The Infidel a film starring Omid Djalilli which is centred on a Muslim family man Mahmud Nasir from the

East End of London. An avid Tottenham supporter, Mahmud finds out that he is adopted and subsequently Jewish. The film observes Mahmuds identity crisis, raises issues about and questions identity through an array of personal discoveries. It does this by exploring the absurdities of both Islam and Judaism, such as religious fundamentalism and stereotypes, as religions and cultures in todays world in conjunction with the historical tension between followers of both religions. This paper will explore and critically assess this film The Infidel using Freudian theories of identity. Mahmud Nasir is a modern Muslim. A term that is used to label those who believe in the Islamic faith but may not strictly adhere to the lifestyle rules such as avoiding alcohol, not swearing or praying five times a day. The modern aspect is usually a result of living in the Western side of the world. Mahmud is also an avid Tottenham Football Club supporter which ironically are called Yids as the club and local area has large Jewish ties. Yid or Yiddos is a play on the language Yiddish, spoken mostly by Jews. Now at first glance, the fact that Mahmud is a modern Muslim and a Tottenham supporter portrays an ironic joke of which leads to the Freudian view of the Ego. In Civilisation and Its Discontents, Freud explains that we, as humans, have a need for religion. Religion fulfils our need for protection and this stems from our childish helplessness. Mahmuds choice for following Islam may not be directly linked to it as in most cases, choice of religion is usually by accident of birth into an already religious family. Although his choice to remain a Muslim does reflect his need for religion. The derivation of a need for religion from the childs feeling of helplessness and the longing it evokes for a father seems to me incontrovertible, especially since this feeling is not simply carried on from childhood days but is kept alive perpetually by the fear of what the superior power of fate will bring1. This religion gives Mahmud a level of security. Even when Mahmud finds out that he is adopted and subsequently Jewish by kinship, he attempts to convert to Judaism. Despite being a Muslim for his whole life, once he is aware of being Jewish, he decides to replace Islam for Judaism. This highlights the importance of the need for religion rather than the religion itself. The whole film follows Mahmuds self-discovery and whilst Mahmud is trying find out who he is, Mahmud clinches at religion as a form of both identity and security. His ego is dependent on both. Prior to his realisation, he was a Muslim which defined him and acted as a form of security. Once Mahmuds identity as a Muslim and his security from religion collapses, he clinches to his new identity as a Jew. Rather than question his past as a Muslim and his beliefs, Mahmud seeks salvation as a Jew even though he displays aggression towards Jews prior to finding out about his new found identity. Freud states that at the progression from babyhood, we, our egos, think we are the world. As babies, we believe that we are the centre of all existence and everything revolves around us. As we develop, our super-ego is a result of our ego being given boundaries. This psychological development allows us to recognise a reality separate from us from what we previously believed. The eventual distinction between our inside and the outside is crucial to our process of psychological development. In this way the ego detaches itself from the external world. It is more correct to say: Originally the ego includes everything, later it detaches from itself the external world. The ego-feeling we are aware of now is thus only a shrunken vestige of a far more extensive feeling - feeling which embraced the universe and expressed an inseparable connection of the ego with the external world2.
1 Freud, S., 2004. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated from German by D.McLintock. pp.11 2 Freud, S., 2004. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated from German by D.McLintock. pp.5-6

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Mahmuds choice of religion distinguishes him as a follower of Islam, a Muslim. The comparison between a Muslim like Mahmud and a Muslim from Saudi Arabia differentiate in many ways. The key difference is that Western and Middle Eastern divide. Mahmud does not see his actions of drinking beer, intertwining with Western and English culture through mannerisms and supporting Tottenham Hotspurs as a contradiction to him being a Muslim. It is a contradiction that defines him. It is normality. It is only a contradiction from an outside perspective. Freud states that at a young age, we believe we are the world and so all the contradictions that come to surface in the film such as a Tottenham supporting, alcohol drinking, bad mouthing Muslim are all normality to Mahmud, it is his world. So the beliefs he has as a result of being both Muslim and a Tottenham fan, are not hampered by the contradictions but believes in them wholly. Now the difference between a Muslim like Mahmud and a Muslim from Saudi Arabia are evident. Saudi Arabia have a ban on alcohol so now the narcissism of small differences comes into play where two followers of the same faith will have tension just because of the different customs in two different countries. Arshad Al-Masri is a character in The Infidel who is essentially a hate cleric who disapproves of Mahmud for his lifestyle choices as a Muslim. Freud (2004, pp.64) states that this narcissism of small differences is a convenient and relatively innocuous way of satisfying the tendency to aggression and facilitating solidarity within the community. Freud discusses the phenomenon the narcissism of small differences in reference to examples such as the Spanish and the Portuguese, North Germans and the South Germans or the English and the Scots. Two bordering countries or groups who slightly differentiate are prone to aggression of which binds the communities of each country together. The tension between Arshad and Mahmud represent the diversity and subjectivity of identity in terms of labels. Despite the tensions between Muslims and Christians or Jews, even amongst the followers of Islam, the narcissism of small differences exists. Sub-communities exist under a form of identity such as religion. Arshad and Mahmud are polar opposites as believers in Islam. Whilst both Arshad and Mahmud may feel aggression towards each other because of these small differences, both are new extensions of identity to the label Muslim. Mahmud is a modern Muslim and Arshad is a Muslim fundamentalist. Two identities that have arose out of narcissism of small differences. Whilst Freud argues that ones identity, however complex it is and whatever it is compiled of, causes narcissism of small differences with others, the narcissism can conversely create new identities as demonstrated by the differences between Mahmud and Arshad. It is always possible to bind quite large numbers of people together in love, provided that others are left out as targets for aggression 3. The scene where Mahmud is confronted by the police, a group of Jews and Muslims at his home after burning a Kippah, Jewish skullcap, at a protest led by Arshad Al-Masri shows the phenomenon of the Herd Instinct. Mahmud is at the centre of torment from a group of Jews as they form a group outside Mahmuds house to protest his display of aggression towards Judaism. Opposition to the herd is as good as separation from it, and is therefore anxiously avoided. But the herd turns away from anything that is new or unusual 4. There are also a group of Muslims defending Mahmud and displaying aggression towards the group of Jews. The Herd Instinct in this case represent the formation of a group sharing an identity, who cling together as a form of self-preservation. The individual feels incomplete if he is alone. The dread shown by small children would seem already to be an expression of this herd instinct5. The dread which is shown by small children when they are left alone...suggests
3 Civilisation pp.64 4 Freud, S., 2010. Group Psychology And The Analysis of The Ego. Translated from German by J.Strachey. pp.83

more readily another interpretation6. It is only brought into existence by the approach of a stranger of this sort7. At the announcement of Mahmuds new found Jewish identity to the angry mob compiled of police, Jews and Muslims, he is ostracised from the Jewish community for his actions of burning the Kippah. He is also ostracised from the Muslim community for being a Jew. Finally, he is ostracised from his family for concealing his newfound identity rather than for founding out the head of the Muslim family is actually Jewish. This loneliness that Mahmud encounters is like that of the lonely child, he clings to any familiarity or security but as he is ostracised from family and religion, he expresses this unfulfilled desire through dread. However it differs in that Mahmud is not a child and his mind is overcome with guilt rather than dread. We can study this in the development of the individual. What happens to him to render his aggressivity harmless?...The aggression is introjected, internalized, actually sent back to where it came from; in other words, it is directed against the individuals own ego. The tension between the stern super-ego and the ego that is subject to it is what we call a sense of guilt; this manifests itself as a need for punishment8. As the individual deals with what he has done as a result of guilt due to committing what one believes to be evil, it is the same way civilisation deals with it. In this way civilisation overcomes the dangerous aggressivity of the individual, by weakening him, disarming him and setting up an internal authority to watch over him, like a garrison in a conquered town9. Mahmud loses his religion and identity when he realises he is Jewish. The yearn for security and protection through religion is what is important and thus he attempts to convert to Judaism. Mahmuds family is Muslim and with the tension between Jews and Muslims already being a huge concern, his fear of being ostracised from his family and his herd leads him to conceal it, something Mahmud later sees as sinful which leads to his guilt and eventual attempts at wronging his right. The fear of losing love and security from his family in conjunction to clinging to Judaism results in dread as he becomes like a lonely child. As the confrontation outside his house occurs, his proclaim of being Jewish results in the revelation of his crime of concealment to his family, distaste from both the Jewish and Muslim community and dismissal from the police. As a persons own feelings would not have led him in this direction, he must have a motive for submitting to this outside influence10. The outside influence being his revelation of being Jewish and collapsing what Mahmud has believed in and relied on for the entirety of his pre-Jewish life. This is easily discovered in his helplessness and dependency on others; it can best be described as a fear of loss of love11. This state of mind we call a bad conscience, but it really does not merit the name, for at this stage consciousness of guilt is clearly no more than a fear of loss of love, a social anxiety. In a small child it can never be anything else, but for many adults too the only change is that the place once occupied by the father, or by both parents, has been taken over by the wider human community12. The need for security is rudimentary to identity as it projects onto the formation of herds and the Herd Instinct and then onto the wider human community. The resultant actions that occur of being ostracised are a result of losing the benefits of being in a herd or in the rare example of finding out that one is Jewish after 40
5 Freud, S., 2010. Group Psychology And The Analysis of The Ego. Translated from German by J.Strachey. pp.83 6 Ibid, pp.85 7 Ibid, pp.86 8 Freud, S., 2004. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated from German by D.McLintock. pp.77 9 Ibid 10 Ibid 11 Freud, S., 2004. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated from German by D.McLintock. pp.77 12 Ibid. pp.78

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years of life as a Muslim. The fears and insecurities of ones identity is projected onto others. The paranoia and the tension towards those who have the slightest difference such as the long term feud between Muslims and Jews are also a huge part of ones identity. These projections ensure a sense of security as the insecurities are perceived to be outside of ones responsibility. These projections also bind the community that the individual belongs to. Whilst a herd or a community is formed on the basis of selfpreservation, the fear of being alone and the narcissism of small differences allow stronger unification but harsher tension between differing groups. This is the state of affairs that todays society generally has to reckon with 13. Thus social feeling is based upon the reversal of what was first a hostile feeling into a positively-toned tie of the nature of an identification. So far as we have hitherto been able to follow the course of events, this reversal appears to be effected under the influence of a common tender tie with a person outside the group 14. In the case of this film, The Infidel, the person outside the groups for Islam and Judaism is a god or perhaps the same god, as proclaimed by Mahmud during his debate with Arshad in the latter half of the film. Mahmud regains acceptance from his peers once he avoids the opposition and separation which initially deterred him from the Herd Instinct. This highlights that individual identity is heavily dependent on a collective identity. Oneself is normality and so whatever contradictions are a part of ones identity, only difference, even if it is the slightest, can trigger the ability to fully enforce and recognise oneself. So difference between groups that share a collective identity are bonded in aggression and each group is unified as a result of that. Overall, the Egos need for religion is to eradicate our innate childish helplessness and aloneness. This is further intensified by the encounter of the stranger of which leads to dependence on a collective identity which could be based on the religion or another shared trait. The difference of others enforces ones identity and so the narcissism of small differences is a convenient and relatively innocuous way of satisfying the tendency to aggression and facilitating solidarity within the community 15. To conclude, identity, as explored through this paper, is as important at an individual level as it is at a collective level. The Infidel illustrates how the separation of people as a result of religious identity causes great tension through the narcissism of small differences.

Bibliography Freud, S., 2004. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated from German by D.McLintock. London: Penguin Books Freud, S., 2010. Group Psychology And The Analysis of The Ego. Translated from German by J.Strachey. Connecticut: Martino Publishing

13 Ibid. pp.79 14 Freud, S., 2010. Group Psychology And The Analysis of The Ego. Translated from German by J.Strachey. pp.89 15 Freud, S., 2004. Civilization and Its Discontents. Translated from German by D.McLintock. pp.64