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The Use of Performance As a Tool for Communicating Islamic Ideas and Teachings THE USE OF PERFORMANCE AS A TOOL FOR COMMUNICATING ISLAMIC IDEAS AND TEACHINGS By RAHEES KASAR A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham July 2015 i University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. GLOSSARY Allah Arabic word for God Da’wah To call, to invite Islah Revival Balag Proclamation Dawat Islami A da’wah group, invitation to Islam Tablighi Jamaat Da’wah Group, Society for spreading faith Hikaya Tale or narrative Tamtheel Pretention Khayaal Imagination Ta’ziyah Shia passion plays Fiqh Islamic law Aqeedah Creed Sunnah Prophet Tradition Ummah Muslim Community ii ABSTRACT The emergence and growth of performance for the purpose of communicating Islamic ideas and teachings is a topic that has gained popularity with no real academic research, which is vital as it is utilised as a tool for da’wah, propagation and communication. The thesis aims to look at the acceptability of performance for propagation and the most effective way in which performance can be used for communicating Islamic ideas and teachings. The general view by the majority of schools of thought within Islam is that performance is acceptable for da’wah if it does not involve anything which is forbidden. However, deeper issues such as women’s involvement and depicting the Prophet Muhammad in performances have more nuanced opinions. Furthermore, research into Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed shows that Muslim artists have fallen into the Aristotelean system of coercion and manipulation which contradicts the fundamental pillar of da’wah and propagation which states that there should be no compulsion in religion and sets out to introduce a technique for a more effective way of using performance as a tool for da’wah through Forum Theatre techniques. These findings will not only improve da’wah through performance but will help remove coercion and manipulation which is evident in many performances by Muslim artists and organisations. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, all praise and thanks is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. Who has given me everything and blessed me with more than I can imagine and be thankful for. I did this for His pleasure and to be closer to Him, and to carry the legacy of the work and mission of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, who I hope is happy with me and my family when I meet him. I would like to thank my parents for their full support in many different ways, even when they didn’t really understand what it was that I was attempting to do. I would like to thank Dr Mustafa Draper who from the beginning, tirelessly provided me with everything I needed and engaged with the topic every time we met, forcing me to think deeper about this subject than I could ever imagine. I would like to thank my friend and spiritual guide and the reason why this thesis exists, Mohamed Yasin Ismail, who suggested that I do this PhD because of the passion I had for it. Finally and most importantly, I would like to thank and dedicate this thesis to my dear wife, my emerald Safiyya Sulaiman who has given me consistent support throughout this thesis, who was always ready to listen and help whenever I was struggling even in the times when it was harder for her, reminding me that I was capable of completing this thesis and I was good at it, which allowed me to get through it and she gave me the motivation to work, especially in the difficult periods. And out of all her gifts, the greatest has been our bundle of joy, Emel Fatima Kasar, who has brought us levels of happiness that we didn’t even know existed. iv CONTENTS LIST Title page ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………. i Glossary ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………… ii Abstract ……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….…….…… iii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. vi Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. v Chapter 1: Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………..…1 1.1 Aims ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 1.2 Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5 1.3 Research Question…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5 1.4 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7 1.5 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9 1.5.1 Quantitative and Qualitative research methods …………………………………………………………………………………..9 1.5.2 Ethical Considerations ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11 1.6 Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 1.6.1 The Arts in Islam………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13 1.6.2 Performance Techniques ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………14 1.6.3 Performance as a tool for communicating Islamic ideas and teachings ………………………………………………16 1.7 Overview of Study …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18 Chapter 2: Da’wah and Communicating Islam …………………………………………………………………21 2.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………21 2.2 Definition and Importance of Da’wah …………………………………………………………………………………………………….23 2.3 What is Da’wah Historically? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….25 2.4 Prophetic Da’wah …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..26 2.5 History of Da’wah in the West ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….26 2.6 Land of Muslims and Land of War (Dar al Islam wa Dar al Harb ……………………………………………………………..27 2.7 Historical timeline of Da’wah Organisations …………………………………………………………………………………………..28 2.7.1 Tablighi Jamaat ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….29 2.7.2 Hassan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood …………………………………………………………………..……………..30 2.7.3 Salafi Da’wah ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….33 2.7.4 Jamaat-i-Islami …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..38 2.7.5 Sufi Da’wah ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….40 2.8 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………41 Chapter 3: Islam and the Arts ………………………………………………………………………………………….42 3.1 Definition of Islamic Art ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….44 3.2 Why people use Islamic Art……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44 3.3 Examples of Islamic Art …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..45 3.4 Music ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………46 3.4.1 Nasheeds ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………49 3.4.2 Qawwalis ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………50 3.5 Spoken Word Poetry ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….51 3.6 Stand-up Comedy ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………52 3.7 Dance ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..53 3.8 Calligraphy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………54 3.9 Fine Arts ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………57 v 3.9.1 Comics ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….59 3.9.2 Photography ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………61 3.10 Deen Tight and Hip Hop culture…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 63 3.11 Film/Television…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64 3.12 Theatre …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………67 3.13 Conclusion .…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..67 Chapter 4: Performance in Islam ……………………………………………………………………………………..69 4.1 Definition of Performance……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 69 4.2 Theatre in Education ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………70 4.3 Theatre of the Oppressed ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....73 4.3.1 Theatre Techniques in Theatre of the Oppressed ……………………………………………………………………………….75 4.3.2 Spect-actor………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….76 4.4 Theatre in Education Techniques………………………………………………………………………………………………….………….78 4.5 History of Theatre in Islam ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………80 4.6 The Earliest Period of Theatre …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………80 4.7 South Asia………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 88 4.8 Ottoman period……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 90 4.9 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………98 Chapter 5: Performance as a tool for communicating Islamic ideas and teachings ………….101 5.1 Does Islam Allow Performance for Communicating Islamic Ideas and Teachings?................................... 105 5.2 Certain approaches to communicating Islamic ideas and teachings ………………………………………………………111 5.3 The techniques of performance in relation to communicating Islamic ideas and teachings ………………….114 5.4 How the aims and objectives of Da’wah can be fulfilled through performance …………………………………….120 5.4.1 The importance of character, actions and body language ………………………………………………………………..120 5.4.2 Understanding the culture of the audience ……………………………………………………………………………………..121
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