Iran and Palestine are two regions/territories often misrepresented in the West. Both areas are seen as violent and backward, and Islam is seen fundamentalist and stuck in the 8th-century. However, in my travels in Turkey and Bosnia and through the Palestinian movie Paradise Now and the Iranian movie A Separation, I came to realize that Islam is a diverse religion practiced differently throughout the Muslim world. In this paper, I will analyze the two movies and argue that Islam serves as a vehicle for the creation of a better sense of community for the characters. I will prove my thesis by showing that despite divisions between the characters due to politics or society, Islam is used to discern from what is right and what is wrong by the characters towards social justice. I will also show how Shia and Sunni Islam use similar approaches towards self-improvement and community building.

Islamic Religion: A set of moral rules that are significant to achieve social justice in the individuals interactions towards themselves,their family,and their community.