Among the Believers: Pointing the camera at lessons of hatred

The documentary premiered in April and earned wide publicity. It was shown at nine film festivals across the globe and has picked up eight awards.

At the centre of the documentary, Among the believers, is Maulana Aziz who aims to create an “Islamic utopia” during a bloody period in Pakistan’s modern history. (Source: amongthebelieversfilm.com)

After losing a friend in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, an angry Hemal Trivedi had set off on a personal quest to understand Pakistan. From that quest emerged Among the Believers, an 84-minute documentary that trains the lens on firebrand cleric Maulana Aziz, an ISIS supporter, and two teenage students in Pakistan. Among the Believers was screened to houseful shows at the recently-concluded International Film Festival of India in Goa.

“I am no longer angry with Pakistan. Fascist elements exist everywhere. We need to counter that,” 37-year-old Hemal told The Indian Express.

At the centre of the documentary is Maulana Aziz who aims to create an “Islamic utopia” during a bloody period in Pakistan’s modern history. His primary weapon is expanding the network of madrasas for children as young as four. The film also follows lives of two teenagers who attend madrasas run by Aziz’s “Red Mosque” network. Gradually, their paths diverge: Talha, 12, detaches from his moderate Muslim family and decides to become a jihadi preacher. Zarina, also 12, escapes her madrasa and joins a regular school, where her education is threatened by Taliban attacks.

Aziz’s foil is nuclear physicist and education activist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy. He opposes Aziz through public appearances and lectures. The opposition against Aziz comes to a head in December 2014, when he insults a grieving nation by trying to justify Taliban’s attack in Peshawar, in which 132 schoolchildren were killed. Led by Hoodbhoy and others, Pakistan’s moderate majority calls for Aziz’s arrest.

The documentary premiered in April and earned wide publicity. It was shown at nine film festivals across the globe and has picked up eight awards. It has also earned an award at the Hollywood Film Festival, 2015.

Directors Hemal and Mohammed Naqui said they received death threats for the film. “It was an incredibly difficult film to make. We had to go into a hiatus and stop distribution till September,” said Hemal, who entered one of the radical madrasas disguised as a Dubai Muslim.

The documentary has picked up awards for its music. Pune-based flautist Milind Date, who has composed the music for Among the Believers, said: “I could not sleep for three nights after I saw the initial rushes where a young boy in the opening scene delivers a vitriolic sermon. We had to create the right mood and hence the rhythmic play of the sarangi followed by tabla and flute.” The musicians involved include Sameep Kulkarni on the Sitar, Pandit Charudatta Phadke on the tabla and Anupam Joshi on the sarod, said Date.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. ``Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) "Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. ``At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure "For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. ``Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions X (Twitter): @runaanu ... Read More

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