As I explained in an article when this controversy began, “Jihad Rehab” endeavors to show how poor jihad terrorists imprisoned at Guantánamo are the good guys, and the U.S. government is the real terrorist entity.
But even though it reflected reliably Leftist views, “Jihad Rehab” has been deep-sixed by the Sundance Film Festival. As I have pointed out many, many times over the years, any negative presentation about jihad violence or Sharia oppression, or even one like “Jihad Rehab” that some might perceive as negative if they tilt their head sideways and squint really hard, will be condemned as “Islamophobic.”
The only narrative allowed in mainstream American culture today is that jihad violence has nothing whatsoever to do with Islam, and that any opposition to it is “racist” and “Islamophobic” and must be condemned, and that Muslims are innocent victims of American oppression, always and in every case, without exception or any kind of shading.
“Sundance Addresses ‘Jihad Rehab’ Controversy: ‘The Showing of This Film Hurt Members of Our Community,’” by Christian Zilko, IndieWire, February 19, 2022:
After weeks of turmoil that culminated in the resignations of two staff members, the Sundance Film Festival has spoken publicly about the controversy caused by the film “Jihad Rehab.” Meg Smaker’s documentary about former Guantanamo Bay prisoners being held in a Saudi Arabian rehab facility has attracted controversy from the moment it was selected for Sundance. Criticisms of the film ranged from accusations that it did little to help offensive stereotypes about Muslim men to more serious charges that the documentary placed its subjects in danger.
IndieWire’s Eric Kohn summarized the film community’s grievances with the movie, writing “among the many problems with director Meg Smaker’s look at a Saudi Arabian institution designed to help former Guantanamo Bay prisoners reintegrate into society: There’s the title, which reinforces the most negative connotations of the term ‘jihad’; the positioning of the subjects as ominous Muslim stereotypes; and an ethically dubious approach to labeling men as ‘terrorists’ who haven’t been accused of actual crimes.”
In a new statement, Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente and Festival Director Tabitha Jackson apologized for any upset that the screening of the film caused and stressed the organization’s commitment to diversity. “We have been listening to, and reflecting on, the many perspectives shared around the inclusion of Meg Smaker’s documentary film ‘Jihad Rehab’ at our Festival in January,” the statement reads. “As with every film we show, we hope to stimulate conversation and debate that adds value to our civic society.
In this case it is clear that the showing of this film hurt members of our community — in particular, individuals from Muslim and MENASA communities — and for that we are deeply sorry.”