Title: Position of Theaters & Movies Question: I am a college student from California doing a research on Islam and its stance on theater. I would like to know the reasons behind the prohibition of theater in the past and any other information regarding Islamic beliefs and stance on entertainment (whether film or live theater). Thank you. Monalisa Galang United States of America Answer: Primarily there seem to be three basic reasons why some of the Muslims do not view the idea of theatricals very positively. Firstly, they consider acting as synonymous with 'impersonating'. Secondly, the free, and sometimes overly frank, interaction between unrelated men and women - which is sometimes the requirement of effective depiction of the story - is considered to be against the clear and express teachings of the Shari`ah (i.e. the Islamic law). Thirdly, with special reference to movies, those who consider pictures and photography to be prohibited, for obvious reasons, do not look upon the concept of making movies very positively. In my opinion, besides the second of the stated three objections, these objections are not very valid. Making movies or producing plays is not prohibited by the Shari`ah . However, if a Muslim is to make a movie, it should neither be against any of the established moral values nor entail a disregard to any of the directives of the Shari`ah . From a positive perspective, in view of the effectiveness of the referred media, the movies and plays should target the elevation of positive values and dissemination of knowledge in the society, while providing healthy entertainment. With these two qualifications, movies and theatricals can have a very positive effect on the character of a society, in general, while providing healthy entertainment to its members. If movies can be made in these lines, then the works of such producers and directors would not be anything less than teachers and reformers. I hope this helps. Regards, Moiz Amjad September 8, 2001