targets people who follow the liberal religion, which actually allows women to abort even without any valid reason, just due to “my body my choice.” No one critiques this, even though aborting for no reason is just in essence murdering a child. And what is even more surprising is that such people have the audacity to critique and misrepresent Islam for its stances on abortion. Isn’t this just murderers, who support child murder, critiquing and misrepresenting people who don’t murder?
The main motive of this movie is to portray Muslim men as villains and Muslim women as victims of oppression. We need to understand that men and women both oppress each other in society, even under martial relationships, but it is not due to the presence of Islam but due to the absence of Islam on individual levels, and absence of Islam on collective level which can put them both in check through proper tarbiyyah and judiciary. The other motive of this movie is to portray Muslims as the cause of huge population increase of India, and population increase as something which is the cause of the ‘lack of resources’ in India. In other words, they want to portray the fact that Muslims bear more children than others as the main cause of economic problems in India.
However, we need to understand that this assumption that population increase is the cause of economic problems is a myth. We need to understand that population is actually a boon, if it is utilised in right context –
- Human resources: A large population provides a significant workforce, contributing to economic growth and development.
- Innovation and progress: A larger population can lead to increased innovation, creativity and progress in various fields.
- Demographic dividend: A young population can provide a demographic dividend, where a large working-age population supports economic growth.
We have examples of countries like Canada that are in dire need of young population. They have made policies to attract young immigrants, as they need the population due to the fact that Canada’s population is aging, and the working-age population is shrinking. Young immigrants help balance the demographic makeup. In other words, population leads to workforce replenishment: youth contribute to the labor force, addressing labor shortages and supporting economic growth through entrepreneurship and new skills.
To think that with high population, the resources deplete is actually another myth created by Capitalists who have monopolized wealth, and to divert attention from this, they blame population growth.
The narrative of over population serves to divert attention away from the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, which then leads to continuity of inequality and exploitation.
- Resources are not inherently scarce, but rather, their distribution is inequitable and unjust.
- Technological advancements and sustainable practices can increase resource availability and reduce waste.
- The focus on population growth distracts from the real issue of wealth concentration and unequal distribution.
- Capitalist systems prioritize profit over people and the planet, leading to overconsumption and waste.
- The narrative of resource scarcity is used to justify policies that benefit the wealthy, such as austerity measures and privatization.
See the evidence yourself-
According to Oxfam, India’s wealthiest individuals, including Adani and Ambani, have concentrated a significant portion of the country’s wealth, leading to extreme income inequality.
- The top 10% of India’s population holds 77% of the national wealth.
- The number of Indian billionaires increased from 9 in 2000 to 101 in 2017, with their collective wealth exceeding India’s total budget for 2018-2019.
- The fortunes of India’s richest individuals have more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began, while the poor and vulnerable have suffered.
This highlights clearly that overpopulation leading to scarcity of resources is a myth perpetuated by capitalist ideologies to maintain their power and control over resources. It is actually the inequitable distribution and concentration of the existing resources in the hands of few which leads to a perceived scarcity of resources. Movies like “Hamare baarah” are made to steer the capitalist wheel further, and shift all the blame on Muslims for over population.
“Hamare baarah” movie has used the tagline in their poster that “China has been left behind.”
Let’s have a quick analysis on China. Population is not an issue. We all know what happened in China. China thought controlling population will be in their national interest, but China’s One Child Policy (1979-2016) had several significant side effects, including:
- Gender imbalance: Preference for sons led to sex-selective abortions, resulting in a skewed gender ratio (118 boys per 100 girls in 2020).
- Aging population: The policy accelerated China’s aging crisis, as the working-age population shrunk. In other words, this led to a decline in working population and an increase in the old population, thus also putting pressure on the pension system.
- Low fertility rates: The total fertility rate (TFR) dropped below replacement level (TFR became 1.6 in 2020), leading to concerns about population decline. Replacement rate is how many children a woman must have in order to replace the woman and her husband, and is given as 2.1 children per woman (.1 to replace woman who cannot have children). Total fertility rate below that replacement rate would lead to a population decline, which is what happened in China.
- Various abuses: Forced sterilizations, abortions, and heavy fines were common, violating basic rights of human beings.
- Increased crime: The policy led to a rise in crimes like child trafficking and abandonment.
- Social and cultural changes: The policy altered traditional family structures and cultural values.
The Chinese government later relaxed their one child policy, seeing the grave consequences.
We need to understand that this is not a totalitarianism vs tolerance battle, but rather this is an ideological battle: a battle between the ideology of secular capitalism and Islam. This is evident in how the RAND corporation, a huge think tank on whose advice many major policies are decided, divided the muslims into 4 categories with fundamentalists, the one who want the return of Islam and justice, as being the one who constantly need to be checked and propagandised against. This need to keep Islam in check and preventing the return of Islamic system is the main motive of Islamophobia and all Islamophobic propaganda all around the world. Keeping this motive in mind, these propaganda movies help instill psychological pessimism in Muslims, which leads to them developing an identity crisis and them starting to hate their existence, their authentic scripture, texts and most importantly the Islamic system. This leads to them hating the very same Islamic system, which when implemented, was the most just system ever humankind has ever seen. If we were to look just in economic terms, the Islamic system was so just that it almost eradicated poverty to such an extent that during Caliph Umar bin Abdul Azeez RH’s time, people did not find other eligible people to pay Zakat to (See Dr Sallabi’s book on Umar Bin Abdul Aziz, pg 574). The capitalists, oppressors and secularists obviously don’t want this just system given to us by our creator to return, and hence the propaganda, Islamophobia and these kinds of Islamophobic movies get released.
Such misrepresentative propaganda films and narratives based on lies only prove that when you can’t argue with someone intellectually, you blame and accuse them with false accusations.
This also proves that the system of secularism is so intolerant and fragile, that it constantly has to promote a genocide along with demeaning of the people who don’t agree with it, such as Muslims.
But what the evil plotters forget is that no matter how much you plot, haqq will stand out clear from baatil.
Do I really need to mention what’s the status of Hindu women in India under dowry system, the rate of female feticide and female infanticide?
A simple google search is more than enough to highlight it.
I can quote from the Hindu’s sacred text about treatment of women and what their Puranas have said about women who give birth to daughters but I won’t cite it, because this battle is not against Hinduism for now, but against Secular Capitalism.
This is a battle between ideologies of Islam and Capitalism, where Hinduism is just being used as a tool to fulfill the agenda of Capitalists against Islam.
jis mahdood aqal par unko ghamand hai, jisse itni tajaweez kiya karte hai,
wo aqal bhi faani hai, wo tajaweez bhi khuljaani hai.
Firawn se lekr Qaroon tak,
Aad aur Thamud sab ibrat ki hi nishaani hai.
(The confined brain, the evil plots on which they are so arrogant, all will perish,
From Firawn to Qaroon,
From Aad to Thamud,
is a lesson to ponder upon).
Hasbunallahu Wa ni’mal Wakeel!