DOMESTIC CRUSADERS
A play that’s also a bridge
When the curtain rises Thursday evening on a production of the off-Broadway hit play The Domestic Crusaders at Espace Knox in Notre-Dame-de- Grâce, it will mark several firsts in Montreal.
The piece will be the first show of the first season for the Silk Road Institute, Canada’s first professional theatre company devoted to giving the Muslim community a voice through the arts.
By putting stories by Muslims and about Muslims centre stage for a broader audience, the troupe’s goal is to foster intercultural understanding and build bridges, said Mohamed Shaheen, board chair of the fledgling Silk Road Institute. It’s a novel approach to taking aim at undercurrents of ignorance, the politics of fear and the suspicion of the other that are so pervasive in society today, much of it directed at Muslims.
“We focus so much on the political conversation,” Shaheen said in a recent interview. “Art is a powerful tool amid all these conversations to celebrate our shared humanity … Storytelling connects us.”
Muslims are generally underrepresented in pop culture and arts, said Shaheen. He lauded the now-defunct Canadian TV program Little Mosque on the Prairie for giving Muslims an important platform and hopes the Silk Road Institute’s efforts will have a similarly positive influence.
This is also the first time The Domestic Crusaders, penned initially as a class assignment by California law student Wajahat Ali, has been mounted in Montreal by a professional theatre company. It tells the tale of a Pakistani-American family whose members are struggling come to terms with the horrific
events of 9/11.
First produced in 2005, it made its off-Broadway debut in New York in 2009, coinciding with the anniversary of the attacks. It has since been staged from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, and had its Canadian première in Mississauga, Ont., in 2010.
Shaheen said the play was chosen because of its ability to scratch beneath the surface of the Islamophobia that continues to grip, not only the United States, but many parts of the Western world, since 9/11, including Canada and Quebec. It also tackles universal themes that are common to many cultures, families and time periods.
“It’s a family adjusting to Islamophobia,” he said. “But it addresses issues of acceptance. It addresses issues of race. It addresses intergenerational issues, the differences between members of the same family based on what generation they belong to.”
Watching a play, getting a glimpse into the daily lives of people from another culture and identifying with a particular character, can provide audience members with an intimate perspective that might not otherwise be possible.
“When we get to know each other we can break down a lot of barriers,” said Shaheen. “There’s that aha moment.”
Barbara Forde came over from Montreal’s Teesri Duniya Theatre to direct. She said The Domestic Crusaders remains extremely relevant 17 years after the terror attacks of 9/11, examining a fallout that is ongoing, both close to home and around the globe.
The rise of dog-whistle politics, the stigmatization of the hijab and the debate over “values” are a few examples of how the piece continues to resonate, said Forde.
“This story, the reason it’s important to talk about it is that even with the distance from 9/11, there are still people in our community who are hurting,” she said. “Fundamentally, this is about a family, this is about a group of people who were going about their lives, contributing to society, doing all the things to realize the American dream. Who they are changes in the eyes of their neighbours. They suddenly become the enemy.”
Through theatre, she said minds can be opened, empathy can be generated, enlightenment can be reached within the individual that later becomes the catalyst for important discussions.
“Art allows us to have an experience within ourselves before we’re ready to talk to someone else,” said Forde. “Art gives us an opportunity to look into our own hearts and minds.”
Teesri is also committed to producing socially and politically conscious theatre, showcasing a diverse and multi-ethnic cast. Forde said the chance to direct the Silk Road Institute’s first production will help shine a spotlight on the Muslim community in particular at a time when it is greatly needed.
“The stage, let’s just say it, lacks a certain diversity. There’s been a lot of discussion going on in the theatre world around that,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to bring a voice to the stage that is not often heard.”