Over a Hundred Come out to See the Premiere of Sultan and the Saint by Orooj & Farooq Chandiwala

On September 16th, 2017, Unity Productions Foundation (UPF) conducted a fundraising dinner at the Embassy Suites in Hoover, called Countering Islamophobia and Promoting Peace.

Initially ticket sales were very sluggish, but the BIS community really came through, by almost filling the hall to its capacity of 150 seats, which boosted the optimism of the organizers for a very successful evening.  Guests enjoyed dinner and conversation, followed by a slide show presentation by Jawaad Abdul Rahman, a producer with UPF.  

Rahman highlighted UPF’s mission to produce films which tell inspiring stories of Muslims.  It is through these stories that UPF educates the public and counters Islamophobia.  UPF Films, such as American Muslims Fact v Fiction, have been viewed by millions of viewers, including government officials, and have been incorporated in many school curriculums.  

Members of UPF also work as consultants to Hollywood television productions, helping screenwriters develop Muslim characters that go beyond stereotypes.  Clips from several popular shows, including The Simpsons and Bones, were played to demonstrate UPF’s impact on the portrayal of Muslims in these shows.  

This was followed by a motivational talk by Br. Magid, the Imam of the largest masjid in Washington DC, the Adams Center, and who is also a former President of ISNA. He is well respected as an Islamic spiritual leader, and has been invited to speak at various interfaith events in the presence of US leaders, such as President Bush.

A brief fundraiser conducted by Br. Jawaad, fell short of the target of $100,000, however UPF confirmed after the event, that the amount collected was  $35,000.

Chairperson Farook Chandiwala said, “I tried to tell the community from the stage that this idea of making films to portray Muslims in a positive light, and other activities of this organization, are very essential to help reduce the high pitch fever of Islamophobia currently raging in USA and indeed throughout the world. This sad state of affairs befalling the Muslim community was unfortunately predicted for us by our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  However, we have to do our best to combat them by all peaceful means, and I believe these films are one such vehicle.  The Human Rights Committee has shown some of these films locally to good reviews by both Muslims and non Muslims alike, and hopes to continue showing more films.”

“I sincerely appeal to the Muslim community to visit the UPF website at www.upf.TV,” he said, “and if ‘the spirit moveth thee’ please help further their efforts by donating online.

The evening concluded with a premiere screening of UPF’s latest film, The Sultan and the Saint.  This docudrama tells the amazing true story of St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan Al-Malik al Kamil of Egypt and how their actions ultimately led to the end of the Crusades.