Courtesy of Aminah Abdul-Jabbaar Donald Bakeer,
Aminah Abdul-Jabbaar’s father, at a Nation of Islam meeting in
1974.
By CJ Yu
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]
Aminah Abdul-Jabbaar, a recent graduate from the School of
Theater, Film and Television at UCLA, returns to the James Bridges
Theater tonight to screen her new feature-length documentary,
“Bilalian.”
A movie that is told from the perspective of the director,
Abdul-Jabbaar, and childhood friend and producer Katrina Hamilton,
the story covers the history of black Muslims from their beginnings
of The Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad to its present day
status now referred to as Al-Islam.
“We’ve always wanted to inform people about our
history, as African American Muslims in this country, so when
Aminah came up initially with the idea of “˜Bilalian,’ I
thought it was a wonderful way for me to do the work that
I’ve always wanted to do with her,” Hamilton said.
The movie, according to Abdul-Jabbaar, takes its name from a
word that black Muslims used to refer to themselves during the
’70s and early ’80s. Stemming from the word
“bilal”, the term means “the first caller to
prayer,” although it has since fallen out of use.
“”˜Bilalian’ is a personal documentary about
how I became a Muslim in America. It starts with six people who
shape me, including my father, my godfather, my godmother and my
Imam, which is the religious leader for the community. These people
go into depth about their experience and what it meant to be a
Muslim in America during the ’70s when they came into The
Nation of Islam,” Abdul-Jabbaar said.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Islam has always had a strong
influence on Abdul-Jabbaar’s life. In addition to attending a
private Muslim school for the first few years of her education,
Abdul-Jabbaar was also exposed to the religion early on through her
strong relationship with her family, which is what much of the film
focuses on.
Since the film was a documentary based on more recent history,
the director had to ensure that all the facts presented were
historically accurate, a part of production that particularly
challenged Abdul-Jabbaar.
“There was a lot of pressure on me to make a film that was
accurate because I’m dealing with people and things that
happened before I was alive, and there are a lot of people who are
still alive today who could check me on those facts,”
Abdul-Jabbaar said.
In addition to filming the documentary in both Los Angeles and
Chicago, the director took her crew to the Gambia in West Africa to
interview black Muslims who migrated back to the ancestral
homeland.
Abdul-Jabbaar’s interest in telling stories and film
production started early when she made movies with her friends
while in elementary school.
“When (Michael Jackson’s) “Thriller”
came out, I put on a show with my sister and one of my
friends’ girlfriends on the street. That was one of my first
shows and I can distinctly remember doing that,” she
continued.
Abdul-Jabbaar’s early interest in film was due also in
part to her father’s encouragement. As a film and media
instructor at a local high school, he was able to provide her
access to cameras and production equipment. By the time
Abdul-Jabbaar graduated from high school, it was no surprise to her
father or her family when she declared that she wanted to pursue a
career in film.
“They were actually happy that I found something
constructive to do because I had some problems in high school. Like
most people, I got bored with it,” Abdul-Jabbaar said.
“When I first got to school, I decided that I seriously
wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t know the route of
becoming a paid artist. This being Los Angeles, I said “˜Well,
you know, I’ll do film,’ and that’s where it
began and my family has always been really supportive,” she
continued.
In future films, Abdul-Jabbaar hopes to be able to tell more
personal stories that inform the world of her culture and her
background; films that will hopefully help eliminate some of the
stereotypes that Americans have come to associate with Muslims.
“One thing I do want to stress is that I’m going to
make films that will show Muslims in a positive light and making
that my charge. I want to show Muslims as real people, not as
angels, but to show that Muslims are here in America, doing things
and not being terrorists. That’s what I really want to
do,” Abdul-Jabbaar said.