Movies, Documentaries, and Television Shows

Afro-Iranian Lives (2011), http://www.afroiranianlives.com/trailer.htm

Adama (2011) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1819449/ 

  • The documentary chronicles Adama Bah’s experience with Islamophobia when federal agents raided her home in 2005

Al Nisa: Black Muslim Women in Atlanta’s Gay Mecca (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_rGU_vCi1s

  • “The story of how filmmaker Red Summer brought five women together who sought to establish a community, where there was none, for Black Muslim Lesbians in Atlanta.”

Ali (2001) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0248667/

  • Biography of Muhammad Ali

Ask A Muslim (2012) https://www.youtube.com/user/AskAMuslimSeries/about

  • Documentary webs series that showcases Black Islam in the US

Bilal: A New Brand of Hero (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp_7Gdf2blE

  • Animated film inspired by the story of Bilal ibn Rabah, one of the Prophet Muhammad’s closest companions

Bilal’s Stand (2010) https://vimeo.com/2861624

  • A high schooler has to determine if he’ll continue with the family business or follow his own dreams to attend college

Black and Muslim in Britain (2016-)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9nJ7cqWZvB2VDdDhQFGCkg

  • Highlights the histories, cultures, and challenges of Black Muslims in UK

The Book of Negroes (2015) http://www.bet.com/shows/the-book-of-negroes.html

  • Focuses on an enslaved African woman and her fight to return home

Chrysalis (2011) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNEXDCzfl4qD81H543iukTcuMBXVy_7MV

  • Story of Jamal, a Muslim man in Baltimore, who balances his life as a young father and drug dealer

Death of a Prophet (1981) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179757/

  • Focuses on the final year of Malcolm X’s life

Hip Hop Hijabis (2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kSh6bobLTU&noredirect=1

  • Documentary on British rap duo

The Greatest (1977) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076111/

  • Biography of Muhammad Ali, starring Muhammad Ali

Jinn (2018) https://www.jinnfilm.com/

  • “A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving black teenage Instagram celebrity converts to Islam.  Here’s what happens.”

Journey to Timbuktu (2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdxJ0tqF09g

The King of South Shields (2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1357160/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

  • Experimental documentary focusing on the day that Muhammad Ali visited a British Yemeni Community in 1977

Malcolm X (1992)

  • Spike Lee Oscar nominated movie

Mooz-Lum (2010) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1450328/?ref_=rvi_tt

  • “Amid a strict Muslim rearing and a social life he’s never had, Tariq enters college confused. New peers, family and mentors help him find his place, but the 9-11 attacks force him to face his past and make the biggest decisions of his life.”

Muslimah’s Guide to Marriage (2018) https://www.paff.org/films/#!/film/muslimahs_guide_to_marriage 

  • A 20-something Black Muslim woman tries to rebuild her broken marriage before her iddah ends. 

Naz and Maalik (2016) http://www.nazandmaalik.com/#!about/cdyi

  • Two closeted Black Muslim teens deal with FBI surveillance

Prince Among Slaves (2014)

  • Documentary on Abdul Rahman Sori narrated by Yasiin Bey

Prison Blues (2015) http://taleefcollective.org/prisonblues/

  • Documentary about the prison industrial complex through a Muslim lens

Roots (1977) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075572/

  • The story of Alex Haley’s family, starting with his African Muslim Ancestor, Kunta Kinte

Roots (2016) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3315386/ 

  • Remake of the 1977 movie

Sleeper Cell (2005-2006)

  • A Muslim FBI agent goes undercover to infiltrate a sleeper cell in the U.S.

The Siddi, An African Community in India

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD7sp-L9lUk

Somalinimo (2020) 

https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2020/sep/02/somalinimo-somali-culture-blackness-and-islam-at-cambridge-university

  • Documentary on Somali Muslim students at Cambridge University

The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2014) http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/trials-of-muhammad-ali/

  • The story of Muhammad Ali inside and outside of the ring

Timbuktu (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs2dYAlbINY

  • The story of a family’s life during the occupation of Timbuktu, Mali by the Ansar Dine

Traitor (2008) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988047/

  • “When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn.”

What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019)

  • Two-part HBO documentary on Muhammad Ali’s boxing career and activism

Witnessed: The Assassination of Malcolm X (2015) https://www.cnn.com/specials/malcolm-x

  • CNN special report on Malcolm X’s death