On Sunday night, the BBC aired the documentary film “Moazzam Begg: Living the War on Terror”. The film attempts to navigate the human story of the War on Terror through the experiences of CAGE outreach director and former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Moazzam Begg.

CAGE was overwhelmed by the response to the film as it seemed to really resonate with viewers from all backgrounds. The film has already generated positive reviews over the last few months, with The Guardian, Cinevue, Entertainment.ie, The Irish Times and The Upcoming all rating the film ⅘ stars or more.

Some viewers were inspired by Moazzam’s plight. Shoaib on Facebook had this to share:

untitled-2
Gareth focused on the impact foreign policy had on the rise of ISIS:
 untitled-7

Leicester based Shaykh Abdul Hameed also shared his thoughts on the film on his Facebook page:

untitled-9

While Chloe compared Moazzam to the equivalent of Nelson Mandela of the Muslim world:
 untitled-4

On Twitter there were about 900 tweets on the hashtag #MoazzamBegg and #Storyville. These are some of the highlights

Darshna Soni, the home affairs correspondent at Channel 4, shared this extract from the film:

Others believed that Moazzam spoke for all British Muslims:

Many more appreciated the serious questions raised and impact of the documentary:

This was Taaliah Nazar, an award winning journalist’s poignant summary:

Perhaps most importantly, the film highlighted the selfless and determined campaigning of Moazzam Begg’s late father (may Allah have mercy on him):

Humanitarian aid worker Majid Freeman had this to say:

Via email we received the following messages: 

I watched this brilliant documentary last night. I had already forwarded this information to my mailing list. Many people have responded with high praise for Moazzam’s resolve, energy and dedication for his fight for justice. One non-Muslim has suggested that Moazzam Begg deserves Nobel Peace Prize for literature he produced in form of books and the torture he had to sustain in Guantanamo concentration camp. Bravo!

Nisar


Vanessa who reviewed the entire film had this to say about the important role Moazzam and CAGE play:

Moazzams’ story is a constant reminder of why organisations like CAGE are needed to ensure human rights abuses do not go unnoticed. Not only do CAGE play a positive role in investigating human rights abuses across the globe, but they also campaign against the detention without charge or trial of all individuals and denial of due process. What’s important to take away from The Confession is that Moazzam has never been tried or convicted of any crime. The refusal to bring him to trial was all part of the intelligence service’ cold and calculated plan to frame him for crimes that he did not commit. 

Vanessa

We apologise to the many others who commented online and thank them for enriching the discussion and for providing invaluable feedback. If you missed the film, you can watch it on BBC iPlayer, or at a cinema near you.

Watch “Moazzam Begg: Living the War on Terror” on BBC iPlayer

See the trailer here:

 

(NOTE: CAGE represents cases of individuals based on the remit of our work. Supporting a case does not mean we agree with the views or actions of the individual. Content published on CAGE may not reflect the official position of our organisation.)