Romeo and Juliet in 21st century Europe

Kassablanka, a Flemish film, is causing uproar in Antwerp. It's a classic Romeo and Juliet story, but set in contemporaneous Belgium. It deviates from the original plot in that it has a happy end, but its capacity to generate tragedy is taking place in real life. The twist in the film is that Juliet is a muslim girl of Moroccan descent who's grown up in Belgium, but whose father is a fundamentalist muslim who preaches jihad against America. Romeo is Flemish and his father is a member of the extreme-right Vlaams Blok (Flemish Block) party. The conflict between the families is obvious as Leilah (our muslim Juliet) and Berwout is thus set. Her father dreams of the caliphate, his father of a racially pure Flanders. I haven't seen the film, so the following is based on the Dutch newspaper story linked above.

The film is actually a comedy; it ruthlessly makes fun of both fundamentalist Islam as well as neo-nazis. Love conquers in the end, and the relationship between Berwout and Leilah comes to a happy end. By poking fun at the dysfunctional atavistic elements in both the native as well as the immigrant groups the film shows the idiocy of both. And it conveys the positive message that even youths coming from polarly opposite backgrounds can live together and fall in love.

Great, huh? Well, the Moroccans living in Antwerp are not happy about this. Cinemas showing the film now have much increased security due to violent and loutish behavior by Moroccans. For instance, when Leilah takes off her headscarf in the film, there's booing, heckling and a loud "slut!" resounds. Last week 30 Moroccan youths stormed the cashiers at one megaplex. The Arab-European League has started a petition against the film. But fortunately not all Moroccan immigrants feel the same way: Umiva, an organization of mosques declined to participate in it.

But the reaction of radical Moroccans living in Belgium is dominating the headlines. And their yen for antediluvian behavior extends to far beyond the cinemas. The Moroccans actresses starring in the film are routinely accosted in public with taunts of "whore" and "disgrace for the Arabs." Says Souad Hamdaoui, "A few Moroccan boys had recognized me. They drove their car slowly past me and scolded me. I was furious. Some immigrant men can't stand the idea that a girl of muslim origin would behave in a modern way." She plays a minor role in the film. As the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali shows in the Netherlands, the apostate is in gravest danger.

The dysfunctional relationship between the sexes in Arab societies is well-documented. Oppression of women is second nature to Arab men, and the liberation of muslim women who live in the west is just something that they cannot accept. This is but one aspect of the barbarous movement that has declared war on us. It is important for moderate and non-fundamentalist muslims to speak out against the Islamofascists in their midst.

The director of Kassablanka, Guy Lee Thys, says:

The film is particularly aimed at the Flemish Block, but why can't I laugh at the muslim who arranges his prayer mat with a compass? And then I'm being mild. I could also have made a realistic film about a women who's forced into a wedding, kidnapped and murdered."

The point he makes about this film being mild about the reality of Arab culture and fundamentalist Islam is correct, but I using the example of praying in the direction of Mecca is disturbing. Sure, it's silly, but so are many aspects of other religions. Eating the body of Christ in church or keeping meat and milk separate to the point of having two dishwashers is not rational either. But faith by definition is not, and I really could not care less which direction Muslims face when they pray, what Catholics eat and drink in church, or whether Jews have a second kitchen in order to be kosher. Those things don't harm others. The teachings of fundamentalist Islam do harm others. That's what needs to be exposed and attacked, not the arcane rituals of religion.