Shia: A Tale of Two Cities
Explores the competition between the Shiite clerical centres in Iran and Iraq. Najaf, Iraq, is broadly the Shiite equivalent of Jerusalem and the Vatican rolled into one, but under Sadam Hussein the city's persecuted clerics escaped to Qom, in Iran. After Saddam's fall, and with the imminent opening of the Iran-Iraq border, Najaf has undergone a renaissance and clerics in Iran will be free to return. Tehran, however, is eager to maintain control of the Shiite faith by keeping Qom as the 'centre of Islam'.
· Footage of life in Najaf and Qom, including mosque scenes.
· Interview with Thamer Moussavi, Iraqi refugee Cleric.
· Interview with Hadi Ghabel, Reformist Cleric, Qom. · First time footage of Ayatollah Khomeini's home while in exile in Iraq, where he wrote his hugely influential book on Islamic Government. House has not been rented since Khomeini was tenant.
· Interview with Khomeini's ex-landlord. · Interview with Mohammad Jafar Hakim, Iraqi Shia Cleric.
· Footage of Moqtada Al Sadr, radical Shia Cleric, in mosque.
· Interview with Fadhel Al Sahlani, Khoi Foundation.
FULL SYNOPSIS
· Interview with Thamer Moussavi, Iraqi refugee Cleric.
· Interview with Hadi Ghabel, Reformist Cleric, Qom. · First time footage of Ayatollah Khomeini's home while in exile in Iraq, where he wrote his hugely influential book on Islamic Government. House has not been rented since Khomeini was tenant.
· Interview with Khomeini's ex-landlord. · Interview with Mohammad Jafar Hakim, Iraqi Shia Cleric.
· Footage of Moqtada Al Sadr, radical Shia Cleric, in mosque.
· Interview with Fadhel Al Sahlani, Khoi Foundation.