So You Want To Be A Muslim Documentary About Converts to Islam Premieres in October

But, as filmmaker Hoda Elatawi reveals in her new feature-length documentary, So You Want To Be A Muslim, actually choosing to become a Muslim in the West today is not so easy. Along with the rewards, doing so can present unique challenges.

Premiering during Canadian Islamic Heritage Month, So You Want To Be a Muslim (documentary Channel, Sunday, Oct. 20 at 9 pm ET) and available online on CBC Gem introduces viewers to five North Americans who have left their respective faith traditions to embrace Islam. For these five (three Canadians and an American couple) the transition from one religion to another can be both enlightening and daunting.

An eight year-long process from start to finish (in part due to delays caused by the COVID pandemic), gives So You Want To Be a Muslim the quality of a journey, chronicling major transformations the film’s characters went through over that time period and illuminating the striking diversity of the Muslim community:

Barbara was a promising musician in her early 20s and studying to become an Anglican minister when she married a young Muslim man and decided to become a Muslim herself. Though the marriage broke up, Barbara’s long and circuitous life journey will redefine how she lives her life as a Muslim and brings about a surprising and life-changing calling as a Chaplain with the Canadian Armed Forces.

Stephanie is a Millennial, a francophone New Brunswick Acadian transplanted to Ottawa, who took the Shahada and donned the hijab. But she decided to keep those parts of her life she enjoyed before becoming a Muslim: having an alcoholic drink once in a while, going to the occasional party, and remaining a supportive activist in the LGBTQ+ community - especially to support her two gay dads.

Rima, culturally Jewish and born in South Africa, revels in her rich overlapping identities. But she is shocked by the prejudice and Islamophobia within her own family when she embraces Islam.

Johnae and her husband Eli are an African American couple from Puerto Rico, now living in the New York City borough of the Bronx. They ‘reverted’ to Islam and live much more conservatively these days as Muslims than either would ever have anticipated a few years back, in the heyday of their youth.

Even as they find meaning in their new faith, the varied experiences of these Muslims speak to the ‘West vs the rest’ mentality. Barbara, Stephanie, Rima, Johnae and Eli reflect on what it’s like to live between two worlds, often feeling ‘othered’ both inside and outside of their communities.

Our five characters’ children, siblings, and parents all describe their initial reaction when their family members first decided to embrace Islam, and reveal how, in most cases and over time, they have come to accept their loved one’s life decisions regarding their faith.

Filmmaker Hoda Elatawi (Muneeza in the Middle) hopes her film will act as a bridge to better, truer understanding: “With words like ‘extremist’, ‘jihadist’, and ‘terrorist’ plaguing mainstream dialogue when the subject of Islam and Muslims come up, I hope the deeply personal stories revealed by the diverse group of people in my film will help break stereotypes, challenge our preconceived notions about Islam, and reveal the struggles and truths around what it means to be a Muslim convert in the West today. My take-away, and I hope it is the viewer’s, too, is that, at heart, we are all the same more than we are different.”

So You Want To Be a Muslim is directed and produced by Hoda Elatawi. It was written by Hoda Elatawi and Charlotte Odele, Charlotte Odele is the Story Editor. Executive producers are Hoda Elatawi and Ken Stewart. Directors of Photography are Christine Buijs, John Tran, and Matthew MacDonald; Music Composer is Rose Bolton; Editor is Katharine Asals; and Assembly Editor is Cathy Gulkin. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual & Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; Sandra Kleinfeld is Senior Director, Documentary; and Jordana Ross was Executive in Charge of Production.

So You Want To Be A Muslim is produced by GAPC Entertainment in association with documentary Channel. It is produced with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, Ontario Creates, the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, and with the assistance of the Hot Docs Partners Fund, the Inspirit Foundation and Looking Glass International.

About GAPC Entertainment

GAPC Entertainment is a vibrant, independent Canadian production company based in Ottawa and with a passion for creating quality programming for national and international audiences. The company, headed by President Hoda Elatawi, produces creative and compelling content for all platforms and across most genres, including award-winning drama, children’s programs, performing arts, biopics, science, and history. GAPC’s documentaries include Muneeza in the Middle; Christopher Plummer: A Man for All Stages; Oscar Peterson: Keeping the Groove Alive; The Great March; Secret Secretaries; and ScienceXplosion. Among other projects in development at GAPC, are The Polka Dot Way, a feature documentary for TVO; and I Love Being Me!, a youth doc series with marbleKids and Blue Ant Media International.

To learn more about the documentary, click here