The Faith Project, Pt. 1 - Focus and Distraction
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Kashif Pasta is a recent university graduate and a filmmaker from Surrey, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. As a young Muslim studying in downtown Vancouver, Kashif struggles to find time and space to perform his daily prayers. He manages to find a quiet spot in a secluded stairwell on campus, even though his focus is interrupted by the occasional passerby.
Citation
Main credits
Romeike, Christopher (film director)
Marin, Lea (film producer)
Janjua, Shiraz (screenwriter)
Distributor subjects
Islam; Ethics; Religion and Spirituality; World RegionsKeywords
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(Reel rattles)
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- Kashif: So I'm a Muslim
- by choice. I would say.
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- I would say I'm a Muslim
- by choice.
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- Although I was born
- into a Muslim family,
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- I didn't wanna just be
- a certain religion
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- or believe in something
- just because my family did.
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- I wanted to believe it
- for myself.
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- My relationship to prayer,
- I value it.
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I realize how important it is,
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- and what a valuable role
- it plays.
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- But sometimes it's hard
- to get done,
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- just because there's so much
- going on in your life.
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- Yes, the role of it is that,
- you know,
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- have a lot going on
- in your day,
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- and you can pull away from that
- and separate yourself.
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- But it's hard to actually
- do that in reality.
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- Sometimes I'll be coming in
- to school,
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and I'll get off the train,
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- and I'll have 5 or 10 minutes
- till class.
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Maybe it's already started,
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- and I realize that I've
- got to get it done now,
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I've gotta get it done quick.
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- And I'll try and find a
- bathroom that's private,
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- and I'll start the ritual
- ablution that's called Wudu.
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- The metaphor that a lot
- of Muslims like to use is
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- that, you know, if you bathed
- in a river five times a day,
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would you be dirty.
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- Well, there's no way
- you could be.
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- And so in a similar way
- from cleansing yourself
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five times a day,
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you are metaphorically,
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- and in a way physically
- cleansing yourself
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- from the actions
- and the events of the day,
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as they happen.
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- It helps focus my attention
- back inwards
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instead of outward.
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- The prophet Mohamed,
- peace be upon him,
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- Was, you know, told that
- the world is a mosque.
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- Treat the world as you would
- your mosque
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and treat it well.
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- That also means that,
- you know,
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- you don't have to pray
- in a mosque.
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- You know, you can pray
- in public
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or in different places.
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- And so usually that ends up
- being the stairwell
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- because it's not very
- heavily used.
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- And when I feel comfortable
- that I can, you know,
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- pray and I won't be
- causing any awkwardness,
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- I'll put my bag down
- to the side
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and I'll put down my coat.
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- Because Muslim prayers
- have very specific rules
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- to them that you have
- to follow,
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- it gives a discipline that
- allows you to focus
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on your sense itself.
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- So your feet are
- in a specific place,
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- your hands are in a specific
- place folded in a specific way.
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- But all the little bones in
- your fingers and your feet,
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- there's specific roles
- for them in each action.
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- And so because those
- roles are so set,
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it helps focus your mind,
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- and your body just being
- present in the room.
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(Praying quietly)
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If I hear someone upstairs,
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- I don't know if they're gonna
- come down the stairs or not.
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- So I'm already like,
- oh, I should be hurrying up
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- or I should be moving or I
- should be doing something else,
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- and that's going to affect
- my ability to concentrate
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on what I'm doing.
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Usually it speeds me up,
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- and like you're not focused
- at that point.
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- You're just going through
- the motions
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- just so that you don't have to
- have that awkward encounter.
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- You know,
- I live in British Columbia.
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- It's a very natural
- environment,
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and very beautiful place.
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- And so it's very easy
- to imagine nature
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And, you know, God's creation.
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- That helps me to focus on
- an image
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- so that I'm not focused
- on the visuals around me
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- that are maybe not conducive
- to prayer.
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- And it helps me
- to focus my mind
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- because it is something that
- is so routine in a way.
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It's not an unusual thing,
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- so it's not like I'm getting
- ecstatic every time,
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- but it does bring me peace
- and calmness
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more than anything else.
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(Praying quietly)
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When I am able to focus,
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- my thoughts are more collected,
- they come together.
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I can start to feel my body.
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- I can kind of feel my brain
- focusing,
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- and I have more of a sense
- of my chest
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- and my arms and my legs
- and where they are.
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- And so when I return
- to regular life,
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- I'm not just seeing
- and hearing everything else.
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- I also have a sense
- of myself in the room,
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and it helps me be more present.