Among the Believers

An unsettling and eye opening exploration into the spread of the radical Islamic school Red Mosque in Pakistan, which trains legions of children to devote their lives to jihad, or holy war, from a very young age. Controversial Pakistani cleric Maulana Aziz, linked to the Taliban, declares jihad against the government to impose sharia law. The government retaliates by destroying his seminary, killing his mother, brother, his only son and 150 students. The film follows charming yet menacing Maulana Aziz on his personal quest to create an Islamic utopia, which causes the country to implode. The Red Mosque has students allied with ISIL, and strong ties to the Taliban. We meet two Red Mosque students whose paths diverge: Talha, 12, leaves his moderate Muslim family to study to be a jihadi preacher. Zarina, also 12, escapes her madrassa and joins a normal school. Her education is threatened by frequent Taliban attacks on schools like her own. In December, 2014, the Taliban massacred 132 schoolchildren in Peshawar, outraging Pakistan's moderate majority. Aziz's longtime opponent, education reformer Pervez Hoodbhoy joins the re-energized anti-extremist movement. Throughout the film, he passionately opposes Aziz on television and public forums. With the tide turning against the cleric, Pervez is determined to see Aziz put in jail. Intimate and brutally honest, AMONG THE BELIEVERS offers rare insight into the ideological battle shaping Pakistan and the Muslim world. Pakistan's notorious cleric Maulana Aziz, with links to Taliban, declares jihad against the government to impose sharia law. This sparks a bloody war and causes the country to implode. Along with Aziz's quest, the film charts the coming-of-age stories of his two students who are trapped in this ideological war. Firebrand cleric Abdul Aziz Ghazi, an ISIS supporter and Taliban ally, is waging jihad against the Pakistani government with the aim of imposing Shariah law. His primary weapon is his expanding network of Islamic seminaries for children as young as four. Among the Believers follows Aziz's personal quest, and charts the lives of two of his teenage students who are pawns in his ideological war.