The four local panelists who convened on the Ware Center stage before the showing of the documentary “Two Gods” agreed: The film is a thought-provoking work, with themes that resonate with their own experiences as Muslims in America.
Like the individuals “Two Gods” portrayed, “I, too, had to find myself,” City Councilman and refugee advocate Ahmed Ahmed said.
Zeshan Ismat, a professor at Franklin & Marshall College, said she appreciated the “fluidity” of faith depicted in the film.
“What was beautiful is that no matter how observant people were, it seemed to be that every member of the community was welcomed and valued for whatever they were,” she said.
“Two Gods” was January’s featured film in Millersville’s free “On Screen | In Person” series, which combines screenings with filmmaker Q&As and discussions by local panelists. The next screening in the series, “I Didn’t See You There,” takes place Tuesday, Feb. 21.
Shot in black and white, “Two Gods” follows Hanif, a Black Muslim body washer and casket maker who plies his trade in a hardscrabble neighborhood in Newark, N.J. He mentors two youths, Naz and Furquan, trying to steer them away from life on the streets.
You see their day-to-day struggles, which are portrayed engagingly and realistically, said Mukaram Syed, co-founder and board member of the Islamic Community Center of Lancaster. And it shows the power of mentorship, said Abdulsalami Ibrahim, a professor at Millersville University.
Muslim culture in the U.S. is diverse: In Lancaster County alone, more than 50 ethnicities are represented, Syed said. Further diversity stems from personal and social history: An individual Muslim may have been born and raised in the faith, or be a recent convert; immigrants may approach particular tenets or traditions differently than their counterparts who were born and raised in the U.S.
“Two Gods” director Zeshawn Ali was raised in a Muslim household in Ohio. In comments after the screening at the Ware Center, he said he had thought he knew what it meant to be Muslim in America but came to realize his understanding was influenced by the specifics of his race, gender and class.
“All of these intersectional identities are formative to how we experience faith,” he said.
He said he shot more than 300 hours of footage over about six years. Furquan ages from 11 to 17 and goes to live with relatives in North Carolina, where he embraces Christianity. Naz has repeated struggles with the law and is eventually arrested on homicide charges. He has been in jail for the past four years; due to the pandemic and other circumstances, his trial remains pending, but was expected to start this month, Ali said.
Syed joked that he was taken aback by the title “Two Gods” — after all, Islam is monotheistic. Ali said the title refers to the human experience of facing a fundamental existential commitment: Having to choose, say, between God and the allure of street life. He wanted the film to imply that theme, rather than stte it explicitly, he said.
Hanif’s job as body washer and casket maker stems from the culture of his local community, and from New Jersey law. In larger Muslim communities, it’s assumed that relatives will take charge of washing the body; caskets are required because shroud burials, common in many Muslim areas, are illegal in New Jersey.
Ismat said seeing the casket burials “challenged” her at first, but she loved the way “Two Gods” showed religion embodying the culture of the community.
I”There are many ways that people can observe their faith … We all have rituals in our lives that give us some peace and grounding. I found that beautiful.”
Ahmed said that ultimately the film reminded him of “the oneness of religion, and Islam” — as well as “how similar we really are,” differences of creed and practice notwithstanding.
