House of Gods (2024) s01e04 Episode Script

(BUOYANT PERCUSSIVE MUSIC)
(ETHEREAL CHANTING)
(WATER ECHOES IN MUTED TONES)
So tell them Islam
is an egalitarian faith.
The Holy Quran teaches
that women and men
hold the same capacity
for moral agency.
OK, but then
she'll say 'Taliban'
and her point's proven.
Yeah, good for her. That's not
your faith or your practice.
Ya'rub, she's not Beyoncé.
(CHUCKLES)
Did you sleep OK?
And the "Aussies" have decided
that because I'm a Muslim woman
who wants to wear the hijab,
I'm subconsciously oppressed.
Essentially,
the mainstream wants us
to present our credentials
on feminism above our faith.
Then it's OK to be Muslim.
But isn't it also a privilege?
Just look at
all these questions,
the comments, the sneers.
Take these as opportunities
to dwell on your own
relationship with the Almighty.
Listen to him.
For he knows who you are.
OK. Thanks.
Dad bought me a sewing machine.
Your dad's OK with you going
to TAFE, not university?
(SCOFFS)
Yeah, well, next it'll be
(IMITATES SHEIKH MOHAMMAD)
"Are you sure you are studying?"
"I don't hear any sewing."
Sheikh Mohammad
approving a career in fashion.
Hmm.
Your mum would have laughed.
There's a competition
that the course runs
and the winners get to be
part of the student show
at Fashion Week.
Paris Fashion Week?
- Sydney.
- Oh.
But a first year's never
made it past the first round.
Ya'rub!
Where is that over-inflated
Al-Hamedi ambition?
Of course you'll win.
- Yeah.
- (CHILDREN GIGGLE)
- Swim, Yusuf. Yalla!
- Come on.
Yeah, Yusuf. Yalla Mum! Go.
(WOMEN LAUGH)
JAMILA: Yay!
GIRL: Yusuf, stop!
WORSHIPPERS: Allahu akbar.
(WORSHIPPERS CHATTER
INDISTINCTLY)
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPEATS PHRASE IN ARABIC)
- Ya Allah.
- SHEIKH: Alaykum as-salam.
May I have a word with you,
please, Sheikhna?
Yes, of course.
I'm organising a meeting
with the council
to start
the development process.
I hope you would consider
to attend with me.
I am not here to speak about
our differences, Sheikhna.
I'm purely here out of concern
as a father.
Father?
Your son, he was a credit to you
at the Ambassador's dinner.
Mm. Thank you.
But later
..I saw him in the company
of others.
"Others"?
He said, uh,
the men worked with him.
But I know their kind.
The only work they do
is in the darkness.
(STARK, OMINOUS MUSIC)
Thank you for telling me.
You're welcome.
(UTE DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)
(WATER HISSES)
SEYYED MODHAFFAR: Isa?
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
ISA:
SEYYED:
- (HANDBRAKE ENGAGES)
- (CAR DOOR OPENS)
SEYYED:
Seyyed
ISA:
ISA:
SEYYED:
SEYYED:
(LINE DISCONNECTS)
(LOCKS PHONE AND COLLECTS KEYS)
- What?
- You think I wouldn't notice?
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Why did you wire $12,000
from the mosque account
a few nights ago?
Are you in trouble?
I know small businesses
are difficult.
I just wish
you'd come to me first.
Yeah, always assume
the worst about me.
You give me no other option.
Isa!
The mosque is not
your bank account.
I'm the VP.
You'll have to explain this
to Baba.
Let's go, then.
Dragging me all the way
out here from work.
You have nothing to say for
yourself, alright? Just stop.
Wasting my time.
Wasting Baba's time.
(SHEIKH MOHAMMAD SPEAKS ARABIC)
The two of you.
He shouldn't have access
to the account.
I'm in charge of the finances.
Whilst my sister sits around
imagining me
stealing from the mosque,
you know what
I was actually doing?
Out in the real world
defending her.
At the Ambassador's dinner,
Sheikh Shaaker told me
he'd vote for your school.
More - he'd let everything you
want go through the committee
if Batul was removed as VP.
He told you that?
He thought I'd actually turn
on my sister.
Wonder what gave him that idea.
Batul. Enough.
Of course, Baba.
I accept your apology.
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD: You too, Isa.
You should have told me about
- Us. Us.
- ..about Sheikh Shaaker.
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD:
Us about Sheikh Shaaker.
The night it happened.
It was an insulting proposition.
I really didn't think
it was a big deal.
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD:
Don't think, son.
I need you
to tell me everything.
The money was
for a charity in Iraq.
Baytul Mahaba.
Remember, we spoke about it?
I wasn't told about that.
Remember we spoke about it, Dad?
- OK.
- (ISA STAMMERS)
At the Ambassador's, I ran
into this woman from an NGO
and then I realised
I hadn't sent them the money.
From now on, Isa,
stay out of the account.
You are not on the committee.
Him doing this undermines me.
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD: Batul.
This suspicion of your brother
is polluting your mind
as well as your heart.
Would you give us
a moment alone?
- (SLIDING DOORS OPEN)
- (ISA CLEARS THROAT)
(SLIDING DOORS CLOSE)
Did you enjoy yourself
at the Ambassador's?
Mainly stuck around with
Sheikh Shaaker, as you asked.
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD: Hm.
So you didn't get to talk
to many people?
But you did catch up
with some work friends, huh?
What a happy coincidence.
The same night that you withdraw
the mosque money,
you were seen talking with men
that you say
you do business with.
Dad what are you trying?
I think you know
what I'm asking you.
Aboya
..the money was for charity
and that's the truth.
OK.
- Alaykum as-salam.
- Alaykum as-salam.
Alaykum as-salam.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(MUTTERS IN ARABIC)
Hi.
Hey.
- (WHISPERS) Come, come.
- What?
Watch.
JAMILA: Watch her.
You'll figure it out.
(HEARTFELT PIANO MUSIC)
(CLEARS THROAT) You look great.
Shit.
(GASPS)
To speak like that
in the house of Allah!
Who's that for?
Not you.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
- Mm. Mm.
- Good?
Yeah, yeah.
- So, Baba.
- Yeah?
I've been thinking
about how to make the mosque
more relevant for women.
It's relevant for everyone.
There's this opportunity.
A prestigious competition.
For fashion?
For designing. It's a big deal.
- It launches careers.
- Uh-huh.
Because fashion designing
will be my career.
And I want to display
my designs in style,
which is why I want
to photograph my work
in a truly Islamic setting.
It would elevate the value
and make it feel like
high-end fashion.
Ahh. You want a photo shoot
in my mosque?
I don't think so, darling.
It'd be respectful. It's me.
(SIGHS) I cannot allow
a sacred place
to be used this way
simply because you are family.
That's not fair.
Baba
If Isa asked to wash cars in
the car park, I will say no too.
We must be different,
above reproach.
Imam Ali, peace be upon him,
told his family no favour
shall be shown
Don't recycle stories with me.
Baba, please try to understand.
Stop trying to 'Sheikh' me.
I'm the child you never made
vice-president, alright?
(UPBEAT ARABIC MUSIC)
(PEOPLE LAUGH AND CHATTER)
(SHISHA WATER BUBBLES)
SAMIR: Speak to your father.
Whatever deal he thinks he has
with Abu Zuhayr
could be light as a feather.
There was a lot
of shisha talk today.
- (WATER BUBBLES)
- I will.
Aamu, there's something else.
When we left Iraq
I've been trying to piece it
together, but it was so rushed.
Um
Did they take everything
from you and Dad?
(STAMMERS) A supplier I'm
working with, he's from there.
(WATER BUBBLES)
Your father was stripped
of his ownership.
I was able to, at least,
sell my shop for far less
than its value, of course.
- MAN: Salam alaykum.
- Salam.
Your mother, though, she was
able to keep her family home.
For a while at least.
She might have sold it
to buy the flat in Baghdad
when she was dreaming
of returning there.
Yeah.
My memories, there's
so many things I don't know.
- You remember nothing?
- ISA: Little.
Like your first family?
Before the orphanage?
They left me there
and I don't need to know why.
My family's Mohammad
and Khadija Al-Hamedi.
(SHISHA WATER BUBBLES)
(READS IN ARABIC)
(STARK, OMINOUS MUSIC)
(CHUCKLES)
This is lovely.
A family sharing a meal.
What, ruling on how we eat now?
What's your problem?
Well, he's hijacked our lives
and acts like the king,
judging us from his castle.
Control your tantrum, habibti.
So
..the BBC wish to interview me.
I'm a voice
for progressive Islam.
That's great.
Mabrouk.
They want to include you too,
Batul.
- Seriously, why?
- Yay.
They want to interview
both of us because
'Cause you appointed your
eldest daughter vice-president
of the mosque
where you were elected.
Baba, I don't want to be
a poster child
for the media to prod.
- Do it without me.
- I agree.
- What a surprise.
- I'm agreeing with you.
Don't try and talk him
out of it, sister.
He's just gonna make you
do what he wants.
It's a profile. In-depth piece.
It's good for us.
We are meant to be a team.
Unilateral decision made. Nice.
Yeah, so different to how
every other sheikh does it.
Really blazing a path there.
I know that you are upset,
but you are being rude.
- I know I am but what are you?
- (LAUGHS)
She shouldn't be speaking
like that to you.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Baba.
Hmm?
The interview,
it should just be you.
You're the Sheikh.
Your choice made me.
My life is not that interesting.
(CICADAS CHIRP)
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
(LINE RINGS)
(PHONE CHIMES)
BILAL: Hello?
- (BATUL SPEAKS ARABIC)
- (BILAL REPLIES IN ARABIC)
Mm.
Ah.
BILAL: Oh, Toota.
(UPBEAT ARABIC MUSIC)
(MOANS)
(MOANS)
(SIGHS)
'We' don't get jabbed
and prodded
and become a Petri dish.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
..viable.
(SEWING MACHINE RUNS RAPIDLY)
(SEWING MACHINE STOPS)
(SEWING MACHINE RUNS RAPIDLY)
(SEWING MACHINE STOPS)
I just need some time
and some space to be grumpy.
OK?
In the name of Allah,
please give me that.
Listen.
Me staying here
..I should have discussed it
with you before it happened.
Same with when I left.
I'm sorry for that.
(SIGHS)
Would you wear it?
Mm. Yeah.
I could see many women
would love that, yeah.
And (SPEAKS ARABIC)
..I need you to come with me.
Have you suffered a miscarriage?
(BATUL SOBS)
Two years ago.
DOCTOR: It doesn't
necessarily indicate
that you'll have difficulty
carrying to term.
Both you and your husband are,
physiologically speaking, older.
It is sensible that
you're looking at IVF.
She's in her 30s.
DOCTOR: The hormones
that we give you
will increase the amount
of eggs that you produce,
uh, which means more for us
to collect.
How exactly do you collect them?
DOCTOR: A needle is passed
through the vaginal wall
to each ovary, and it just
takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
We fertilise your eggs
with your husband's sperm
in our onsite lab
and then they grow,
then we select
the best embryo for transfer.
You select my child?
Yeah.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
(PRAYS QUIETLY)
Actually I'm a great admirer
of public broadcasting
and the BBC in particular.
Inspiration?
Well, I wouldn't call
myself that.
Eh
Abu Zuhayr.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
- Ya Allah.
- SHEIKH MOHAMMAD: Allah.
- Salam alaykum.
- Alaykum as-salam.
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
(BOTH LAUGH)
Ah.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
(CHUCKLES)
Ah.
Habibi.
(PHONE CAMERA CLICKS)
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
(NOTIFICATION CHIMES)
(PHONE BEEPS)
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
- (PHONE BEEPS)
- (LOCKS PHONE)
(SHISHA WATER BUBBLES)
Can you put me extra bread bits?
- HIND: No.
- Come on, please.
I like the crunch.
You like the crunch?
- Hi, habibti.
- HIND: Hello.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- (JAMILA GASPS)
- HIND: Don't say anything.
NADIR: What are you guys up to?
- Very nefarious things.
- Jamila's doing me a favour.
OK. Cool.
- Thank you, Hindi.
- Hindi?
- (LOUD THUD)
- (MAN GROANS IN PAIN)
Hang on.
- You OK, my friend?
- Yeah.
- You alright?
- Yeah, I'm fine, I think.
It's all good, it's all good.
You OK? What happened?
Yeah, yeah. Just tripped.
Do you need a doctor?
You might have a concussion?
No, I'm I'm fine.
I'm made of tougher stuff.
Are you sure? Nadir?
- Thank you. I'm fine.
- No worries.
- Thanks very much. Thank you.
- Take care.
(SAMIR GROANS) Yeah.
I'm gonna stay and talk
with you a while, alright?
To make sure you stay awake
like the doctor said.
It's OK, habibi. I'll be fine.
I'll come. Hind would be
pissed if I didn't.
- She's a very good girl, Hind.
- NADIR: Yeah.
SAMIR: Very good.
You see her
more than her beauty.
She's the best one
in her family.
But you knew that.
Not that any one of them
would ever think you are
good enough for her.
Not one of them.
Hypocrites.
(KEYS RATTLE)
SHEIKH MOHAMMAD:
Healthy body, healthy mind, huh?
(BATUL CHUCKLES)
- You
- Baba
Sorry. Yeah.
We have been out of sync lately.
(LAUGHS)
But you must do
the interview too.
If that's what you need.
Not the BBC.
- Oh.
- Local Arab radio.
Our community is
our most important audience.
You should be the one
telling people Islam is
inclusive and women are equal.
Do you think an interview
will change people's minds?
Our community needs to hear
how its dream fits together.
The pool.
The youth outreach.
My philosophy of the school.
And why I need you
as my vice-president.
But can you trust
that journalist?
I won the election,
so she was wrong.
Let's see how her audience
will react to that.
(BATUL CHUCKLES)
Continue reaching
for your visions, Baba.
And I will nudge you
whenever you need.
But I wanted to speak to you
- What?
- ..as my Sheikh as well.
(SIGHS) It's about Bilal and I.
We want children
but we haven't
Children can come
in many different ways.
Think of your brother
came into our family.
We want our own children.
He raised IVF.
I just don't think
it's right for me.
IVF is the only thing the entire
Islamic world agrees upon.
It's a process which helps us
meet our duty when nature can't.
I'm not sure intervening
is what Allah wants.
If Allah wanted it to be,
won't he make it happen?
You asked for guidance.
Husbands and wives
are meant to make families.
Perhaps I am to serve
another way.
Is this why you wanted to be
vice-president?
Why must I do everything
that men deem acceptable
in order to become pregnant?
Am I not entitled
to revere Allah in my own way,
as I decide?
Such anger.
Do you not want a child?
I do.
But I don't want to be a
test tube in order to have one.
I have more to offer, Baba.
More than fertility.
(PENSIVE PIANO MUSIC)
(KEYS RATTLE)
(LOCKS DOORS)
HIND: OK, so watch out for pins.
I'm just gonna pin this.
- Is that OK?
- OK. Ooh. Is it tight?
HIND: No, that's secure.
That's good.
- OK.
- (JAMILA SIGHS)
Yeah, that's good but Mm.
Do I turn around?
Yep.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
OK, just exhale. Like, relax.
(INHALES)
- (ISA EXHALES AUDIBLY)
- (JAMILA EXHALES)
(LAUGHS) OK.
- Wait.
- (PIANO MUSIC CONTINUES)
Just come. Do this.
- (CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
- Ooh, that is beautiful.
Oh!
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
That's so good.
Give me, like, a Over the
- Yep.
- (CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
(CHUCKLES)
And bring your hand
over your shoulder there.
You got it?
- (WOMEN LAUGH)
- (MEN CHEER)
- We did it!
- HIND: You're so good!
ISA: Go! Go!
HIND: So good!
- (MUSIC CRESCENDOS)
- (SIGHS)
- (JAMILA SIGHS)
- HIND: Thank you. Thank you.
Oh.
(JAMILA LAUGHS)
(MUSIC CONTINUES GENTLY)
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
(DOORS SQUEAK)
Dad lied
..about Mum's will.
She left me out of it.
Like, totally out of it.
Left everything to her children.
Batul and Hind.
Makes me question if
she ever loved me, you know?
Your heart's so big, Isa,
people forget how fragile it is.
But, you know,
I don't think it's about you.
- It's her will.
- Yeah, but
..the world can be so small
for a woman.
Especially once she marries.
- Yeah, but Dad's not like that.
- Even still.
She didn't know the men
your sisters would marry.
- Yeah, I know. But
- No, you don't know.
I mean, you can't know.
This freedom that you have
to move through the world
..it means you're blind to it.
But can you see that maybe,
I mean, probably, her choice
..had nothing to do
with her love for you.
Because she did love you, Isa.
(HEARTFELT MUSIC)
This is us, Isa.
Yeah.
We're friends.
Yeah.
- (SIGHS)
- (KEYS RATTLE)
(DOOR SLAMS SHUT)
(RAPID, FAINT CLICKING)
(SIGHS)
(VIDEO GAME PLAYS FAINTLY)
(VIDEO GAME INCREASES IN VOLUME)
Oh, hey.
Yusuf got up twice.
He wanted you.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I had to help Hind pack up.
Oh, it's a present from Hind.
(SCOFFS) She thought
it looked good on me.
AQIL: Hind.
You don't need her advice.
You can still be beautiful
when you try.
(AQIL CONTINUES
PLAYING VIDEO GAME)
(BIRD COOS OUTSIDE)
(VIDEO CALL LINE RINGS)
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
(WISTFUL MUSIC)
Sorry to be bothering you but
You're no bother, sister.
Please. Tell me
what's on your mind.
There's a problem, sister,
that only you can solve.
It's sensitive.
It involves your friend.
Sheikh Shaaker's daughter.
Jamila?
Look, I'm sorry,
but others have noticed.
- Uh
- They came to me.
They're uncomfortable.
He can't swim so close
to the girls.
JAMILA: Oh, come on.
Yusuf is on the spectrum.
He's
You know that. He's
He's just being friendly.
It's innocent.
It's totally innocent.
You must have known
this was gonna come.
What, you agree with them?
It has to happen for his sake.
For Yusuf's sake.
The world will not let you stand
by his side forever.
Uh no.
No, no. You're the one
who's not letting me.
Aqil can take him to the pool.
(CHUCKLES RUEFULLY)
I
I thought you were my friend.
Habibi, I am.
This isn't about me.
No, it's not?
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
Get out.
- Come on
- No, no, no.
If you're comfortable telling me
how to raise my own son,
I'm comfortable telling you
to get the fuck out of my house.
Get out.
If you had a child,
you would know better.
- (CROW CAWS IN DISTANCE)
- (MELANCHOLY MUSIC)
Baba.
Yes?
I'm not doing the IVF.
I told Bilal.
I have been considering things.
(SPRAYS LIQUID)
I want to announce the school
to our community.
Is that wise?
I thought Abu Zuhayr
You seem to be doing a lot of
personal interpretations lately.
It's how I see my worship, Baba.
I'm your father and your Sheikh.
You will support the school
the way I want it.
Otherwise you are free to return
to Iraq to your husband.
(STARK, OMINOUS MUSIC)
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDE)
(SLIDING DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES)
(MUEZZIN RECITES ATHAN)
Daddy will make sure
you have enough space
in there, OK?
Just hold onto him.
He doesn't need to hold onto me.
He's a big boy, right?
(SOFTLY) Just take him.
Yalla.
- Ooh.
- (DOORS OPEN)
(PEOPLE CHATTER INDISTINCTLY)
(SIGHS)
HIND: Yeah?
That's OK.
OK, thank you. 'Bye.
(NADIR CHUCKLES) What?
They want me to come in for
an interview about my photos.
- I made it past the first round.
- No way!
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Oh!
No-one saw that, yeah?
(HIND CHUCKLES QUIETLY)
(DOORS SQUEAK OPEN)
(SHEIKH PRAYS IN ARABIC)
WORSHIPPERS: Allahu akbar.
(WORSHIPPERS PRAY QUIETLY)
Salam alaykum.
(MEN AND WOMEN REPLY IN ARABIC)
In this house of worship
..I feel at home.
I feel Allah's love to us
and our love to him.
There has been times in my life
I've felt lost,
far from home.
We all must have.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
When disappointed with
our friends or ourselves,
we reflect on our choices.
In the darkest moments,
we must return to our faith.
That is our duty as Muslims.
Doing so is what brings us home.
We all hold duties
to one another.
Children to parents
and parents to children.
Wives to husbands.
Husbands to wives.
Allah's message is clear.
Once married,
we are to build a family
..so that our larger family
blossoms.
When an elder provides guidance,
listen.
The new place
for our community to gather
will provide such guidance.
I'm delighted to announce
that The Messenger
is submitting
an application for
..a school.
Our very own school.
- (PEOPLE MUTTER)
- (OM JAMILA SIGHS)
(EXCLAIMS IN ARABIC)
(OTHERS REPLY ENTHUSIASTICALLY
IN ARABIC)
(WOMAN CHATTER INDISTINCTLY)
(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
Thank you.
It's like pit lane around here.
Looking for your shoes?
Oh, there they are.
Right next to mine.
Here you go, buddy boy.
Yusuf.
Da habibi.
My son can get his own shoes.
Yeah. It's just a little
crowded here, that's all.
He needs to learn
to deal with that.
Not just expect help
all the time.
I was watching him.
OK. Aqil?
I heard about what happened
with Yusuf and the pool.
And I know you've been
busy at work
and he loves to go swimming.
I do too. I'm going
tomorrow to the pool.
I thought maybe
he could come with me.
If that's OK.
(CHUCKLES) That's
That's kind of you, brother.
But I'm his father.
No matter how much
you want my wife.
Yalla, habibi.
BATUL: The journalist is here.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDE)
My father will be with us
in a moment.
Oh, that's OK. I've actually
got questions for you.
Um Can we do it in there?
OK.
The Sheikh's decision
to appoint you,
that was controversial.
Why did he do it?
I think my father
must answer that.
But he was following religion?
BATUL: Of course.
It's just that some
in the community
say that he took
artistic licence
and that it's not
the first time.
BATUL: Not every aspect
of modern life
is covered by the Quran
explicitly.
Can you expand on that?
Sheikhs and parents, they
they provide guidance, yes.
But at night,
in the final assessment,
the decision must be one's own.
Sheikh Al-Hamedi.
Leyla.
Forgive me
if I don't kiss you hello.
(LAUGHS)
Has the interrogation
begun without me?
(BATUL CHUCKLES)
As the Hadith says,
"A father gives his child
nothing but a good education."
- Shall we get started?
- Yes, please.
(WOMEN ULULATE)
(WOMAN SPEAKS FAINTLY IN ARABIC)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC)
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(REPLIES IN ARABIC)
(UPLIFTING MUSIC)
HIND: It's getting cold and he's
been on that call for ages.
ISA: Who's he talking to?
- SHEIKH MOHAMMAD: OK. 'Bye.
- (HIND SETS BOWL ON TABLE)
How could you?
It will undermine everything
we are working for.
- It's permissible.
- Don't!
Why would you ask your husband
to take a second wife? Hmm?
Bilal wants to marry
someone else?
Bastard!
It's my choice.
I'm doing whatever it takes
to give him his dream.
And Allah will
not judge me for that.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)