HowlRound: Now, more than ever, the world needs to know that there are diverse interpretations of Islam such as the spiritual, mystical dimension evident in the Sufi allegory The Conference of the Birds presented at Brandeis Theater Company last month.
As a Muslim theater artist with a special interest in the performing arts (dance, drama, music) of the Islamic world, it is very painful to hear the deeply meaningful word “Islamic” bandied about in the context of this multi-headed and variously named monster called ISIS, ISIL, IS (yet, how ironic that its acronym continues to lose limbs).
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Coming from a half-Islamic background, I had always known my mother's heritage was filled with culture. I had not, however, known that the arts in the Islamic world was not limited to music, fine art, dance, and poetry. Perhaps it's because I wasn't raised in Iran, or because my mother never knew herself about the performing arts around her as a young child; in any regard, I am happy to learn that theatre is alive and well not only in the Western world. I believe that it's especially difficult right now for us Americans to believe the Muslim people are anything but what our newscasts portray, what with the multiple terrorist uprisings in France and Nigeria only a few days ago. It's so important, to the theatre world and to the people of Islamic belief, that everyone support the majority of non-jihadist Muslims in their efforts to spread their culture and thrive within it. We talk about becoming less racist and more open in the United States, yet all I can see in 2015 is a stream of the same tired movie plots and lazy Shakespeare renditions. There is so much we can derive from the Islamic world through their poetry and their culture though we stray away from it out of fear of punishment or endangerment.
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