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Sabah Religion

Decent Essays

A new brush to re-touching an old paining, the subject is familiar. This is a movie about a devout Muslim Canadian woman who falls in love with a non Muslim Canadian man and has to deal with the subsequent culture clashes.
Sabah is a 40-year-old Muslim unmarried woman, who still lives at home in Toronto, looking after her mother since her father died and she is the glue that keeps the family together. Her brother, Majid, despite being married to a non-Arab Canadian woman, has conservative Muslim view of life. From his standpoint, Sabah's place should be at home, his daughter caring for their mother Souhaire should have an arranged marriage and he should support them all as the man of the house.
The story is common in urban societies where …show more content…

It lightly touches on the hypocrisy of people who say they live by their religion and the double standard when it comes to men. Majid was married to a non-Muslim woman who was willing to leave him as soon as she knew she would have to take care of her mother in law. Sabah’s motivation to rebel against her brother built gradually after realizing her situation in life after her 40th birthday. The portrait she received as a birthday present showed Sabah as a child with her father and made her see how unfulfilled her life was. In the movie, she initially challenged her traditions by wearing a bathing suit and swimming at a public place where she meets Stephen. Sabah falls in love with Stephen and it is the emotion of attraction that fuels her rebellion. When she finally decides to tell her family about her secret encounters, all siblings attempt to place the blame on Sabah of the dysfunctions of the family. However Sabah stands firm defending her relationship with Stephen and at one point she confronts her brother and finds out that the fortune of her father was depleted shortly after his death. Majid kept to himself about the financial situation and took upon himself to support his wife, siblings and mother because that is what the traditional Muslim household mandated. Men were the head of the family

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