Brazilian Director Seeks to Dispel Myths About Muslims

Amid the global focus on and fear of radical Islamic terrorism, Brazilian documentary director Tony Valentte believes that it's critically important to rehabilitate the image of Muslims in contemporary Brazilian society.

The filmmaker's latest project is called Nacoes Unidas, sou muculmano ('United Nations: I am Muslim'). Speaking to Sputnik Brazil, Valentte explained why his new project is important to him, despite the fact that he is neither a Muslim nor an Atheist.

"I have been involved in the creation of educational audiovisual production for over 15 years, and decided to film this project in 2016 (the year when I turn 40), because the subject matter discussed in the film has tremendous social relevance…I researched many topics, and eventually one of my friends who had converted to Islam convinced me to make a film which would show our society that Islam is a cultural and religious choice that a person makes – that no matter what he or she remains a person, a citizen; that such a person has dreams, family, that like anyone else he or she runs into certain obstacles, and that in addition they must overcome prejudice against their religious choice."

Valentte explained that his goal was not to tell the history of Islam, but the story of individual Muslims, "poignant stories of people who have faced and continue to face obstacles to being a Muslim, their struggles in life, their dreams, and their efforts to protect their families. I want to bring about profound reactions from my audience, and to encourage our society to cease to associate the religion [of Islam] with terrorism. People of any religion can make bad choices, can be terrorists, thieves, pedophiles. Their choice of these ways of life has nothing to do with their religious choice."

With the number of Muslims in Brazil believed to be growing (with official estimates ranging wildly from 45,000 to 1.5 million), the filmmaker suggested that this can be attributed to Brazil's nature as a nation of cultural pluralism and hospitality. Nevertheless, the effects of a widespread global campaign against Muslim people seems to have reached even Brazil, he said. Valentte believes that now more than ever, "we need a campaign of enlightenment…to help explain who these people are and why they are Muslims."

In 2005, Brazilian Olympic athlete Jadel Gregorio converted to Islam. Asked why the number of high profile conversions is growing, the filmmaker suggested it comes down to a social crisis of faith. "People are in search of new doctrines which they can trust, which could provide structure and tradition [to their lives], and Islam has such qualities."

"The downside I see in many religions is the radical drive and desire to prove that they are right or best, and intolerance to other faiths. If God is love, we must practice this unconditional love." This applies to Islam just as it does any other religion, Valennte emphasized.

Valennte admitted that he himself has already faced prejudice against Islam; the sponsor of many of his previous films refused to provide financial support for the project, suggesting that all Muslims are terrorists, and that if they do not like the film they may try to kill those who produced it. According to the filmmaker, "this instance only serves to demonstrate the need to talk about the fact that the vast majority of Muslims are neither terrorists nor killers!"

Ultimately, the filmmaker suggested that his biggest hope for his film is to "give society cause to reflect how foolish we are when we generalize, either because it's convenient or due to a lack of information."