Muslims in America, Pakistanis, from BBC, interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/programmes/this_worl d/transcripts/this_world_its_my_country_too.txt


IT̵ 7;S MY COUNTRY TOO – MUSLIM
AMERICANS”
POST-PRODUCTION SCRIPT

10:00:00
This World titles
MUSIC



10:00:05


10:00:13
Muslim comic on stage


TITLE:
BBC
MAN SYNC: Yeah, this is a Muslim comedy
show. Nobody laughs! Okay imagine what it
feels like looking like me, walking into the
airport. It’s not a pretty scene. You were
right away with their (inaudible). But imagine
what it feels like when I get on the plane.
People in the middle of conversations,
seriously, how are you doing, what are you
doing – hhhhh!!! I’m going to die! Of, of
course everybody’s real nice to me once the
plane safely lands. They’re all looking over,
smiling, like hahahaha..



10:00:56

10:01:00

10:01:02
Man at train station



New York City GVs


Islam is the fastest-growing

religion in the US. Yet one in four Americans
regard us Muslims living amongst them with
suspicion.



10:01:11
Mosque steeple and aeroplane
MUSIC IN



10:01:20
Junoon on stage
I am Salman Ahmed. My family moved to
America from Pakistan during the late sixties.
As a child, I was blown away by American
pop culture. Years later, when I formed
Junoon, I didn’t realise it would become the
biggest rock band in South Asia.



10:01:43

In a different time, it wasn’t difficult to get
thousands of Muslim Americans to a rock
concert in Central Park. But after September
11th, America is a changed country.
Especially for Muslims.



10:02:01
Montage: View from car/Salman in
car/city views at night
MUSIC



10:02:04

As a believer, I’m concerned at the potential
for religious conflict in a country I love as
much as Pakistan.



10:02:11
TITLES:
IT’S MY COUNTRY TOO
MUSLIM AMERICANS




10:02:15

MUSIC OUT



10:02:15



10:02:31
Salman and band members getting
into huge car and being driven
away

Salman and band arriving at
building and getting into lift
It’s October, and Junoon’s on the road again.
We’ve been touring the world for years.
We’re returning to play in America just as the
presidential campaign is coming to its climax.
After the terrorist attacks in the US, I stress
the need for us to play more college gigs. I
want to reach out to young Muslim
Americans.





MAN SYNC: Junoon has left the building.





MAN SYNC: Junoon has just arrived, rather.





MAN SYNC: There’s a thing right there.



10:02:46
Junoon taking to stage to delight of
crowd
CROWD SYNC: APPLAUSE



10:02:55

MUSIC IN



10:03:12
New York street, and Salman
taking cab
MUSIC OUT





SALMAN SYNC: Twin Towers site.



10:03:29
SUBTITLES:
Aren’t you from Junoon group?
TAXI DRIVER SYNC: Aren’t you from
Junoon group?





SALMAN SYNC: And I thought I’d be in New
York City and no-one would recognise me.





TAXI DRIVER SYNC: Oh yeah?



10:03:36

I’m not sure if all rock musicians have to busk
for their cab rides, but Saeed insists I sing my
tribute to Pakistan, (inaudible)



10:03:45



10:03:49


10:03:56



10:04:03


10:04:07

10:04:11
SUBTITLES:
If you have the sprit of passion,
never give up

The one who strives will touch the
skies

It’s no bed of roses but we’ll
persevere

Everyone knows…

Pakistan is ours

Pakistan is yours
SALMAN AND TAXI DRIVER SYNC:
SINGING



10:04:17

Saeed has been here for ten years. When
he arrived, life was good, he tells me, but
then it all changed.





SAEED SYNC: After 9/11 of course New
York was tough, very tough. If somebody
complain about you a little bit that something
suspicious or something, the FBI and
everything so many cases, because where I
live, they’ve been going and raiding the
houses and all that, you know. Has been
very hard for Pakistanis, lots of guys been
arrested and many of them are still detained.
‘til today nobody been captured as a terrorist
or something like that, or any activities.



10:04:55

America has become suspicious of its Muslim
population. Since the attacks, thousands
have been detained, others deported. Some
even crossed the border into Canada.





SALMAN SYNC: Maybe it’s time to leave the
US, maybe go back?





SAEED SYNC: Sure. The way they’re
making the laws and all that.



10:05:19

10:05:22













10:0 6:04
Salman and others at Twin Towers
site














New York tour bus and tourists


I always get an uncomfortable feeling coming
to Ground Zero. There is so much
psychological baggage Muslims carry as a
result of the attack on the Twin Towers.
Even though the hijackers represented a
lunatic fringe, some have blamed the entire
Muslim world. What is astounding is the way
9/11, even after three and a half years,
remains a defining moment for every Muslim
in America, and for American attitudes to
Muslims. Just look. This cross made of
girders was supposedly left undamaged after
the attack. A miracle, they say. I’m
uncomfortable with that.
People of may faiths perished here.



10:06:11
Tracking shots New York City
streets at night
CAPTION:
30th September 2004
MAN SYNC: This is the first presidential
debate, live.



10:06:15

MAN VO: So the first question goes to you,
Senator Kerry. Do you believe you could do
a better job in preventing another terrorist
attack on the United States?





KERRY VO: Yes, I do.



10:06:26


10:06:30
Salman and others in Times
Square at night, watching debate
on huge screen



I’m in Times Square to follow the debate.
This election has captured the attention of
Muslim Americans like never before. In the
aftermath of the terror attacks, Muslims
retreated from local and state politics to an
astonishing degree. Over 90% of Muslim
politicians were no longer in office by 2002.
The approaching election is bringing them
back into politics, and every Islamic
organisation is urging Muslims to exercise
their right to vote. Traditionally, Muslims
have voted Republican because of their
emphasis on moral values. Now, many are
considering switching to the Democrats,
hoping they will be less of a threat to
Muslims, both in America and abroad.





CROWD SYNC: SCREAMING



10:07:22
Junoon performing
MUSIC IN



10:07:33

My music is an expression of both my worlds.
Pakistan and America. It’s inspired by Led
Zeppelin and The Beatles, while the lyrics are
traditional Sufi.



10:08:37

MUSIC OUT



10:08:37
Band talking while travelling in car
at night
MAN SYNC: It sounds like Dr No Assassins.





MAN SYNC: They had like a, there had to be
like more serious shit. The sky’s falling on
the other hand.



10:08:46

Junoon has always been multiethnic, with
band members born in Pakistan and
America.





SALMAN SYNC: I never thought about my
religion in a sense that I have to explain my
religion to the rest of the world. 9/11
changed all of that. Every time I did a media
interview, there was, you know, it was almost
like x-ray vision that the interviewer had, that
who are you underneath this moderate
person, okay? Is there, is there a
fundamentalist lurking inside?



10:09:16
Salman playing his guitar in car




10:09:27







10:09:50
Montage: Road/text from Patriot
Act






Salman playing guitar in car
A month after the Twin Tower attack,
Congress rushed a 340-page document,
called the Patriot Act, into law to help track
down terrorists. The Act gave the FBI the
right to spy on American citizens, to get into
our lives, our e-mail, even library records.
Many saw it as an erosion of our
constitutional rights, and it’s Muslims
who have been the main victims.



10:09:55

10:09:57
POV car passenger on rainy
day/Salman in car


On the morning of September 11th, a young
Muslim man disappeared after he took a train
into Manhattan. I’m on my way to visit his
mother in the New York suburb of Queens.



10:10:09


10:10:18
House and car on rainy day


Salman arriving to see Talat
For months and months there was no news
as to what had happened to Salman
Hamdani. A newspaper report hinted that he
had been held under the new Patriot Act.





SALMAN AND TALAT SYNC: GREETING
EACH OTHER





TALAT SYNC: Come on in.





SALMAN SYNC: Thank you so much.



10:10:29

10:10:33


House ext.
His mother believed he had died in the Twin
Towers, but at the same time
she clung to the hope that her son had been
mistakenly taken in as a terrorist.




10:10:39

Salman and Talat talking at her
house
TALAT SYNC: I didn’t think he’s dead.
Maybe as a mother I was unable to accept it.
He did go down there, so I thought that he
was arrested, or maybe detained, that’s what
it is.



10:10:50

MUSIC IN



10:10:57

She showed me the evidence of her six-
month search for Salman in the turmoil of
what had become her life.



10:11:02

MUSIC OUT



10:11:06
SUBTITLES:
Life has turned upside down, forget
about the basement.
TALAT SYNC: (inaudible) forget about the
basement, right?



10:11:11

Under the Patriot Act, she came to realise,
the FBI was not obliged to confirm or deny
whether they held Salman.





TALAT SYNC: This is a copy of the letter to
President Bush.





SALMAN SYNC: The, the letter to the
President that you wrote?





TALAT SYNC: It was just, I had to search for
him, you know, I had to find him, where is he.





SALMAN SYNC: Mr President, we are
reaching out to you for help in our search for
our missing son, Salman Hamdani. Salman
left for work on the fateful September 11th at
8.30am and has not come home.



10:11:53

She ended up in a nightmare, unable to get
any information. She was told to try the FBI
again. Six months later, she finally got the
news that her son’s remains had been found
at the World Trade Centre.





TALAT SYNC: I had it somewhere here, this
is the flyer, this is when Newsday printed him
at the funeral services. So you know, my
husband, he made like about 200 copies of
this. So he was really proud of that.



10:12:25
Photo of Talat’s husband holding
photo of Salman, next to copy of
9/11 report
Not only did she lose a son, but her husband
too. He died grieving for Salman, who had
given his life to try and save others.



10:12:36

10:12:42
New York City streets, and Talat
using mobile phone as she walks


The Patriot Act celebrated Salman by name,
as an example of why people should not take
revenge on Muslims. But her experience of
that same Patriot Act has turned Talat
Hamdani into a political activist.



10:12:58
Talat being introduced and giving
speech
WOMAN SYNC: Please welcome Talat
Hamdani.



10:13:02

She’s come to deliver a message on behalf
of a 9/11 family organisation. They’re
outraged that the death of their loved ones
has been used to justify the crackdown on
Muslims, and to go to war in Iraq.





TALAT SYNC: Do you know how many
people have died in Iraq alone? More than
100,000. We are crying about our 3,000, I
am crying about my one son. Salman was
also investigated as a terrorist.



10:13:31

Her fight for the rights of others is always
informed by the tragedy around the loss of
her son.





TALAT SYNC: And his remains were found
from outside the North Tower, in 34 pieces.
And that’s what we were given to, to bury.
And that’s where my pain is, that no mother
should get the body of her child in pieces. Or
a bone. Or nothing.



10:14:03
Talat at airport
TANNOY ANNOUNCEMENT: Do not carry
baggage belonging to others. Report any
suspicious persons or unusual activity to your
nearest law enforcement officer. Thank you,
have a good flight.



10:14:16

Talat is now trying to stop what some are
calling Patriot Act 2, because some
Republicans are trying to add extra clauses
before the elections. Talat believes these
clauses will make Muslims even more
vulnerable, so she’s off to Washington, DC to
lobby members of Congress.



10:14:32




10:14:46





Plane taking off
TALAT VO: I was taking care of my family
after 9/11 happened, but after my husband
passed away it seems like the burden of all
the American Muslims rests upon my
shoulder. I’ve pressed on.



10:14:49

10:14:53

10:14:56
Washington DC buildings WS

Talat entering government building,
walking along corridor and entering
room




The junior school teacher steps into the
corridors of power for the first time.





TALAT VO: My family says don’t get
involved, you know, with the politics, and it’s
dangerous. But it says in Koran, if you know
the truth, reveal it. So it is my duty, if I know
something is wrong in this country, you know,
I feel it my duty to inform. I’ve lost a so, I’ve
lost my husband – what do I have to lose
now?



10:15:25
Talat and others listening to
Carolyn Maloney’s speech
Like most of us, Talat supports laws that
improve homeland security, but the new Bill
has an add-on clause which will allow even
US citizens to be deported. Muslims fear
they are the main target. Carolyn Maloney, a
Democrat, agrees.





CAROLYN MALONEY SYNC: Everyone
agrees basically on the core
recommendations now. We were
deliberating on add-ons that people wanted
to add on, and that is just plain wrong. Let’s
get this work done for the American people.



10:15:58
Talat meeting Carolyn Maloney
TALAT SYNC: That’s my son, that’s my son,
and I’m here for the, you know, extraneous
thing that they’re trying to add on, you know.
Just pass the Bill, the recommendations only.
Like you said, you know. The other issues…



10:16:12


10:16:16
Building exterior, and Talat
emerging from it



At the meeting, the committee fails to discuss
the deportation clause. Talat fears her trip to
Washington has been wasted.






10:16:33



Talat IV
CAPTION:
Talat Hamdani
TALAT SYNC: The government has a
pattern of deceiving the public, and exploiting
everything.
They do not have any moral values, you
know. Be courageous enough to say okay,
they’re doing this to you, you know, we’re
going to detain your people and we’re going
to interrogate them. Say it to the Muslims,
you know. Say it. What are you scared of?
Tell me you don’t belong in this country, I’ll
leave, no problem. But it’s my country too.



10:16:53
Excerpt from Junoon video
CAPTION:
‘No More’
Junoon pop promo
MUSIC IN



10:17:00

Like Talat Hamdani, I see no conflict between
being American and Muslim. No More is a
song which protests against the idea of the
clash of civilisations. I wrote it with a Jewish
American friend of mine.



10:17:49

MUSIC OUT



10:17:42


10:17:49
Salman meeting with students in
restaurant, where debate is on TV



It’s the night of the second debate, and I’m in
a student restaurant in Virginia. I’m surprised
that they follow politics so closely here.





KERRY SYNC ON TV: There’s no bigger
judgement for President of the United States
than how you take the nation to war, and you
can’t say because Saddam might have done
it ten years from now, that’s a reason – that’s
an excuse.





BUSH SYNC ON TV: The truth of the matter
is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still
be in power if you were the President of the
United States, and the world would be a lot
better off.



10:18:14
Salman in restaurant, watching
debate and students telling him
their views
MAN SYNC: We have actually two cowboys,
one in Afghanistan and at the White House.



10:18:19

I wonder how these Muslim students, born in
the USA, feel about the Patriot Act.





WOMAN SYNC: My problem with the Patriot
Act is that it’s a, it’s a violation of what
America stands for in terms of liberty and civil
rights, and once you cross that line there’s no
knowing, like how far you can go.





MAN SYNC: Before you had rights. Now
they can stop you, pull you over, take you to
jail with no question asked.





MAN SYNC: Sneak and peek without any
warrant or any kind of you know, without any
kind of evidence.





MAN SYNC: If you are a citizen of this
country, there are, they are able to take, strip
away your citizenship.



10:18:54

There’s often the accusation that, while
Muslims want to live in America, they’re not
prepared to fight for it.





MAN SYNC: Anybody questioning our
behaviour or our rationale for going into Iraq
was deemed as oh, he’s an unpatriotic
person, but that’s not, historically the patriots
have been the ones who have raised, risen
their voices to question the government.



10:19:13

This guy is a veteran of the Afghanistan war.





MAN SYNC: If my commander-in-chief,
whatever my commander-in-chief says about
protecting the constitution, I would have to
support.





SALMAN SYNC: Even knowing that the
entire world is against the premise of this
war?





MAN SYNC: My answer remains: if my
commander-in-chief believes a certain
strategy that he has, I will follow.



10:19:34

MUSIC IN



10:19:44

MUSIC OUT



10:19:40

10:19:44




10:19:54






10:20:17
Arlington Cemetery with troops
marching





Salman at Arlington Cemetery,
looking at Humayun Khan’s grave




Still – Humayun Khan


The next day, I went to Arlington Cemetery,
where America’s soldiers are laid to rest.
Over the past months they’ve been busy
burying the dead from Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
At least in death there is equality. No longer
separated by race or religion. In Arlington,
among the sea of crosses and stars, I also
find a crescent on a gravestone. Captain
Hamayun Khan was killed by a suicide
bomber in Bakuba, Iraq.
I tracked down his parents in Prince William
County.






10:20:29



Ghazala Khan IV
CAPTION:
Khizir & Ghazala Khan
GHAZALA KHAN SYNC: I said don’t kill
anybody, like you are in army, don’t kill
anybody. He said Ommi,
first of all I transferred myself in the security
side that I won’t have to go and fight with
Muslims.



10:20:35


10:20:40
Troops performing burial ceremony
at Arlington Cemetery



According to the Koran, if you take one life
unjustly, it’s like killing the whole of humanity.






10:20:54



10:210:03



Khizir Khan IV



Troops performing burial ceremony
KHIZIR KHAN SYNC: Compare the
freedoms that America and West offers to a
human being,
versus the choices that exist in the Muslim
world, there is tyranny, there is lack of
choice, lack of freedom, lack of human
dignity.
Freedom requires vigilance. Freedom
requires sacrifice.



10:21:17

MUSIC IN



10:21:17
View from car in city at night




10:12:23
Car on street at night
Night view of city
Chicago, Illinois.



10:21:36

10:21:40
Muslim comics in corridor


To be honest, at the start of this tour, I’d
expected Muslims to be hurt, scared or
angry, but in Chicago there was a surprise.
Three radicals, who looked like they had just
stepped out of a wanted poster for Al Qaeda
terrorists.



10:21:56

MUSIC OUT



10:21:56
Comics appearing on radio show
MAN SYNC: People are looking at me as if I
was responsible for 9/11. Can you believe
that? Me, responsible for 9/11? 7-11 maybe.





MAN SYNC: They see me and I know what
they’re thinking, you know, so I have to tell
them look, I am not Osama Bin Laden’s evil
twin brother, okay? I’m his cousin. Call me
Bin Laughin’.





MAN SYNC: (inaudible) for Chicago Public
Radio, I’m Jeram McDonnell, speaking with
the guys from the Allah Made Me Funny
comedy tour. Where did this tour come
from?





MAN SYNC: Just the idea, you know, funny,
funny and Muslim is like, you know, George
Bush and good decision-making, so you
know, we – we got to do something, man,
you got to do something.





MAN SYNC: I think it’s unfair to, to even,
when you bring up about political humour, I
don’t think it’s even fair for us to say that we
write those jokes – I think that, you know,
George Bush does that all hisself. He should
actually get a writer’s credit.





MAN SYNC: Humour is a true dialogue, in
my heart it’s always been a true dialogue and
people respond to it. Because it’s hard to
hate somebody after they made you laugh.



10:22:58

10:23:01
Comics in corridor


Azhar, alias Bin Laughing, is a former lawyer.
Recent events have made him challenge
mainstream America, in the traditions of
Jewish and black comedians.







10:23:17




Azhar Usman IV
CAPTION:
Azhar Usman
AZHAR USMAN SYNC: This is a voice and
a perspective that does not get airtime, really
in the mainstream channels of
communication in this country.
What I realised is that there is this huge
underbelly in the United States that wants to
hear from moderate voices, because they
know that it can’t be true that all Muslims are
bad and terrorists and evil, evildoers, so
finally I’ve come to realise that these two
trends, you know, one, heightened suspicion
coupled with on the other hand a degree of a
desire to see more moderate voices, are
actually interrelated. The more that
mainstream America hears of the moderate
voices, the less suspicious they’ll be. Our
problem as a community is that, is that we’re
very isolationist. We don’t want to get out
there and make bridges with people, connect
with people.



10:23:54

10:23:58

10:24:03
Comedy club ext. and people
outside


Portraits of comics, and Muslim
comics praying


This is the well-known Chicago Comedy
Club, where America’s best have performed.
Backstage, beneath their portraits, Azhar and
his friends find just enough floor space to
prepare for their show.





MEN SYNC: PRAYING



10:24:16
People entering comedy club
Neon sign
CROWD SYNC: CHATTER



10:24:20
Comics performing on stage
MAN SYNC: I’m just kidding. How are you
doing? I mean you guys got to loosen up
man, I mean, come, we’re worrying about,
worrying about too many things, it’s like post
9/11 itis. I mean, let it go, people. Muslims
haven’t laughed hard in a while. For two
years you couldn’t even, no, for real. For two
years you couldn’t even tell a Muslim a
knock-knock joke. Hey, brother, knock-
knock.. don’t answer that!





MAN SYNC: How can you be a terrorist and
be a Muslim at the same time, I mean
because you know those, those, those dang
old C4 explosives kind of get in your way
when you’re doing a little salat, don’t you
think? Like oh, no, that pinched me, that
pinched me right there. I’m going to sit down
in a chair to do this one.





AZHAR SYNC: This is a Muslim comedy
show! Nobody laughs. Oh, I just, you know
there’s a Muslim comedy show, going no
pork, no alcohol, women in hijab, and show
started late! People are scared, wherever we
go, I get some dirty looks walking on the
street. People are yelling at me like go back
to where you came from. I’m from
Minnesota, man! Those times you’re trying
to be a Muslim, trying to practice your
religion, you know, maybe you’re at work and
you have pray, you know, and then you’ve
got to be afraid someone’s going to walk in,
looking over your shoulder, oh, my contact
lens, oh my God. No terrorists over here,
dude! I just want to tell people look, relax.
I’m a Muslim but I’m an American Muslim. In
fact I consider myself a very patriotic
American Muslim. Which means I would die
for this country. By blowing myself up.
Inside of a Dunkin’ Donuts.



10:26:10
Azhar Usman IV
AZHAR USMAN SYNC: We mustn’t wait
around for others to validate us, for others to
come and, and tap us on the shoulder and
say, you people are the good guys and
you’re doing a good job, and we validate you
or we consider you authentic Americans.
That’s not anybody else’s business. We as
American Muslims must stand up, be proud
of who we are, and be people who say
unequivocally and enthusiastically that we
are American Muslims, which means we love
our religion, we love our faith, and we love all
the beautiful aspects of it, and at the same
time, we claim our space rightfully and we
claim our right as Americans to critique those
aspects of American culture, civilisation,
government, foreign policy etc, that we have
a problem with.



10:26:52
Salman and Junoon rehearsing in
dressing room
MUSIC – ACTUALITY



10:27:02


10:27:11



Tracking shot US flags hanging
over street
Ramadan begins tomorrow, and we’re taking
a break after the gig. I’m flying to Colorado
to attend a very private, very exclusive
celebration, way up in the Rockies.



10:27:11

MUSIC OUT



10:27:12

MUSIC IN



10:27:16
View from car, and Salman in
car/inside of car/roadside hoarding
showing picture of Osama Bin
Laden/limo on road




10:27:19

The lady of the house has sent me her own
chauffeured limo. Muslim organisations have
just called on their members to back Kerry.
But I’ve been invited into a house full of
Bushlims – my slang for Muslims who
support Bush.



10:27:43
Mountain and house ext.




10:27:48

10:27:50
Salman inside house, sitting down
and looking around/photo of Simi
and Dr Hasan with President and
Mrs Bush


John Lennon had an Aunt Mimi. I too have
an aunt. But her name is Simi. Simi and her
husband, Dr Hasan, have some pretty
powerful friends in Washington.



10:28:07
Simi coming downstairs and
greeting Salman
SALMAN SYNC: (inaudible)





SIMI SYNC: (inaudible)





SALMAN SYNC: How are you?





SIMI SYNC: I’m fine, how are you?



10:28:10

Simi is the classic Pakistani matriarch –
generous and fiercely loyal to both family and
friends. Even to those friends who are
perceived to be anti-Muslim.





SALMAN SYNC: So great to see you.





SIMI SYNC: Nice to see you. Well, it’s
been..



10:28:24

When Junoon performed at my cousin’s
million dollar Vegas wedding, there were
more Congressmen present there than in
Washington.





SALMAN SYNC: I mean, can you just show
us -



10:28:33
Simi taking Salman around the
house and showing him different
things
SIMI SYNC: Alright. We’re going to go to
our Oriental gallery.





SALMAN SYNC: Oriental gallery. That’s on
the 92nd floor? It’s like, this is an infusion of
your spirit.





SIMI SYNC: Yes, and ..



10:28:46

The Hasans voted Democrat in 1992, but
were disillusioned by Clinton, who failed to
protect Muslims in Bosnia.





SIMI SYNC: And this is a very special
painting. This is the Spanish painter
Velasquez, and it is one of our you know,
highly prized acquisitions.



10:28:08

I’ve been told that she and Dr Hasan are one
of the biggest private donors to the Bush
campaign in Colorado. The President
personally invited them to his ranch.





SIMI SYNC: No, no, the house there is very
small. But the ranch is quite big, and, and
President Bush goes around in the ranch and
cuts wood and timber and cleans up – it’s
really funny.





SALMAN SYNC: And rides the horses?





SIMI SYNC: Rides the horses, and you
know, saddles them himself. So these are
photographs that we took at the ranch. This
was our second visit, this was our first visit.





SALMAN SYNC: That’s a very cute
photograph.





SIMI SYNC: Yes, I was complaining to him
about something and he actually ended up
giving me a hug and saying, it’ll be alright.





SALMAN SYNC: Can any Muslim American
aspire and be like you?



10:29:41



10:29:59
Photos of Simi and Dr Hasan with
the Bushes


Seeme talking with Salman at her
home
SIMI SYNC: Yes, I think that’s the beauty of
the American system – that American system
doesn’t hold back against you what your
religion is, what the colour of your skin is.
If you come up with some good idea, and you
are an entrepreneur, you can make it.





SALMAN SYNC: As I was waiting for you
downstairs, you know, I was in the living
room, beautiful light coming in, one thing that
came out strongly was that for a Pakistani
American to be amongst the handful of
people who have wealth, power, respect,
influence in the United States, and to have
this opulence, how does it make you feel
about the fact that there’s so many Muslim
Americans, Pakistani Americans who are
going through a crisis in the United States at
the moment?





SIMI SYNC: Well first of all, I don’t think
they’re going through a crisis, I really don’t,
and I think there’s a problem with our culture.
We believe more in rumours than facts, and,
and the rumours spread like wildfire and the
facts nobody cares about, and absolutely
nobody wants to read a newspaper or a brief
from the White House.



10:31:05
Pile of books including Asma’s,
and Salman looking at it
And yet to defend Islam in mainstream
America, Simi’s daughter Asma has written a
book – Why I Am a Muslim – for which some
Muslims have attacked her for being
apologetic.



10:31:20
Seeme at computer and Salman
talking with her
SEEME SYNC: I don’t go to sleep ‘til like,
3.30, four o’clock, sometimes even five,
Colorado time.





SALMAN SYNC: But I only thought rock
stars stood, stood up late.





SEEME SYNC: Well, obviously I’m related to
you. LAUGHS.





SALMAN SYNC: Even after I’m corrupting
you?





SEEME SYNC: Yes.





SALMAN SYNC: So there’s a chance I might
leave here with changing your mind about
certain, certain ideas?



10:31:41
Pages from Seeme’s website
SEEME SYNC: Yeah, I don’t think I can
change your mind, and I don’t think you can
change mine.





SALMAN SYNC: Okay.





SEEME SYNC: Have you ever seen our
site?



10:31:46
Seeme showing Salman her
website, and discussing her views
with him
SALMAN SYNC: This is the one that you
and Aliv designed?





SEEME SYNC: Yes, we designed it, and
every time you go to a different section the
picture changes, this is President Bush in the
mosque right after 9/11 in Washington DC,
this is in the White House signing, this is
President Musharraf. He spends a lot of
time, and, and yet you know, people will say,
oh, President Bush hates Muslims.





SALMAN SYNC: They will be saying that
he’s saying one thing, he’s meeting with
Muslims, and then he’s going out and
attacking a country just because there was
some, supposed to be some weapons of
mass destruction which were never there,
which is a Muslim country. And as you know,
a lot of the Muslims in the world feel you
know, scared, that hey, my, my Muslim
country might be next.





SIMI SYNC: Personally I wanted to invade
Iraq, because I think if there is a country that
will not allow us into its borders and has the
money and the reasoning to attack United
States, then we have to go in, because -





SALMAN SYNC: With force?





SIMI SYNC: Yes. Absolutely, because –
look what one 9/11 did to us American
Muslims. I don’t want a repeat.





SALMAN SYNC: I mean if you disagree with
the United States, it gives the United States
the right to go and blow up your country?





SIMI SYNC: So sooner or later they were
going to go in, I mean it just happened that it
got linked with 9/11, but sooner or later it was
going to happen, I mean Saddam was asking
for it.





SALMAN SYNC: You know, you, you cannot
believe that, I mean you can, knowing you,
and -





SIMI SYNC: I totally believe it.





SALMAN SYNC: I’m not saying anything! I
need you as a manager.





SIMI SYNC: I keep a pretty good eye on
your career.





SALMAN SYNC: Yeah, you do.



10:33:24
Aliv entering room and greeting
Salman
ALIV SYNC: Hey! How are you guys doing?





SALMAN SYNC: Hey, brother.





ALIV SYNC: How are you?



10:33:28

And here’s my cousin Aliv, who’s an aspiring
media don, cyber junkie, and a thorn in the
side of the Democrats. Muslims For Bush
was his brainchild.



10:33:39
Seeme talking to Salman and Aliv
SIMI SYNC: There are only two people I
think of how I can help them. On a national
level it’s Bush. On an international level it’s
Salman. But, but no matter what I tell
Salman, he doesn’t listen to me.



10:33:50

10:33:52
Salman and Aliv walking in
grounds of the house and looking
at mountains


Simi’s listening to Bush. I wonder if he’s
listening to her.





ALIV SYNC: So one day I’m going to take
you up to the slopes, I’m going to take you to
that one right on the right, that’s Grouse
Mountain right over there on the corner.
That’s the steepest slopes in all of Colorado.





SALMAN SYNC: Let me see what’s in the
back of your -





ALIV SYNC: Oh okay. It’s a, I got an eagle
there, so when I’m, I’m -





SALMAN SYNC: So that’s a bona fide
American eagle?





ALIV SYNC: I’m an all-American boy, and
what I’m going to do with this jacket one of
these days, is they left some space in
between the stars, so I’m going to add some
crescents right in between each star, so that
because, because I’m an American Muslim
and very proud of both things, so they’re the
two biggest things to my identity.





SALMAN SYNC: You know what, a lot of
people say they, American Muslims don’t
smile a lot, but you’re, you know, you
(inaudible)





ALIV SYNC: Now when I do media
appearances for Muslims For Bush, I try to
smile as much as I can. Because not
everybody’s going to hear me. Not
everybody’s going to listen to my substance,
but if, if the regular American sees a Muslim
that’s smiling and says I’m proud to be
American, I’m proud to be Muslim and I’m
smiling and I’m happy, that is a big deal. It’s
good for Americans to see smiling Muslims.



10:35:53

So we need to become shiny happy people
to be accepted in America.





SALMAN SYNC: You know if I just walked
into this life, and I saw you, you know, you’re
in LA, you’re in Colorado, I’d say fat cat
Muslims, man. And, has it always been like
this?





ALIV SYNC: Not at all. You know, my
parents worked hard and they’re proof that
you can come to America from Pakistan,
have $30 in your pocket, and hard work and
really, and some good decisions, really
intelligent decisions, they’ve really made it to
the top, and you know, it’s, when people say
to me America’s a prejudiced country, it’s
racist, there is some racism, but it’s really
hard for me to believe that there’s racism
when my parents can do all of this within this
country. There can’t be that much.



10:35:35

MUSIC



10:35:35

10:35:42
Lights on in house at night

Photo of President Bush with Dr
and Seeme Hasan, and birthday
greeting
It’s dinnertime, at one in the morning.

Dr Hasan has received a personal birthday
wish from President Bush.



10:35:50

10:35:53
Family eating dinner and talking


He recently sold his health insurance
business for billions of dollars. I wondered if
that kind of wealth had shielded them from
the experiences of other Muslims.



10:36:05

ALIV SYNC: I was asked off an, off of an
aeroplane. Aliya was with me, so we both
had to leave the aeroplane.





ALIYA SYNC: I mean we were treated very
well, and it was awkward to be taken off the
plane and everybody looked at us, and we
came back and everybody looked what’s
going on.





ALIV SYNC: The bigger incident was I was
checking into a plane at LAX, in Los Angeles,
and I was surrounded by four LAPD officers.
They read me Miranda rights, and then they
said if you’re the terrorist that we think you
might be then we’re going to take you down
to the station, and I had to wait there in that
terminal with four LAPD officers around me,
while everybody was getting their tickets for
one hour, and then the FBI agent showed up.





SALMAN SYNC: Cat Stevens, also known
as Yusuf Islam, was deported from the
airport, so I was trying to figure out, these
people, how can there be a questionability on
their -





DR HASAN SYNC: Under the same
programme under which Cat Stevens was
deported, Senator Ted Kennedy was denied
boarding of a plane because he was on a
terrorist list. Now who in this country does
not know Senator Edward Kennedy?





SALMAN SYNC: Except that he’s a
Democrat.





DR HASAN SYNC: It doesn’t matter. I’m
telling you, we never had a training to be an
imperialist or a police state. So anything to
do with enforcement of the law is done so
poorly, because this is not part of the fabric of
this society.





ALIV SYNC: Those incidents happened
pretty close to each other and I told Mum and
Dad, and Mum and Dad, Dad, told the
administration, and they listened to it
seriously, they took it very seriously, and
from that point on I haven’t been interrogated
again.





SEEME SYNC: This is something that, that,
that really upsets me, that there are some
Muslims who put us in this position. The
American Muslims after 9/11 have been put
in a difficult position, not by Bush, by, by
some other Muslims.



10:37:49

10:37:55
Trees outside house at night

Hasan family talking and making
new pages for website


At 3am the Hasans are planning the next
edition of the Muslims For Bush website.
Today’s message plays on the fears of
Pakistani Americans.



10:38:06
Salman reading and Seeme
listening
SALMAN SYNC: Interesting facts about
John Kerry. He’s a friend of India. He’s a
friend of Israel. He is no friend to Pakistani
employees or for Bush. That’s pretty
insulting.





MAN SYNC: LAUGHS



10:38:22
Page from website
And all of this gets beamed out to Muslim
cyberspace.





MAN VO: Pakistan could lose its nuclear
weapons. Muslim countries will lose billions
in aid. Pakistani leadership supports Bush,
and wants him to be re-elected. Vote for
Bush – the only responsible choice for
Pakistani American Muslims.



10:38:43

MUSIC IN



10:38:43

10:38:50
Tracking shots from car/Junoon in
car/POV car passenger


Next stop, Detroit, Michigan.



10:38:54


10:38:59

10:39:05

10:39:10
SUBT ITLES:
Alone…

…and restless

You wander

Your destiny will change…




10:39:19

Whilst here in Detroit, I’m going to meet
another person whose life has been
transformed by the past few years.



10:39:29

MUSIC OUT





10:39:32









10:39:59


She reef Akeel IV
CAPTION:
Shereef Akeel
Attorney






Shereef getting into car and driving
SHEREEF AKEEL SYNC: I was just more, I
just dealt with contracts,
personal injury matters. Since September
11, my practice has just turned upside down,
and I’ve just been dealing with, you know,
just, I’m, I’m seeing the remnants of
September 11 in all facets of society.
Students are being expelled because their
names are Mohammed or from, they’re from
Pakistan or they’re Muslim, or – people are
getting fired from work or they’re being
denied prayers,
it’s just been a rollercoaster.



10:40:10

SHEREEF SYNC: In September 11, Arab
Americans have been attacked twice. One
time by Al Qaeda, and then the second time
because of their religious faith. So they’re
being subjected to twice the harm right now,
because of their American nationality and
because of their religion.



10:40:28

Shereef Akeel describes himself as a Muslim
American of Egyptian descent, who was born
here.



10:40:40
American flag outside mosque




10:40:45

10:40:47
Men inside mosque, praying,
Shereef and Salman among them


The claims made by terrorists that they acted
in the name of Islam has outraged many
Muslims, and forced us to soul-search.





SHEREEF VO: here is a constant monitoring
internally, of who you are as a Muslim –
constant check of your religion, of your faith,
you’re constantly questioning, okay, they’re
saying this about Islam, is this true?



10:41:12

MUSIC IN



10:41:15
Sign outside mosque
Plane in sky
Mosque tower with plane passing
Underpass
Surprisingly and despite intimidation, more
people are going to mosques than before
9/11.



10:41:27
Shereef and Salman ordering
lunch and talking at their table
SHEREEF SYNC: Oh, I’ll have the Big Boy
with the soup, the super salad bar.





WOMAN SYNC: Just the sandwich?





MAN SYNC: Yeah.





SALMAN SYNC: Do you feel that there’s
some sort of a collective guilt that Muslims
are harbouring?





SHEREEF SYNC: Oh, yeah, oh there, there
is no question that anytime now something
happens, most Muslims are saying oh, I hope
it’s not a Muslim. Oh, please don’t let it be a
Muslim.





SALMAN SYNC: Would you ever think of
leaving the United States?





SHEREEF SYNC: Oh, no, I mean I, I.. I can’t
think of that. I mean it is, this is, this is my
country. But it is, it’s a difficult time. It’s a
sign of the times, you know, it’s difficult to be
a Muslim here, I, it’s, for all of us. I, there’s
no question about that.



10:42:08

10:42:13
Train and office block

Town hall meeting attendees
gathering, including journalist
Michigan’s Muslims gather at a town hall
meeting,
to question local party candidates who want
their vote. In the crowd there’s a journalist
whose presence worries Shereef.




10:42:22

Shereef talking to woman
SHEREEF SYNC: Yeah,
but she’s here, apparently in a disguise.
She’s wearing a hijab and she’s known as
Zedam. She’s very anti-Muslim, she always
tries to basically attack persons’ characters
based on, because they’re Arabic or
Pakistani. She’s known, Debbie Schlaso,
she has her own show.





WOMAN SYNC: Oh, Debbie Schlaso?





SHEREEF SYNC: Yeah.



10:42:45
Man making speech at meeting,
and Shereef taking his place on
stage
MAN SYNC: I would say to those who do
aid, abet and harbour terrorists, that you do
have something to worry about. Terrorists…



10:42:50

Shereef knows how dangerous right-wing talk
show hosts have been. He sets out to
expose her duplicity.



10:42:58
Shereef speaking to meeting
SHEREEF SYNC: I’ll be starting out with the
first question. I was asked just recently to
ask one of our guests, Debbie Schlaso a
question. As a radio personality and a
community activist, you’ve observed Muslim
American community become more involved
in the political process; do you see any
positive outcomes of this involvement?





DEBBIE SYNC: I don’t have a comment.





SHEREEF SYNC: Okay.



10:43:23

10:43:29


POV passenger in car
Debbie Schlaso is just one of many radio
hosts openly insulting Muslims, even
making jokes about prisoners in Iraq.





MAN VO: Here it is, the scandal at Ghraib
and Arab prison.



10:43:36

Savage Nation attracts over 10 million
listeners.





MAN VO: I think there should be no mercy
shown to these sub-humans. I think 1,000 of
them held in the Iraqi prison should be given
24 hour trial and executed.



10:43:49

10:43:51
Shereef being photographed


Going public on the issue of Abu Ghraib is
about to make Shereef famous, if not
notorious. I learnt that he’d risked his life by
secretly going into Iraq, and wondered how it
had come about.



10:44:09

10:44:12














10 :44:49
Shereef’s office ext.

Shereef talking to Salman














Files full of legal documents
SHEREEF SYNC: Some guy just walked
into my office, named
Mr Salar, and he told me about a horrific
experience he was subjected to, and he told
me all this in March. He told me he was in
Abu Ghraib, and I said what is that? I had no
idea what he was talking about, and he told
me he was picked up and they put him into
Abu Ghraib, and they tortured him for two
months, and the worst thing about this is that
he was in Abu Ghraib before, and during
Saddam Hussein’s regime, when he was
imprisoned as a, a political prisoner because
he was pro-Western and he was for
democracy and he was against Saddam
Hussein, so he, you know, we sent him back
into Abu Ghraib,
and it just avalanched into a major case.
Now we’re representing a possible class of
50,000 detainees.



10:44:59

He’s going to court in the name of all the
prisoners, in a case against the two
companies who were contracted by the US
military to collect intelligence.



10:45:06
















10:45:56
Shereef talking to Salman and
showing him photographs of
Muslims being abused by US
troops












Stills of Muslim men being abused
and tortured
SHEREEF SYNC: Well here’s two of our
clients that we are representing in the Abu
Ghraib matter. This, this is one individual
here who was hooked up to wires, and he
was electrocuted, like six times, and here is
another individual who has been dragged
there on a leash. The thing that’s really
disturbing about this is that they’re both
strong men of faith. He’s an imam, and he’s
an administrator at a mosque, and both of
them are you know, are deeply religious.
And these are not just the only two that we
found this, I mean in our findings we were
able to you know, interview four to five
detainees on a daily basis, and we found
something very, very disturbing.
The more religious someone was, the more
they were subjected to unspeakable crimes.



10:46:05

The perverted politics of torture make me
wonder if Bush’s war is really about liberty
and freedom.



10:46:19
Shereef talking to Salman
SHEREEF SYNC: Imams were stripped
naked and clergy, and stripped naked and
made to feed women in the nude. Imams
who were fasting were being sodomised by
bottles. Women wearing sex objects, I didn’t
even under, didn’t even know what they were
trying to describe, but one man was, an, one
man was fasting, and he saw a woman and
he was describing she was wearing a belt
with a fake penis, and she was sodomising
him. I didn’t even under, I couldn’t – you
know, you, he was crying explaining this, and
your stomach is turning, your mind is trying to
digest what he’s trying to say to you, because
he says how can it be, how can this happen?
And this is my country. I’m born here, I, this
is the principal, I mean I, I know what
America’s about, I mean this is, I mean I, I
carry this with me now. It’s the constitution, it
tells you the rights that are afforded to
people, and I see you know, these words are
starting to walk in front of me now. They,
they are taking a meaning, and, and, and
this, this, this is what I, this is what I believe
America should be all about, and, and, and
the founding fathers dreamed that it would be
about, but if they had known, if they know
what is going on, what went on in Abu
Ghraib, they would be turning upside down in
their graves right now.



10:47:39


10:47:44
Boys playing soccer as Shereef
and Salman watch



Shereef’s a soccer fanatic, and his sons
follow in his footsteps.





SHEREEF VO: I don’t want them to think in
any way that they are second class citizens.
I want them to understand that they are an
American just as equal as Johnny or Billy,
and that they have the same right and the
same opportunity to be the President.



10:48:17

Like Shereef, I too am a father, and I’m
determined to see my young sons grow in a
tolerant, healthy society.



10:48:24

MUSIC IN



10:48:24
POV car passenger




10:48:32

10:48:36


Protestors awaiting Bush’s visit as
Aliv and Seeme arrive in limo
The election is now just seven days away.

President Bush makes a last-minute
campaign trip to the farming town of Greely,
Colorado. It seems not everyone here
shares Simi’s love of Bush.



10:48:48

MUSIC OUT





PROTESTORS SYNC: CHANTING



10:48:57
Seeme and Aliv entering
conference/Bush’s helicopter
arriving/




10:49:09

Having worked on the website ‘til dawn,
they’re late. Normally, they’d have a
reserved seat on the stage, where they could
greet the President.





CROWD SYNC: APPLAUSE



10:49:24
Seeme and others applauding for
president
Today in Greely, they’re just one of the
crowd.



10:49:31
President Bush making
speech/crowd applauding/Seeme
and Aliv reacting
BUSH SYNC : We’re coming down to stretch
in the last week of this campaign, I will
continue to talk about my vision for a more
hopeful America.





CROWD SYNC: APPLAUSE





BUSH SYNC: Will America return to the
defensive, reactive mindset that sought to
manage the dangers to our country? Or will
we fight a real war with the goal of victory?
We’ve seen our military bring freedom to the
oppressed, and justice to our enemies. Our
nation has shown our character to the world.
We are proud to be Americans.



10:50:19
Crowd cheering and chanting as
Bush leaves
CROWD SYNC: APPLAUSE AND
CHANTING



10:50:29

And then in the afterglow of Bush’s fighting
talk, my relatives meet a Christian
fundamentalist.



10:50:36
Woman speaking to Aliv and
Seeme
COLLEEN SYNC: When September 11
happened, and God spoke to me and said
Colleen, I want you to get the biggest
bouquet you can afford and take it over to the
mosque in your neighbourhood, so as I drove
up the entire periphery of the mosque was
lined with police cars protecting it from the
violence that was going around the nation
against the, against the Muslims.





SIMI SYNC: Yes, yes.





COLLEEN SYNC: And people did not
understand at that time, that Muslims are not
terrorists.





SIMI SYNC: Thank you so much. I, I, I know
that-





ALIV SYNC: And we love you too. We love
you too.





SIMI SYNC: And I knew, I knew that majority
of the Christians feel this way, and they love
us, and we love them.





COLLEEN SYNC: We love you. We stand
with you, we hate the violence that’s going on
against your mosque. It’s breaking our heart
and we want you to know our love.



10:51:21
Seeme getting into limo with Aliv
MUSIC IN





10:51:32


Seeme talking in car as Aliv listens
SIMI SYNC: As of today I am more excited
and more happy.
I used to say I could feel the love coming
from President Bush. Today I felt the love
coming from an average American – an
evangelical American at that, evangelicals
are the ones that, who have always been
very strong and anti-terrorists, and anti-
Muslims.



10:51:48
Car moving along road




10:51:51
Dr Hasan working on website
Back at the mansion, Dr Hasan is already
working the Bush rally into the website.



10:52:03

MUSIC OUT



10:51:56

10:52:03
Hasans’ staff working in kitchen

Salman and Hasans having lunch
and talking


Simi and I love to argue, but there’s one thing
we agree on – Islam has been hijacked by
despotic regimes and the clergy who have no
tolerance for debate.





SIMI SYNC: I have to read the Koran every
day, so at night I will read it and when I’m
going to sleep I will read a little, you know, a
few pages, so one night I was reading it, it
kind of got, you know, quite sexy! LAUGHS.
And I said -





SALMAN SYNC: That’s a description I’ve
never heard of the Koran before.





SIMI SYNC: And I, I thought to myself now
wait a minute – I’m (inaudible), this is the holy
month, should I be reading a book that’s
talking about sex? But then I said but it’s the
Koran, you know, and so you know, I, I mean
the religion is very -





SALMAN SYNC: It celebrates sex, I mean
you know, I’m sick of Muslims coming up on
the television, you know, whether it’s CNN or
BBC or whatever, Islam is a very peaceful
religion, okay. I will much rather, you know,
as Simi just said you know, Islam’s a really
sexy religion, you know?





SIMI SYNC: LAUGHS





SALMAN SYNC: I mean Islam’s sexy. Take
it from me.





ALL SYNC: LAUGHS





SALMAN SYNC: And I paraphrase it, I put it-





ALIV SYNC: As long as we can have a
Junoon song.



10:53:06
Seeme’s sitting room with flowers
and sculpture
MAN VO: When it matters most, we’re here
with the news and information you need.





MAN VO: This is Newstalk 97.3 the Sky and
we’re talking to Muhammed Ali Hasan with
Muslims For Bush.



10:53:18
Aliv talking on radio show via
speakerphone
ALIV SYNC: Hey it’s, it’s good to be back on
and I’m, and listen, I’m just excited to be on
Florida radio, I, I hope I’m on Florida and
Ohio radio as much as possible this week.





MAN VO: Right, well now do you think
Bush’s strong Christian views sometimes
might get in the way of devout Muslims?





ALIV SYNC: Not one bit. When President
Bush says I have a high belief in God, he’s
saying I have a high belief in the same God
that Muslims worship to as well, so the fact
that he talks about God, he’s talking about
the God I pray to as well, so that makes me
even a bigger supporter of him. I want him to
talk about God more often, I want him to
bring in his Christian values, because those
are values that most Muslims share.





MAN VO: Interesting. Do you think
Americans dying to help the Iraqis become
free, do you think that’s worth it?



10:53:59
Shots from car/driver/car
radio/Junoon in back of car
MAN VO: Oh I think it’s certainly worth it. If
we kept Saddam Hussein in power, I’ll tell
you, we’ll have a lot more Muslims dying in
the future than we will right now, it’s a small
price to pay for future prosperity and peace.





MAN VO: This is the attack machine on
WSKY the Sky.





TAPE VOICE: Attack machine.



10:54:15

MUSIC IN



10:54:21

There’s no doubt about it. George Bush has
completely polarised America, including the
Muslim community.



10:54:30

MUSIC OUT



10:54:30
TV studio with Talat Hamdani and
Salman appearing on programme
I’m back in New York City. I land up in a
makeshift Pakistani television studio with
Talat Hamdani. I really respect her mission
to change the political culture of the country.



10:54:49



10:54:55


10:55:01
SUBT ITLES:
I got involved because of the 9/11
Commission Report

It was there that I read of the
injustices against Muslims…

…In this land which is our land too
America
TALAT SYNC: (inaudible)



10:55:06

Her message? Vote Bush out of office.



10:54:55

MUSIC IN



10:55:12

MUSIC OUT



10:55:12
TV election alert
WOMAN SYNC: An election alert for all
Pakistani Americans. You are playing -



10:55:15

And in Colorado, Simi’s family are making
their final television call.



10:55:21
Seeme and Aliv making television
appeal
SIMI SYNC: ENGLISH AND NON-ENGLISH
WORDS. George Bush, a vote for George
Bush is $3 billion for Pakistan. A vote for
George Bush is F16s to Pakistan. A vote for
George Bush is getting to be a non-NATO
ally of United States. It’s all plus, plus, plus.





ALIV SYNC: It’s our choice. We can either
have Senator Kerry, who doesn’t want
Muslims to do well, or we can have President
Bush, who’s trying to promote Muslims. Vote
for President Bush.



10:55:49

MUSIC



10:55:49
New York City GVs




10:55:54




10:56:12





Talat walking in street and entering
building
Days later, and it’s all over. Bush has been
re-elected for four more years. But if exit
polls are to be believed, almost 90% of
Muslim Americans voted against him,
reflecting the profound
disquiet at where America is heading. But for
Talat, there is a victory. The add-on
immigration clause which meant that
American citizens could be deported has
been dropped from Patriot Act 2.



10:56:30
Talat making speech
TALAT SYNC: Since I’ve seen both the
sides, you know, like as a Muslim also and as
an American also, I find myself defending
Islam in the American society and I find
myself defending America in the Muslim
society.



10:56:44
Salman and Junoon warming up
backstage/doing sound check
MUSIC IN



10:56:50

Unlike some other parts of the world, where
Muslims seem to see themselves just as
victims, Muslim Americans are fighting for
their rights, and blending Islam with the
modern American identity. And we haven’t
lost our sense of humour.



10:57:07

MUSIC OUT



10:57:07
Azhar Usman performing on stage
AZHAR SYNC: I don’t know if you guys
realise, right after 9/11 everybody started
talking about how Muslims around the globe
supposedly hate America. I was like what?
I’m an American Muslim, I’m going to find out
why. I got internet access. I went on
google.com. I did some research, I think I
figured out. I bet Muslims around the world
will stop hating America if Americans just
stop killing them.





CROWD SYNC: LAUGHTER AND
APPLAUSE





AZHAR SYNC: I know it’s just a theory.



10:57:45

MUSIC IN



10:57:46
END TITLES

END CREDITS SCROLL:

Archive
ABC
KNEW-AM
THE NEW YORKER

Music
COURTESY OF JUNOON

Online Editor
BILL OGDEN

Colourist
DUNCAN RUSSELL

Dubbing Mixer
MATT SKILTON

Production Coordinator
SAM PAYNE

Production Manager
IRIS MAOR

Associate Producer – New York
MICA McCARTHY

Film Editor
ASHLEY SMITH

Executive Producer
ANGUS MACQUEEN

Producer
RUHI HAMID

Filmed and Directed by
CLIFFORD BESTALL




10:57:49

MAN VO: Have your say on tonight’s show
and explore a world of extra information,
news stories and features by visiting our
website at www.bbc.co.uk/thisworld.



10:58:13
October Films/BBC ident board




10:58:16
This World ident

TITLES:
Editor
KAREN O’CONNOR

© BBC MMV




10:58:23

MUSIC OUT



10:58:30
END






40
October Films RX Date: 20/01/05
“It’s My Country Too – Muslim Americans” – BBC Version
Prog No: 60/ANCX800P
Total Duration: 58’21“

TIME VISUALS SOUND