18-19th January 2004| BBC
In these programmes, Samira travels right across the Muslim world in all its rich diversity. From Malaysia to Nigeria, from Iran to Egypt, the programmes tackle an ambitious range of contentious questions about the past, present, and future of Islam.
In Iran, the first country to undergo a fundamentalist revolution, we see girls of nine taking the hijab in a ceremony that will remind Christians of first communion, but we also meet brave dissident Muslim women who resent enforced veiling.
In Turkey, the first Muslim country to undergo a secular revolution, we see the opposite – girls fighting for the right to wear the hijab. In Nigeria, we go to the far north to investigate cases of women sentenced to death by stoning for adultery.
In Malaysia, we meet fundamentalist politicians who have banned live music, and shut the bars. And we meet progressive Muslim women who say that none of this is in the Koran.
And in Egypt, we find female theological students who are challenging the opinions of male sheikhs who insist that female circumcision is an Islamic practice.
Directed by Ruhi Hamid
Executive Producer: David Henshaw