ByAli Hasan Cemendtaur
The play was to be performed at 8:30 pm, but by 7:30 pm the show enthusiasts were fidgeting in a long line that snaked out of the door of the Mehran Restaurant and into the parking lot.
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But some attributed the heavy turnout to the American Muslims’ desire to hear a fellow Muslim’s commentary on the community’s state of mind-in the mainstream American media, analyses and news about the Islamic World, anchored by non-Muslims galore.
By the time we all squeezed in the event hall the audience was over 300 strong.
The next two-and-a-half hours featuring the two-act play were pure entertainment--Wajahat Ali knows the art of packing hard punches, one line after another. A wonderful bouquet of undercurrents prevalent in a typical Pakistani-American household ‘Domestic Crusaders’ touches on all spheres of desi existence.
The play depicts a day in the life of a Pakistani American family; the deep-seated beliefs, convictions, and internal conflicts of each family member brought to fore through their conversations and arguments. In no particular order, the ‘Domestic Crusaders’ is about Pakistanis’ desire to become White while hating the Caucasian-American ways, of Muslims bleeding their hearts out on the plight of the Palestinians, of their enragement at America’s unfaltering support for Israel, of hijab-clad Berkeley girls protesting American foreign policies, of Pakistanis wanting to live in a society that won’t discriminate against them but concurrently talking disparagingly about Blacks and other minorities, of Pakistani men longing to get Mango-flavored ice cream at Baskin Robins, of Pakistanis blaming Afghanis for their country’s problems and the Pakistanis’ love for the Afghani food, of conceited Muhajirs priding on the Hyderabadis’ biryani, of Pakistani mothers wanting their sons to marry fair-complexioned girls who are not ‘goaree’, of the scars of the 1947 partition, of Muslims despising the Western experts (Jewish of course) of Islam and the Middle East abundantly found on biased news channels, of Muslims not knowing how to defend against Western media’s relentless campaign against them, of a Pakistani father’s imposition of his version of success on his son, of a young man’s desire to bring about a fundamental change in the society by becoming a teacher, of men eating dates to enhance their sexual performances, of Muslims’ furor over ‘random’ checking of all young Muslim males at the airports, and of many more things. You wonder what churns in 23-year-old Wajahat Ali’s mind everyday!
The introspective, self-critical play was very successful in portraying the post 9-11 Pakistani-American-Muslim state of mind. Its only inadequacy being a lack of strong action normally associated with live theater - at times long, drawn out conversations between family members made the play verbose and dull.
Domestic Crusaders’ cast comprised of Saqib Mausoof acting as Abd al Hakim, the grandfather; Shahab Riazi as Salman, the father; Yasmin Mogul as Khulsoom, the mother; Kashif Naqvi as Salahuddin, the eldest son; Sadiya Shaikh as Fatima, the sister, and Sajid A. Khan as Ghafur, the youngest son. Each one of them did a superb job. Saba Mirza narrated the scene descriptions.
The play was directed by veteran theater director Carla Blank -- kudos to her for transforming a team of first time actors into a professional cast. Distinguished writer and poet Ishmael Reed was the producer. The play is still in the staged-reading phase. After the initial three reading sessions Wajahat Ali plans to take ‘Domestic Crusaders’ to a formal theater.