New Muslim Cool
Directed by Jennifer Taylor
56/83 minutes

BORN FROM ABOVE AWARD
& SPECIAL MENTION
Religion Today International Film Festival

Puerto Rican American rapper Hamza Pérez ended his life as a drug dealer 12 years ago, and started down a new path as a young Muslim.

Now he’s moved to Pittsburgh’s tough North Side to start a new religious community, rebuild his shattered family, and take his message of faith to other young people through his uncompromising music as part of the hip-hop duo M-Team.

Raising his two kids as a single dad and longing for companionship, Hamza finds love on a Muslim networking website and seizes the chance for happiness in a second marriage.

But when the FBI raids his mosque, Hamza must confront the realities of the post-9/11 world, and challenge himself. He starts reaching for a deeper understanding of his faith, discovering new connections with people from Christian and Jewish communities.

NEW MUSLIM COOL takes viewers on Hamza’s ride through the streets, projects and jail cells of urban America, following his spiritual journey to some surprising places — where we can all see ourselves reflected in a world that never stops changing.

New Muslim Cool Educational Version

"SPELLBINDING!" -San Francisco Chronicle

"NEW MUSLIM COOL FORGES PATH FOR NEW AMERICA" -The Huffington Post

"One of the most lyrical, complex and contemporary investigations of religion in America."
-Diane Winston, USC's Knight Chair in Media and Religion

"New Muslim Cool” possesses a kind of beauty that sneaks up on you" -The New York Times

"Jennifer Maytorena Taylor deftly constructs a portrait of Hamza learning to build cultural bridges." -Mother Jones

“Almost single-handedly, NEW MUSLIM COOL challenges the distortions, stereotypes, and misunderstandings around Islam. See it for pleasure and a new outlook on Islam in America.”
—Professor Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University

“I look forward to showing it in my classroom in years to come and can hardly wait to hear what students might say about the intersections of race, class, gender, and religion that are highlighted in every frame.”
—Sylvia Chan-Malik, Department of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley





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