If you read my review of the first part of Britz, you’ll know that there was a lot at stake. The second show (Channel 4, Thursday, 9pm) was to wrap up what happened in the story of Sohail and Nasima who represented both sides of the British Muslim coin. Sohail, pro-Brit and working for the MI5 had told his tale… now, it was the turn of Nasima who had more “extreme views”.
After a quick recap, we were thrown head first into the world of Nasima. I have to be honest and tell you that I expected something a little far fetched in her story as I couldn’t ever imagine sympathising with the notion of joining a terrorist group. I was wrong… and with that, I doff my cap to the excellent writers behind this programme who made the second part every bit as fascinating (and exciting) as the first.
I don’t mind telling you that, under no circumstance, can I hope to understand what makes someone want to take other human life. Being mentally ill and committing murder is one thing… making a reasoned decision to take the lives of innocent bystanders is another. However… the word ‘innocent’ was the key word for this magnificent show… but more on that later.
Nasima, like her brother, was a bright, intelligent and ultimately likeable young person. She had a sharp tongue (something that is ALWAYS attractive in a young lady if you ask me) and was incredibly clued up. A series of incidents in her life decided the outcome of her action. Her best friend was arrested under a terrorist act over six packets of pepper. As a result, she was put under a frightening restraining order which meant that she was housebound and unable to talk to those closest to her. What made this segment all the more chilling was that it is a real law passed by our government. So, with her liberties taken away, the pressure saw the friend committing suicide.
Before this, Nasima protested outside the police station for her release with a large group of students. Nasima was arrested herself for a public disturbance. Where most public disturbances are dealt with by a van full of bobbies, this instance, thanks to its ‘terrorist’ nature, saw a wall of riot shields and men with machine guns. During her police interview, the police men threatened to make Nasima drink beer and eat bacon. Purile it may have been, but incredibly offensive. There was a brilliant aside in this sequence which showed the two policemen laughing about the whole thing, but in the detail, a police woman at the back of the room bowed her head with embarrassment and shame.
So, with the world closing in around almost everyone Nasima knew, her previous anger at the militant actions of Muslims started to turn into curiosity. At a meeting, she leapt to her feet to demand that action should be political and not violent. The young actress superbly played the head strong student for this scene (in fact, every single person in this show gave career best performances). However, she was convinced that protest and picketing got her nowhere and fast.
The constant pressure on the Muslim community throughout the show managed to help me realise that, if a community is pushed and pushed, they will retaliate. At the close of Britz, the show gave some horrific figures which said that nearly all Muslims feel that the ‘war on terror’ is a war against Muslims. With each new law that is passed, so it seems that the world of British Muslims are marginalised further. With this, Nasima orchestrates a move back to Pakistan for training with a terrorist group.
After her training, she returned to London to carry out a very public attack on the anniversary of 9/11. This is where the two shows met. Sohail appeared at the very close of the show to say “don’t do it” after we had been shown that Nasima’s death in Pakistan had been faked. They embraced and I fell into a false sense of security. Nasima flicked the switch of her homemade device and the screen cut to white noise.
You were given a moment to digest the severity of the situation and to catch your breath before the screen cut to a video made by Nasima. The video, like those we will have seen on the news of a ‘last word’ and reason from a suicide bomber, had Nasima angrily telling us, direct and into our living rooms that we may well scoff and wonder why these brutal actions need to be carried out… but we shouldn’t wonder why innocent people need to die as none of us are innocent. “As long as you vote this government in” and as long as the war goes on and we “do nothing”, we are fair game. This, like nothing else in the show, provided the biggest chill. Firstly, it showed how unrepentant the terrorists are and secondly, how it makes some kind of twisted sense. What else can people do when they’ve explored all the legal channels?
In closing, Britz is the most gripping and thought-provoking thing I’ve seen on the box this year. It’s relevant, clever and informing. I learned a lot about this thorny issue over the two shows. I felt I learned a truer picture of what the Muslim community think. I learned about the worrying rise of the police state. I learned about how much is still to do before this is solved. Britz is what TV was invented for.
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this show i found it to be biased against muslims. This just encourages hate against islam. Islam is a peace loving religon. There is no saying in Islam where you are meant to become a suicide bomber. This is clearly a misconception. This needs to be addressed. Islam does not condone violence. I see this as a propoganda against the general peace loving muslims and is intended to demonise the majority.
I think you’re entirely wrong, Fayez. It is a sensitive subject, but I feel the writers of the show handled it perfectly. They let us know that the fundamentalists who sympathise with Jihad are marginal, not in fact the majority of Muslims.
The very fact that Nasima seemed unconvinced throughout suggests that even those we see as the most extreme are only human, and thus thoughts are provoked as to exactly why a rational, thoughtful and caring person can be driven to such extremism.
Hopefully the majority of people watching this show will take it as food for thought about the state of our own country and its treatment of our citizens, beyond small town racism onto a police state that is crippling human rights and freedom of speech for people purely on the grounds of ‘suspicious appearance’ – colour and religious dress.
An excellent show that was fair handed in my opinion, of course the show focused on the extremist element of Muslim, but I don’t believe it came anywhere near to implying that this is the view of the majority.
Thanks for your comments Fayez.
I’m not sure if you saw the first part of this show, because if you had, you will have realised that both sides of the coin were given equal footing.
The first part showed Sohail who wanted to rectify the problem politically, where the second part showed Nasima who felt helpless politcally and was driven to more extreme measures.
Nasima was shown in the programme to be the victim of racism as well as shunned whilst wearing her tradition attire. I felt this was a fascinating insight into how a lot of white Brits treat people. Hardly a slight against Muslims… quite the opposite.
Mof Gimmers
TVScoop
Hi Fayez. I think you missed the point of this excellent, thought provoking drama. It certainly didn’t give the impression that all muslims are potential suicide bombers.
However, it did, quite rightly in my opinion, give the impression that not enough is done from WITHIN the muslim community to bring to justice those who think that jihad is the only way.
Ahhh! You are an extremist!
With the Union Jack on one hand and flames on the other, Britz’s promotional billboards on the streets ask: Whose Side You Are On?
What made the promoters select such a loud and blunt message – to provoke thoughts or to raise questions?
Is such a query intended to question loyalties or is this an exercise about making choices or taking sides? Something to the effect that if you aren’t with the system, you can be considered sitting on the wrong side of the fence. Or to be accepted be pepared adjustments, concessions and compromises.
Are there just two categories where the people can be placed. What about the majority, the middle ground, those who make adjustments, modify their stances and moderate their thoughts and actions. One trajectory that could have been equally interesting is the female character taking Shami Chakrabarty’s route to become an icon of upholding the liberties against all odds. But of course that wouldn’t have been as sensational then.
The advertising was sensational, but the programme and the effect it is having is a good thing- so far. Especially what Mozzam Begg says.
BRITZ IS ANTI-ISLAM
BRITZ IS ANTI-ISLAM AND IS A WASTE
BRITZ IS ANTI-ISLAM AND IS A WASTE
BRITZ IS A COMPLETE WASTE AND GIVES US MUSLIMS A BAD NAME ONCE AGAIN
I just watched this on Channel 4 on demand, and I must say I found it amazingly gripping. I disagree with the previous poster, who looks like he’s spamming, and I don’t think any piece of media can give a real portrayal of a person, much less a group anywhere near perfectly. But I am glad the people who made the show raised the issues they do in such a way, especially about the lack of respect for human rights under current anti-terror law.
One thing kind of pisses me off though. People are so ready to resort to violence if they perceive one “group” to be killing and maiming another. It seems to me however, there is no real passion to solve the real and underlying oroblems of this world: Poverty, ignorance, disapearing habitats caused by climate change breeding war and famine, disease, corruption.
These problems do not raise the idea of toting a gun or throwing a bomb so people generally don’t get anywhere near as excited by them. But they kill a lot of people, but before people decide to care, should we decide to ask if those people are white or black, Christian or Muslim?
Violence will never solve anything, however, having said that I really felt for the sister character and the powerlessness of her situation. Put in the same shoes, I can’t say I know what I would do. I would hope it wouildn’t be the same.
I think the show also understated at times how much a sense of identity is brought into people by the fact they are muslim.
true
you r good…….
look I’m a Girl,I’m Muslim too and I’m Egyptian.
I’ve seen Part 2 yesterday …. actually i’ve liked it soooo much …. and i don’t see that it’s against the Muslims or something !!
especially if you had seen the last message that Nasima said … that message was the best thing that I’ve liked in the movie … ’cause it was totally true … so i honestly say … ” That Movie Is Sooo Great “