Book of Law, narrative of an inherent conflict
Book of Law is the latest movie of Maziar Miri, the young, promising Iranian director. The story begins with an Iranian scholar, Rahman Tavana, traveling with his colleagues to Lebanon to meet a group of representatives of Lebanese NGOs. There he meets a young, Christian interpreter, Juliet, who also owns a café in Beirut. He falls for her. In his next trip to Lebanon, he finds out that Juliet converted to Islam. In his third trip, he marries Juliet and they together come to Iran to live with Rahman’s family.
Almost all members of Rahman’s family (save a sister of Rahman, Kobra, who is the second good-guy of the movie next to Juliet) as well as the people around the neighborhood play an important role in the movie. They constitute a traditional Muslim society which is, in some respects, far away from original Islamic norms. The newly converted Juliet, who chose the name Amena, tries to educate them, challenging the traditional Muslim community to put aside what she finds non-Islamic. The salesman who sells expired dairies, the Muslim women who talk behind others’ backs, etc. do not hesitate a second to accuse Juliet of being naïve and unaware of ‘True Islam.’ Rahman’s family even use Juliet’s personal album including her old, not-properly-dressed photos to prove that they are better Muslims for their hair and body was never seen by a stranger. Indeed, they can’t bear numerous, harsh criticisms she makes based on the Book of Law, i.e. the Quran. Due to its long-standing experience of Islam, the traditional Muslim society believes in its authenticity to prescribe Islamic version of things. This is the most important theme of the movie.
The story of Book of Law indeed presents a cliché of contemporary art forms dealing with self-diagnosis of Muslim society. A non-Muslim converts to Islam only to find out that the Muslim society is not that Islamic at all.
The movie is idealist in the sense that it repeats an old theme, that ‘the original Islam is all good.’ And the storyteller gets pragmatist in one of the last scenes, when a Lebanese taxi driver preaches secular ethics according to which being good doesn’t have anything to do with the religion one chooses to follow. (No wonder that these statements were not translated in subtitles, probably a consequence of editorial pressures.) And maybe this idealism-pragmatism conflict is another indication of today Iran’s tough situation, symbolizing a transient nation which is still hesitant to give up on its traditional values despite all the setbacks such values brought about, the nation which still hopes to cure all the problems through radical reforms, getting back to True Islam.
Juliet can not tolerate all the inhospitality she faces in the family, in the society. In a so-called Muslim nation, she can’t adhere to original values of the Book of Law. She returns to Lebanon just to find Rahman getting there to find her. They are still in love with each other.
The last scene of the movie pictures an airplane taking off, carrying both Rahman and Juliet on board. But going where?
To Iran? Or to a dreamland in which one can be a true Muslim and enjoy all the benefits of original Islam, even if this dreamland happens to be a non-Muslim country? Rather a tough question, as tough as the choice some devout Muslims have to make.
Join the Conversation
Sometimes the question is not what we believe, but how we come to believe what we believe.
If we base our beliefs on a book, even a holy book, we may end up somewhat disappointed, because holy scripture does not always take into account the nuance of moral dilemmas. And in addition, as time passes, our sense of right and wrong may change as circumstances dictate, something which may not have been anticipated in scripture.
That is not to say that religion, or scripture for that matter, are wrong or misconceived. People do need some measure of guidance. But as with all things, common sense has a role to play. Scriptural truth is not absolute. All belief should be filtered through the prism of common sense. And if there is something written down somewhere that makes no sense, we owe it to ourselves to let it go. All religions have had to do that, and Islam is no exception.
The movie seems to portray a clash between the spirit of true Islam, as embodied by Juliet, and the false interpretations which can easily become part and parcel of a society’s culture. That clash can only be settled by the willingness of believers to step back and to judge for themselves what is worth believing, and what is not.
some wise words from Nissim Dahan… i really liked how nasim sees live. mind blowing i really mean it…