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Yasmin (2004)
Yasmin - the Muslim community in England after September 11
The film "Yasmin" by Kenny Glenaan depicts the effects September 11, 2001 has had on the Muslim community in England. Yasmin, a young woman, and her hometown in North England act as an example of the growing tensions between Muslims and Non-Muslims. Yasmin's place between the two worlds is endangered by the bogus marriage with her cousin Faysal, who is not able to cope with his new home, and by the distrust she experiences at work and even in her free time. In the end, she has to find her own way and learn to accept her own roots.
Yasmin herself is an emancipated and rather modern woman who seems to be full of the joys of life. Her two worlds are represented by her father, the custodian of the local mosque, who is a very traditional man although he allows her a lot of freedom, and by her friend John, an Englishman, who does not know about Yasmin's other life. The latter is also the one I can identify with most because he is abruptly pulled into a conflict of religions he really only knows from television and so he reacts with rejection to protect himself. Yasmin's own brother Nasir also leads two lives. As a good Muslim he helps his father at the mosque, but drugs in his spare time he deals.
The roles of the victim and the culprit as we often see them are reversed in this film, and Kenny Glenaan shows that the Muslim world, as incomprehensible and unfamiliar it might be to others, has had to suffer in its own way since 9/11. Around this complex storyline Glenaan creates an atmosphere which, on the one hand, is very tense and sometimes even arouses a feeling of hopelessness when Yasmin is with her family, and, on the other hand, is full of prejudices, narrow-mindedness and mistrust whenever she enters the "other world". When Yasmin's two worlds clash, you can easily imagine the lack of prospects she experiences and the struggle to maintain her own identity.
"Yasmin" is an intelligent film with a complex storyline portraying the Muslim community in England after September 11, 2001. It presents a different point of view to the conflict of cultures and makes you think about your own position in the multicultural world.