Football is America's sport. We love this game. We love to watch it played in the pee wee leagues all the way to the pros. We love the minor leagues and the arena leagues. We have a cable network dedicated to it 24/7/365. The Combine in Indy where college prospects show off their skills probably gets better ratings than some prime-time shows. And in recent times the NFL draft was re-organized to make it a prime-time event. And high school football? It's a way of life in many places across America. Check out "Friday Night Lights" if you have any doubt. We love football.
This augurs well for "Fordson". As a documentary movie about high school football first and foremost it has the potential to be seen all across the country by a wide cross section of America. And in the process of enjoying a great human story of high school football int the tradition of "Friday Night Lights", the movie will also likely shatter stereotypes and humanize Muslims in the eyes of their fellow Americans.
What was that last bit about stereotypes and Muslims? What, you rightfully ask, does that have to do with high school football?
"Fordson" is a documentary about a high school football team in Dearborn, Michigan. Most of the players are Muslim. The movie chronicles the challenges this team, and the community in which it plays, face as Muslims. One of those issues is the challenge of fasting while still keeping up with grueling practices in the Islamic month of Ramadan.
I've watched the movie trailer. What struck me most was how indistinguishable these players are from other high school football players. They have the same passion, the same aspirations and the same challenges as other student athletes. Oh, and these kids can play.
This documentary movie will help Americans who don't know Muslims and who don't have access to Muslims see the human side of this small but vibrant segment of American society. As a community of 6 million in a nation of nearly 300 million people, it is impossible for every American to meet and get to know a Muslim personally. The numbers and geography simply make it impossible.
If "Fordson" gets a wide enough release and distribution across the country, then I know it will do a lot in the way of building better understanding between America's Muslim community and the rest of the nation.
People who know American Muslims - as classmates, as neighbors, as teammates, as relatives or as co-workers - are much less likely to espouse erroneous or negative beliefs about Islam. That's because knowing someone personally and interacting with him regularly provides unique insights. When you're talking about religion, the best way to understand it is through meeting someone who lives it.
This is how I reconcile the differences between my experiences and the statistics I read about regarding public perception of American Muslims. In my adult life I've very rarely encountered overt bigotry because of my faith from my co-workers, my neighbors and the parents at my kids' school. I firmly believe that people are open-minded and that meeting me in person dispels the negative imagery splashed across the internet, on hate blogs and on Faux News.
Yes, I would probably see this documentary movie even if it had nothing to do with American Muslims because I am obsessed with football. But that fact aside, "Fordson" aslo has me fired up about the prospects of bridging the gap in understanding between American Muslims and our fellow Americans of other faiths!
Any chance I can get a sneak peek?!
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