Taken from Desi-talk.com October 8 2004

A 10-minute short by a Somali-born Dutch Member of Parliament on excesses of fundamentalist Islam is causing uproar in the Netherlands.

Although the film titled ‘Submission,’ written by the lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was shown on Dutch prime time television in August, its after- shocks are still being felt, The New York Times reported.

The graphic film has scenes showing women with their back, chest and stomach painted with verses from the Koran.

Images depict women having been whipped for adultery and sex outside marriage. Some of the verses say that such women shall be punished with 100 lashes.

Ali, 34, who grew up as Muslim but gave up her faith, said that the purpose of the film was not to offend but draw attention to the violence against Muslim women.

The film tells the stories of four women through which an attempt is made to focus on the widespread abuse against women. While critics have called the depiction simplistic, it has set off a new debate in the Netherlands as Islam becomes more widespread across Europe.

Ali, who has received death threats, says she wants to spread the message that Islam can be practiced without resorting to “savage medieval customs” such as genital mutilation of women. The director of ‘Submission,’ Theo van Gogh, admits that the film is a political pamphlet.

The film begins with a prayer, followed by a narrator telling the stories of the four women who ask for God’s help to lighten their suffering.

Ali is now planning a second part of ‘Submission’ to represent the views of men.

(Compiled from news dispatches by M. Chooki)