KARACHI: Currently banned by the censor board for projecting a negative image of Pakistan in context of the ongoing fight against extremism and terrorism, the documentary Among the Believers has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Government and Politics category.

Directed by Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi over a span of five years, the documentary offers a rare insight into the inner machinations of Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz while charting the ideological battles shaping Pakistan and the Muslim world.

The journey for co-producer Syed Musharraf Shah has not been easy with his life being threatened after the documentary was released in 2015. Despite the threats, he shared his pride at being a part of the film where he started off as a production assistant. “It is a great feeling that the documentary has been nominated for an Emmy,” he said while speaking to Dawn.

Mr Shah is credited by fellow colleagues as being instrumental in accessing Maulana Aziz for the exclusive interviews.

Co-producer Naziha Syed Ali said Among the Believers “grew out of the desire to explore the struggle between radical and moderate Islam in Pakistan through a more nuanced lens”. At the heart of the documentary, she added, was one of the watershed moments in the history of militancy — the siege of Lal Masjid.

“The main protagonist in the documentary is Maulana Aziz, who is the khateeb of the madressah complex. His views counterpoint with those of the nuclear scientist Pervez Hoodbhoy,” shared the co-producer.

The film, she said, “tracks the cleric’s personal quest to make Pakistan a citadel of hard-line Islam … and presents the struggle for the soul of this country in all its complexity”.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2017