In the video, set to Muslim country artist Kareem Salama’s song of the same name.
Muslims hold signs telling the world what should be known about them. The answers, which included "I, too, shop at Victoria’s Secret" and "Islam inhibits my suicidal thoughts," were meant to humanize Muslims, Khan said.
"I used signs because the power of the statements spoke for themselves," Khan told InFocus. "I didn’t feel I needed to rely in this case on meaningless visual eye candy in order for the passions, fears, dreams, and declarations of these Muslims to resonate with the audience. The raw honesty of the statements did this for themselves," she added.
More than 100 young Muslim American filmmakers poured their creative energies into producing four-to-five-minute films for the competition.
More than 18,000 people voted online for six finalists in six categories. A celebrity panel of judges, including former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, actor Danny Glover and Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, selected winners in the six categories.
"Film is one way, one avenue, in which we can change the perception of men, women and children who share the Islamic faith," Glover says. "I found what I saw to be both insightful and informative, and I was really moved by it."
Khan, whose winning entry was done with the help of the MAS Media Foundation, echoed that sentiment. She said that’s why it is extremely important for Muslims to get into the film industry.
"Film is one of the most powerful ways of conveying a point of view that others would otherwise either not listen to or not understand," Khan said. "Film tells what is real, and more than anything, Muslims just need to find the most effective way to tell what is simply the truth."
Many of the filmmakers relied on humor and some good-natured self-ribbing, but in the end, the message was clear: Muslim Americans are, above all, Americans.
"We should be dealing with a better understanding across cultures," says Kim Spencer, president of Link TV, which co-sponsored the competition with the non-profit group One Nation. "For there to be an entire group of people who are misunderstood and we can’t talk about is absurd."
A second film Khan submitted, "Bassem is Trying," won the under-60-seconds category.
Khan will receive $5,000 for winning that category.
In the short film, Bassem is shown "trying way too hard all the time" just to fit in, Khan said. He tailors his clothes to make them look more American, and he blasts rap music from his car when he’s stopped at a traffic light. But in the end, he still draws suspicion because of his Muslim appearance.
On the web at: www.linktv.org/onenation/films
