Documentary Tells Story of Muslim Heroine in Nazi-Occupied Paris, Nov. 5
October 20, 2014
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The University of Baltimore will host the area premiere of Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story, a film about a Muslim woman's fight against the Nazi occupation of France, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, beginning at 6 p.m. in UB's Wright Theater, located on the fifth floor of the University's Student Center at 21 W. Mt. Royal Ave. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will take place at 5 p.m., followed by a screening of the film at 6 p.m. and a panel discussion at 7 p.m.
Directed by Emmy Award winner Robert Gardner and filmed in Baltimore, Enemy of the Reich brings to life the remarkable story of a Muslim woman's extraordinary courage, tested in the crucible of Paris during World War II. Noor Inayat Khan, the daughter of an American mother and an Indian Muslim father--the internationally renowned Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Khan, the future Allies agent, grew up in her father's Sufi spiritual center in Paris, where she was living when the Nazi invasion occurred.
Resisting numerous opportunities to escape safely, Khan made the selfless decision to save countless lives and fight against the occupation by joining a British covert operation that involved wireless transmissions in aid to the French Resistance. While other agents were captured or fled the occupied territory, Khan continued to send messages to Britain; eventually she became the sole link between London and the resistance forces in France. The film tells her inspiring life story, and serves to expand the Muslim narrative in the hearts and minds of American audiences.
Guest panelists at the premiere include:
- Daniel Tutt, director of Outreach and Foundation Relations for the Unity Productions Foundation, the non-profit media and education company that produced the film
- Uta Larkey, director of the German program and associate professor of German at Goucher College
- Homayra Ziad, scholar of Islam at the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies
Arthur J. Magida, writer in residence at the University of Baltimore, will serve as moderator.
Eventually caught by the Germans, Khan was sent to Dachau concentration camp where she was executed in September 1944. She was posthumously awarded a British George Cross and a French Croix de Guerre. In 2012 a bronze bust of Khan was unveiled in Gordon Square Gardens, London, and this year the British Royal Mail issued a postage stamp in her honor.
This event is sponsored by the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics and the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies.
To R.S.V.P., call 410.837.5379 or send an email to cmyers@ubalt.edu.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.