Knowledge At Work - 4

Khuda Kay Liye

The time during and after the tragic incident of the bombing of the Twin Towers in America, is shown through different perspectives in the movie ‘Khuda Kay Liye’ or ‘In the Name of God’. One is exposed to orthodox Pakistani, Muslim families which live around the world and the way in which they follow along with going against what they believe in about Islam. On the other hand, we are also shown that part of the society who are willing to do absolutely anything in the name of Islam.

The movie uses the way of emotions immensely, to convey varying messages and to force the viewer to be more open-minded and have a different approach to all the situations which unfold through the plot. Every character is seen to have an individual perspective about common issues and daily events which take place. Therefore, through the use of these specific characters, one is given an insight to the wide range of ideologies which lie behind a solitary incident. And further, the viewer sees shifting points of view in the same culture, which are practically extremes of one another.

Emotion plays a crucial role in the development of characters as it is skilfully used to alter their perception towards their own beliefs. The example of Sarmat shows this clearly. He loves music, it is his true passion but he also believes in Islam and in Allah. However, the Maulana attacks his emotions which lead to a changing of his perception to such an extent that he stops playing any instruments. The impact that he has on Sarmat is so powerful, that it shows how Sarmat changes his personal believes because of an authority, and could be seen as authoritarian worship. However, the movie also throws light upon great levels of hypocrisy and the double standards that exist in almost all the different classes of people. The facial expressions and the body language of the people in each scene clearly illustrates the thoughts, views and emotions that they are feeling at any given point of time about a certain situation.

The role of emotion is so intertwined with all the events in the movie, as it also acts as an obstacle. The attack on the Twin Towers leads to the development of great fear within the Americans and also the development of anger. As the attack was done by Osama Bin Laden, who is Pakistani it leads to a biased perception that made the Americans as well as people all around the world look at Pakistanis in a negative light and with suspicion. In the movie this biased perception causes Mansoor, an innocent Pakistani musician living in the States, to be capture and tortured by the American police. This is an act of fallacious reasoning where the individual gives in to his biased irrational perception. And this form of reasoning only results in the use of emotive language which can completely misguide and is acts like a stereotype. A line from the movie that clearly shows emotive language is when the officer says to Mansoor, “All Pakistanis are not terrorists, but all terrorists are Pakistanis.”

The movie makes one question the authenticity of our beliefs. If they truly were authentic, would they be so easily changed and overpowered by our emotions? The story unravels the disgusting way in which the Maulana so easily manipulates Sarmat’s and thousands of other young men’s thoughts and changes their perception for what he says our his beliefs and what he interprets Allah’s beliefs and desires to be. The movie is an eye-opener which truly keeps the viewer in thought about how people are constantly being wrongly accused and stereotypes are being continuously formed.