“Soraya is a wonderful example of a nebulous Muslim person. She chooses her god. She chooses her faith. She’s respectful. She’s honest. She’s serving. She’s heroic in terms of accepting the injustice done to her. And her last words, her last acknowledgments on earth are to her god,” he says.
“I think it depends on who you think is representing the Muslim world in this movie. I don’t think it’s the mullah in this movie or the mayor. I think it’s Soraya, myself,” adds McEveety, who is Catholic.
The producer also notes that while stoning is allowed under Islamic law, its practice is ultimately up to the country’s government.
Currently, six out of fifty-two Muslim-majority countries in the world use stoning as a legally-sanctioned form of punishment – Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. In Nigeria, where Christians are mostly in the south and Muslims are mostly in the north, about one-third of the country’s 36 states permit stoning.
“I think you’re going to find it more a part of the government laws of various countries, not a Muslim law,” McEveety notes.
Though the movie's promoters hope "The Stoning of Soraya M." will help shed light on the existence of stoning practices in modern-day societies, they also note that the story of corruption and injustice goes beyond the issue of stoning; it stands for thousands of untold tales around the world – from Africa to Asia, from Europe to America, wherever people are battling prejudice and injustice.
“There’s a lot of abuse internationally that happens, particularly to women,” says McEveety.
Going one step further, the producer also says he hopes that the message that viewers will take in as they watch "The Stoning of Soraya M." is the broader one concerning how people treat one another.
“What the movie ended up actually doing, which I found incredible, was it shines the light on the abuser, more than the victim,” he says.
“We’re all guilty of abuse a little bit,” McEveety adds, specifically noting mental abuse. “This film is like moving a mirror to them (the audience).”
“People may not realize it, but they’re not always too kind,” he notes.
Starting Friday, “The Stoning of Soraya M.” will be showing in limited theaters across the nation. The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was the runner-up for the Audience Choice Award. It was also selected as the second runner-up for the Cadillac People's Choice Award.
The author of The Stoning of Soraya M., French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam, died at his home in France last year at the age of 75 just before a scheduled trip to take part in the production of the film adaptation.
As a journalist, Sahebjam was the first to report on the crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the Bahá'í Faith community in Iran as well as the illegal use of children in the Iranian Army during the eight year Iran-Iraq War.
Though Sahebjam's novel, which was published in 1995, gained him international recognition, Sahebjam continued to work for in French newspapers like Le Monde and Le Telegramme as well as the French news channel LCI.
Culture
'Stoning of Soraya M.' sheds light on human cruelty, Islam
By: Kenneth Chan
Monday, 29 June 2009, 16:23 (IST)
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