Posted on 06/28/2009 8:55:23 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Hitting limited theaters this weekend is the true and eye-opening story of a modern-day woman who was tragically stoned to death in Iran after she was falsely accused and deemed guilty of adultery.
Produced by the man behind “Braveheart” and “The Passion of the Christ” and based on the book of the same name, “The Stoning of Soraya M.” was inspired by true events that took place in 1986 and comes out as the current strife plaguing a deeply divided Iran has caught the world's attention.
On Friday, foreign ministers from Group of Eight countries said they deplored post-election violence in Iran and urged Tehran authorities to ensure that the outcome of Iran's disputed election reflects the will of the Iranian people.
"We express our solidarity with those who have suffered repression while peacefully demonstrating and urge Iran to respect human rights, including freedom of expression," the ministers said in a statement.
Though 98 percent of Iran's population is Muslim (89 percent Shia, 9 percent Sunni), the current situation has revealed an Iran that is more diverse than much of the world has known it to be - especially among those who tend to see current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the face of the Islamic republic.
And, "The Stoning of Soraya M." does, the crisis in Iran reveals that in times where people believe there to be grave injustices, someone is sure to stand up and cry out.
“’The Stoning of Soraya M.’ is a very universal story to me,” says producer Steve McEveety, who worked for many years at Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions.
The story of Soraya centers around her aunt, Zahara, played by Academy Award nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, who reveals Soraya's tragic story to a French journalist that happens to become stranded in her village after his car breaks down.
In her effort to reveal Soraya’s story to people beyond her village, Zahara carefully yet boldly approaches the journalist, played by Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”), and tells of the scheming, lies and deceit that ultimately led to Soraya’s stoning just the day before he arrived.
“At its heart, this movie is a human drama filled with tension, peril and hope – but it is also a true story that I felt strongly had to be told, a story the whole world needs to know,” says director Cyrus Nowrasteh, who is best known for his involvement in the controversial docudrama “The Path to 9/11.”
Though some might feel the movie is critical of Islamic law – which allows stoning as a form of punishment – and therefore of Islam, producer McEveety says many have found the film to be very pro-Muslim, if anything.
“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.
Among his last articles was one covering the conflict in Iraq, where he had recently visited for the French daily Le Telegraph.
checking out the movie now... will see what it looks like and report back...
“..Sheds Light on Human Cruelty, Islam”
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Good grief, did it take this long to discover the human cruelty as practiced in Islam? They could’ve gotten the same information from those hapless Christians and non-muslims who are so unfortunate to live in muslim countries.
Then compare it with the West where their cities are polluted with those menacing mosques.
Islam at its finest hour. (sarc)
You said — Good grief, did it take this long to discover the human cruelty as practiced in Islam?
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While this video/movie is based on a true story, in many cases, these kinds of things are meant to *confuse* the issue with the public and make people think that the government and the religion are two different things. They are not — they are one and the same.
It’s the evil, oppressive and violent governmental idealogy (called “Islam”) which is the problem, and which condones *no separation of church from the government*. In fact, in Islam, they not only don’t understand a separation of the Koran and the Prophet Mohammed from the government — they call any attempt at one doing so — as *evil* (well..., they should know “evil”, that’s for sure... LOL...)
It sounds like this movie is *propaganda* for those of the “liberal-think* and the *accommodating* of this evil idealogy. BUT, I’ll be able to view the movie shortly and I’ll see then...
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That evil and oppressive governmental idealogy of Islam and the way of implementing it by Sharia law is already making inroads right here in this country — the good ole USA. We’re about to see a “takeover” of the U.S. by the evil and oppressive idealogy of the government of Islam (that is aiming for world-wide conquest and has stated that the U.S. is *on its list* to take over...)
And for those people who need some additional facts about what the evil and oppressive governmental idealogy of Islam is doing, look at some of the following.
There’s no question about it... the enemy is *Islam* itself and the evil and oppressive and false idealogy that it perpetrates. Some say the problem is “fascism” (instead of the basic oppressive governmental idealogy of Islam, itself). But, that is to engage in “political correctness” and nothing more... and sidetracks people from the *true enemy* in this war.
In one generation we’ll see, right here in the United States that “Islam” is the enemy and not “fascism”...
Muslim Demographics...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU
and also, this...
Islam: What the West Needs to Know - FULL LENGTH ENGLISH VERSION
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-871902797772997781
and then, looking at this...
“The Third Jihad” (video - abridged version of film)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2271522/posts
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You can leave Iran to the Muslim devils... LOL...
What two-faced hypocrites those Muslims are! They can’t wait to rape a woman and then stone her to death for it.
The film is extremely powerful. I urge all Freepers to see it. Steve McEveety is to be admired for his courage in bringing this story to the big screen.
I heard Hugh “And Series” Hewitt talking about this the other day on his show. Sounds like a good one. Apparently Medved gave it a great review.
And if that's not endorsement enough, the NYTimes and WashPo both hated it for being "inflated" like the Crucifixion of Christ and 9/11 (?!?!!): link to story about WashPo and NYTimes review
When I saw the film, the director was at the showing and he got a tongue lashing from a liberal leaving the theater.
Sean Hannity mentioned this movie in his show tonight. It’s a true story about a woman who refuses to give her abusive husband a divorce so that he can marry a younger woman from a wealthier family, so the husband bribes friends to falsely accuse her of adultery so he can get her out of the way by having her executed by stoning.
During the stoning, the man actually instructs his sons to participate in the stoning of their mother.
I wonder if they did. I’d turn the stones on pop.
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