Educational Media Reviews Online

This production looks at the lives of several Somali youths who have lived in Denmark for years and how several of these youths came to be recruited by the Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab. The recruitment process seems to be straight-forward enough – the youths are disenchanted with the secular/materialistic culture in which they live and after investigating their religion, Islam, they have a desire to live according to its precepts, one of which is Jihad. Some of the youths go to Somalia to fight and two of them end up becoming “suicide” bombers. The story is told from various vantage points – a member of this group of youths who did not go to Somalia, one who did and came back after renouncing Al-Shabab, and the father of one of the “suicide” bombers. The father does not understand what his son has gotten into and the depiction of the heartbroken father’s search for his son is quite poignant. While many may not understand why the young men chose Jihad, one reviewer quite aptly notes that these are “…youths who’d prefer to die for a cause back home rather than lead meaningless lives in their adopted nations.” What they chose may not be so radical after all. Picture and sound (Danish 5.1 Dolby) quality are excellent. Subtitles are clear and easy to read.