This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/on-a-brussels-stage-grappling-with-the-islamist-threat/2016/03/29/9e098caa-f526-11e5-958d-d038dac6e718_story.html
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| On a Brussels stage, grappling with the Islamist threat | On a Brussels stage, grappling with the Islamist threat |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| BRUSSELS — For Ismael Saidi, the 39-year-old author and star of a popular play called “Jihad the Show,” there was a moment this month when life threatened to imitate art imitating life. | BRUSSELS — For Ismael Saidi, the 39-year-old author and star of a popular play called “Jihad the Show,” there was a moment this month when life threatened to imitate art imitating life. |
| The morning that suicide bombers struck the Brussels airport and subway system, his 16-year-old son had taken the subway to school. Saidi was in agony trying to reach his son, who had gotten out of the subway five minutes before the blast and was attending his morning classes. | The morning that suicide bombers struck the Brussels airport and subway system, his 16-year-old son had taken the subway to school. Saidi was in agony trying to reach his son, who had gotten out of the subway five minutes before the blast and was attending his morning classes. |
| “But for one stop, for five minutes, everything would have changed,” Saidi said. | “But for one stop, for five minutes, everything would have changed,” Saidi said. |
| Usually, Saidi tries to make audiences laugh and think about the roots of Islamist extremism, which has swept through the Muslim neighborhoods of Brussels. His play spins a tale about three bumbling friends who end up going to Syria for three different, intensely personal reasons. | Usually, Saidi tries to make audiences laugh and think about the roots of Islamist extremism, which has swept through the Muslim neighborhoods of Brussels. His play spins a tale about three bumbling friends who end up going to Syria for three different, intensely personal reasons. |
| He struck a chord. Since the debut on Dec. 26, 2014, the play has been performed 133 times in front of more than 47,000 people, including about 25,000 secondary-school students. After the performances, audiences stay to ask questions. | He struck a chord. Since the debut on Dec. 26, 2014, the play has been performed 133 times in front of more than 47,000 people, including about 25,000 secondary-school students. After the performances, audiences stay to ask questions. |
| “Once you laugh, the first wall between us is broken,” Saidi said. | “Once you laugh, the first wall between us is broken,” Saidi said. |
| [The desperate wait for news of loved ones missing after the Brussels attacks] | [The desperate wait for news of loved ones missing after the Brussels attacks] |
| Saidi decided to write the play in the summer of 2014, after hearing French National Front leader Marine Le Pen say she didn’t care whether young people who went to Syria ever came back. “I wrote this play as an answer,” he said, to make audiences care about three people who go from laughter to tragedy in two hours. | Saidi decided to write the play in the summer of 2014, after hearing French National Front leader Marine Le Pen say she didn’t care whether young people who went to Syria ever came back. “I wrote this play as an answer,” he said, to make audiences care about three people who go from laughter to tragedy in two hours. |
| “We understand the process of radicalization,” said Saidi, whose father emigrated from Morocco in the 1960s and drove a taxi. “These kids are similar to my own.” | |
| In the play, Saidi plays a youth named Ismael who draws, aspiring to become a cartoonist. But at weekend religious school, the teachers tell him he is violating the Koran and must stop. | In the play, Saidi plays a youth named Ismael who draws, aspiring to become a cartoonist. But at weekend religious school, the teachers tell him he is violating the Koran and must stop. |
| “The teacher discovered my drawings and hit me while shouting a quote of the prophet Muhammad that said all artists go to hell,” Ismael says. He stops, anger and disappointment festering, feeding his radicalization. | “The teacher discovered my drawings and hit me while shouting a quote of the prophet Muhammad that said all artists go to hell,” Ismael says. He stops, anger and disappointment festering, feeding his radicalization. |
| The second character, Reda, decides to marry his high school sweetheart, Valerie, who is not Muslim. But his mother forbids it, saying that Valerie “is just for playing and having fun.” Marry a Muslim girl, she orders him. He is despondent, and violent extremism becomes a way to kill himself. | The second character, Reda, decides to marry his high school sweetheart, Valerie, who is not Muslim. But his mother forbids it, saying that Valerie “is just for playing and having fun.” Marry a Muslim girl, she orders him. He is despondent, and violent extremism becomes a way to kill himself. |
| The third friend, Ben, impersonates Elvis Presley, singing in bars, and is moderately popular. When he travels to Graceland, however, he sees that the King’s tombstone reads: Elvis Aaron Presley. Ben is horrified because he thinks the name Aaron means that Presley was Jewish. “Even my favorite music was part of the great Zionist conspiracy,” he cries. So he stops singing and sets off on jihad. | The third friend, Ben, impersonates Elvis Presley, singing in bars, and is moderately popular. When he travels to Graceland, however, he sees that the King’s tombstone reads: Elvis Aaron Presley. Ben is horrified because he thinks the name Aaron means that Presley was Jewish. “Even my favorite music was part of the great Zionist conspiracy,” he cries. So he stops singing and sets off on jihad. |
| “They are three stupid ways to become radicalized,” Saidi said. “It’s like a metaphor of what’s happening.” | “They are three stupid ways to become radicalized,” Saidi said. “It’s like a metaphor of what’s happening.” |
| The plot thickens after they arrive in Syria. The friends discover an Arab crying because his wife is dead. They share food with him before realizing that he’s a Christian. Then they debate whether to kill him — the same man they were sympathizing with just moments before. | The plot thickens after they arrive in Syria. The friends discover an Arab crying because his wife is dead. They share food with him before realizing that he’s a Christian. Then they debate whether to kill him — the same man they were sympathizing with just moments before. |
| Saidi’s character Ismael ends up back in Belgium, goes to jail, then an anti-radicalization camp. His friends die in Syria. And Ismael decides to set off a bomb big enough to kill the entire audience. The ghost of Ben appears and says to kill them all. The ghost of Reda says not to, because in the afterlife he realized that “we were wrong.” | Saidi’s character Ismael ends up back in Belgium, goes to jail, then an anti-radicalization camp. His friends die in Syria. And Ismael decides to set off a bomb big enough to kill the entire audience. The ghost of Ben appears and says to kill them all. The ghost of Reda says not to, because in the afterlife he realized that “we were wrong.” |
| The decision hangs in the balance — and the play ends in uncertainty. | The decision hangs in the balance — and the play ends in uncertainty. |
| “Faith is not being sure,” Saidi said. “Faith is questioning always. When you begin to become certain of things, that’s radicalization.” | “Faith is not being sure,” Saidi said. “Faith is questioning always. When you begin to become certain of things, that’s radicalization.” |
| [Belgian police renew appeals for tips into ‘man in white’ bomb suspect] | [Belgian police renew appeals for tips into ‘man in white’ bomb suspect] |
| Saidi has taken an unusual route to his current career. One of five children who lived in the Muslim area of Schaerbeek, he attended a Catholic school when his father felt he needed to get out of the neighborhood. Saidi had never gone to school with white people, but the school was nearby and free. Wednesdays meant church services. Fridays were for catechism. Years later, he said, he can feel God’s presence in a church. | Saidi has taken an unusual route to his current career. One of five children who lived in the Muslim area of Schaerbeek, he attended a Catholic school when his father felt he needed to get out of the neighborhood. Saidi had never gone to school with white people, but the school was nearby and free. Wednesdays meant church services. Fridays were for catechism. Years later, he said, he can feel God’s presence in a church. |
| At 19, he joined the police force, walking the beat. He met his future wife, who still works for the police. But writing was a hobby that became his career, and he quit the force after 15 years. | At 19, he joined the police force, walking the beat. He met his future wife, who still works for the police. But writing was a hobby that became his career, and he quit the force after 15 years. |
| Asked whether he is a religious Muslim, he said that he prays five times a day and does not eat pork or drink alcohol, but he does not always go to the mosque on Fridays, preferring to observe at home. | Asked whether he is a religious Muslim, he said that he prays five times a day and does not eat pork or drink alcohol, but he does not always go to the mosque on Fridays, preferring to observe at home. |
| Saidi said that digital communication deserves part of the blame for creating a generation whose members do not know how to relate to one another. | Saidi said that digital communication deserves part of the blame for creating a generation whose members do not know how to relate to one another. |
| “We are closer than ever thanks to communications, but we are always alone,” he said. “That is the paradox. So it is easy to become violent with words on a [computer] screen. You can’t even see if it causes pain. When I’m crying onstage, they see that the crying is for real.” | “We are closer than ever thanks to communications, but we are always alone,” he said. “That is the paradox. So it is easy to become violent with words on a [computer] screen. You can’t even see if it causes pain. When I’m crying onstage, they see that the crying is for real.” |
| “Jihad the Show” is Saidi’s fourth play. He has written two feature movie scripts and has another play in rehearsals. It is a sequel. | “Jihad the Show” is Saidi’s fourth play. He has written two feature movie scripts and has another play in rehearsals. It is a sequel. |
| Sometimes the line between comedy and tragedy is too thin. He knows people who lost family members in the March 22 attacks. | Sometimes the line between comedy and tragedy is too thin. He knows people who lost family members in the March 22 attacks. |
| “It is very hard,” he said. “The people who are dead are similar to me. And the people who killed them are similar to me, too. We grew up in the same neighborhoods, went to the same cinemas.” | “It is very hard,” he said. “The people who are dead are similar to me. And the people who killed them are similar to me, too. We grew up in the same neighborhoods, went to the same cinemas.” |
| Said wrote “Jihad the Show” before the attacks in Paris and Brussels. But they didn’t surprise him. “We were not waiting for it but prepared,” he said. “It was like sitting near a window, seeing the storm, waiting for the storm, and it’s going to happen and now it happened.” | Said wrote “Jihad the Show” before the attacks in Paris and Brussels. But they didn’t surprise him. “We were not waiting for it but prepared,” he said. “It was like sitting near a window, seeing the storm, waiting for the storm, and it’s going to happen and now it happened.” |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| How Belgian prisons became a breeding ground for Islamic extremism | How Belgian prisons became a breeding ground for Islamic extremism |
| Belgian police mount raids; prosecutors acknowledge missed opportunities | Belgian police mount raids; prosecutors acknowledge missed opportunities |
| Anti-terrorism crackdowns may have spurred attackers, Belgian prosecutor says | Anti-terrorism crackdowns may have spurred attackers, Belgian prosecutor says |
| Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world | Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world |
Previous version
1
Next version