Synopsis
There is an entire generation of American Muslim children who do not know a world before September 11, 2001. These children have never experienced a country which is largely unaware of, or neutral about, Islam. Instead, their faith is scrutinized and patriotism questioned, even before they can grasp these very adult concepts. The Education of Mohammad Hussein, directed by Academy Award nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp), takes the viewer inside a tightly knit Muslim community in the economically depressed Detroit-Hamtramck neighborhood, focusing on the children who attend a traditional Islamic school, Al-Ikhlas. The film captures a year where the kids and their neighborhood have an unwelcome visitor, notorious Koran-burning Florida preacher Terry Jones, who arrives to provoke them with hateful rhetoric and anti-Muslim demonstrations. The community's reaction to this challenge lies at the heart of the film, which gives a quietly searing view of a post-9/11 America that is struggling to live up to its promise of tolerance and civil justice for all.