Sense of humour failure
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is almost upon us again and, this year, controversy comes early with a call to ban Jihad: The Musical - an ‘all-singing, all-dancing madcap gallop’ through the world of Islamic terrorism.
The idea of a light-hearted entertainment about a ‘hapless Afghan peasant’ who falls into the hands of would-be jihadi terrorists has upset a group of protesters who are calling on the Prime Minister to condemn the tasteless portrayal of terrorism and its victims.’ They go on to claim that making fun of Muslim extremism is ‘extremely offensive.’ Presumably the protesters would prefer that we all hid under our beds instead.
In response to calls for the show to be closed down before its opening night on Wednesday, James Lawler, the show’s producer, has said: ‘We have no intention of causing offence or insult with this show. It is simply a comedy musical, following the British tradition of high-kicking, high-spirited, musical theatre, about a fictional Afghan poppy farmer who falls in love with the wrong person and finds himself caught in a dilemma.’
He goes on to argue that ‘like all good comedy’, the show ‘touches, very lightly, on a current-day topic that people can relate to, connects it with humour and, like the proverb, makes the best of a bad situation’.
The plot sees its hero, Sayid al-Boom, ‘lured by a veiled, poppy-exporting femme fatale’ into the lair of a band of jihadis. He is then manipulated by a sinister reporter and so caught, emblematically speaking, ‘between the terrorists and bloodthirsty global media’. Help apparently finally turns up in the form of ‘a surrender-prone Frenchman’ and his sister. The posters for the show bear the tag-line ‘The West shall not be won (again) so long as we have a high-kicking chorus line’.
‘Great care has been taken to ensure that the utmost respect is provided to the faiths and cultures it incorporates,’ said Lawler in a statement defending the show. ‘This has been achieved through some very skilful and tactful writing. Clearly the petitioners have not seen the show as their knowledge of the content would appear to be incorrect, rendering their petition inflammatory and highly unnecessary.’
A preview of sorts has, inevitably, turned up online in the form of the song I Wanna Be Like Osama - click here to see it for yourself.
Sunday 29 Jul 2007 | Paul | UK
