Yasmin

Yasmin is a film about a young Pakistani-Muslim woman who leads a double life. In her home she wears the traditional Muslim dress, including a hijab. She cooks for her father and her brother, and reluctantly attends to her husband, Faisal, an illegal Pakistani immigrant, whom she detests. Once she leaves her home in her red cabrio Volkswagen, she pulls up to the side of a country rode and changes into jeans and a t-shirt. She socializes at pubs with her British co-worker, John, for whom the audience is lead to believe that she’s developed feelings. Her younger brother, Nasir, is a drug dealer, rude boy, who, like his sister, is not particularly religious, despite his hymning of the Quran during prayers. Their father is an elderly Pakistani man who constantly mourns over the loss of his wife, and pressures Yasmin to remain married to Faisal.

However, following the televised events of September 11, 2001, Yasmin and her family’s lives drastically change. On her first day back to work following the attacks, Yasmin finds a post-it note on her locker which says, “Osama”. However, the prejudice doesn’t end there. She finds that someone wrote “Taliban Van” on her car, and that her colleagues begin to treat her differently. Furthermore, her boss asks her to take a paid leave of absence, and when Yasmin questions her boss, she soon realizes it is because of her Pakistani-Muslim background.

“Employee of the month one month, and now I’m fucking public enemy number one”


Following these events, the police raid Yasmin’s house demanding for Faisal, who is nowhere to be found. In this scene, the police point guns at Yasmin, her father and Nasir. Meanwhile, as the police are tearing the house apart searching for Faisal, Faisal is feeding his pet goat, which I believe was deliberately put in the film to serve as a symbol of the Islam. In Islam, following the end of the Hajj, which is the annual pilgrimage all Muslims must make to Mecca, Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, in which they slaughter either a camel, lamb or goat.

As the film continues, it is possible that Faisal was a symbol of the sacrifical goat, for he is accused and detained for connections to Pakistani terrorist cells. After Faisal, who is far from intimidating, is arrested, Yasmin’s attitude towards him suddenly changes. Though she was very adamant about divorcing him, after his arrest and his subsequent release, Yasmin and Faisal establish a civil relationship, which starkly contrasts with how their relationship was prior to his arrest, where Yasmin used to throw glass bottles at Faisal. Towards the end of the film, although Yasmin and Faisal ultimately separate, Yasmin no longer alternates between her western and Muslim identities. Rather, she chooses to dress in her hijab at all time. The repercussions of the September 11 attacks and the immediate effects it had on Faisal and her family brought her closer to her faith.

Similarly, Nasir also reforms his life. Following the attacks he starts attending radical meetings, where his Muslim ‘brothers’ discuss the violent attacks their fellow brothers are enduring everyday throughout the world. Nasir stops dealing drugs, and becomes more religious. He begins to wear traditional Islamic dress, and finally decides to leave Britain for Pakistan where he will become a “freedom fighter” for the Islamic cause. “Naser! What are you going to tell God when you die? Huh? That I made a lot of money? I had a lot of women? I drove a nice beemer? You think he’s going to be impressed? Take a look at the faces of these fighters. Even in death they have a smile on their faces. They’re going straight to heaven. Think about it,” says Nasir’s friend.

The two most prevalent themes in this film are moderate Islam versus extreme Islam and the difficulty in balancing western and Islamic lifestyles. Prior to September 11, both Nasir and Yasmin were preoccupied with finding acceptance by the British, thus they dressed western and lead a ‘western’ lifestyle outside of their home. However, the attacks of September 11 lead them to develop closer relationships with Islam. Both found solace in their religion, though Nasir in a far more extreme way than Yasmin. The film focused more on Nasir’s decision to become an extremist than on Yasmin’s decision to become a moderate.



Yasmin (2004)
Drama
87 Minutes
Cast:
Yasmin Husseini- Archie Panjabi
Faysal Husseini- Shahid Ahmed
Nasir- Syed Ahmed
Khalid- Renu Setna
John- Steve Jackson
Director: Kenneth Glenaan
Writer: Simon Beaufoy