Oray (2019)

Oray, a young Muslim of Turkish descent, lives with his wife Burcu in Hagen. During an argument, he utters the Islamic divorce formula talāq. The imam of his home congregation explains the consequences: Oray must separate from Burcu for three months. He uses this enforced break to make a fresh start and moves to Cologne. There, he finds a job at a flea market and a new congregation led by the young imam Bilal. He soon begins preaching and is popular with everyone, which makes Bilal jealous. He tries to win the boy Ebu Bekir over to Islam. When Burcu unexpectedly visits Oray, they realize that the break has done them good. They still love each other. So he asks Bilal for advice. But Bilal holds to a stricter interpretation of Islamic law: that uttering talāq means a final divorce, not a temporary separation. Oray pushes Bilal’s fatwa out of his mind and is torn between his faith in love and his love of faith. The tension between Bilal and Oray ends in a heated argument, after which Oray leaves the congregation. When Burcu also returns to Hagen, he becomes lonely. Oray has to make a decision.