The foundation of the Khayaal Theatre Company by a group of young British Muslim writers, actors, artists, designers, and dramatists in 1997 was no less than a revolutionary step towards breaking through the artistic apathy generally prevailing among Muslim communities. Drawing primarily upon the wealth and profundity of the literary tradition of Islamic mysticism, and with minimal financial resources, Khayaal took up the challenge of translating Islam’s universal ‘story’ into modern theatrical performances that can be shared and enjoyed by people from all faiths and backgrounds while at the same time presenting young people with an alternative for the spiritual poverty of modern popular culture. Now, after seven years of creative effort, resulting in the staging of several acclaimed theatrical interpretations of works by such illustrious Islamic scholars and Sufis as Rumi, Farid Ad-Din Al-Attar, and Nasir Ad-Din Hujjah, the company has firmly established its repute among Muslim as well as non-Muslim British theater audiences.

High time for a face-to-face encounter with the founder himself. Luqman Ali-African American Muslim, linguist, translator, and gifted writer and playwright-granted us the honor of an interview and enlightened us about the meaning, the inspiration, the intention, and, above all that, the tawheed behind Khayaal.

* The name of your theater company, Khayaal, which can be translated into English as “Imagination”, certainly stimulates contemplation. Please tell us something about the reasons behind your choice of this name and its significance in the context of the message you want to convey.

- Khayaal is a word shared by many of the principal languages of the Muslim world and means “imagination.” The idea of Khayaal Theatre is to help revive creative imagination within our community in order that the story and dream of Islam be made accessible for our time through the dramatic exploration of our literature and heritage. We believe that in the revitalization of this imagination lie the keys to resolving many of the internal and external challenges that face us as a community. It will restore our ability to synthesize rather than polarize, integrate rather than separate, and live and share our story and our dream rather than those imposed on us by others.

It is the stories and dreams that people assimilate and tell themselves
that mold lifestyles and aspirations and, increasingly today, also
identities and characters. Consequently, we will always lead lives that
are informed by those stories and dreams that we are most exposed to and assimilate, and much of this process takes place subliminally in what the Qur’an refers to as the “terrestrial unseen.” This is why the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was commanded to “tell the stories (of the prophets) so that they (the people) will reflect.” We need to be exposed to stories that reflect our virtues, aspirations, and mores if we are to be inspired by and realize the right dream, the dream of Islam. The realization that the dream of Islam is not popularly accessible for our time and that we are living and telling ourselves the wrong stories lies at the heart of the idea of Khayaal and its work of producing wisdom-oriented entertainment for all.

* What are the main aims of Khayaal Theatre and what techniques are utilized to achieve these aims?

- The main aims of Khayaal are 

1. To promote the human pursuit of virtue through the celebration of
wisdom and the symbolism of the Sacred

2. To creatively contribute to greater inter-cultural dialogue and understanding between Islam and the world through the synthesis of contemporary theater and the aesthetics, literature, and artistry of Islam. We believe that the arts and culture of Islam represent the greatest assets that the Muslim community can and must liquefy and employ in forging a positive and sustained socio-cultural engagement and dialogue with the world.

3. To revive creative imagination within the minds and hearts of Muslims as a means of illuminating new horizons of opportunity and possibilities. We believe that in the revitalization of this imagination lie the keys to resolving many of the internal and external challenges that face the Muslim world in particular and the world in general.

4. To contribute the beauty and aesthetics of Islamic artistry and craftsmanship, as well as the dramatically unexplored literature of the Muslim tradition, to mainstream popular culture through exciting, innovative, and original performing arts.

As far as techniques are concerned, we employ a variety of theatrical
techniques that we have collectively learned through our professional
training as actors, designers, directors, and so on. But theater is a
constantly evolving medium that is always experimenting with both new and old ideas, so we are always learning. We use puppetry, shadow-play, lighting, storytelling, music, mime, and mask work. We are exploring the few Muslim traditions of theater for the future inspiration of our work, such as wayang kulit of Indonesia and the passion plays of Iran. We will also soon be investigating the shadow theater that evidently existed during the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt but of which we find little record. Our techniques and approach are largely geared towards liquefying through dramatic interpretation the aesthetic capital inherent in the repositories of Islamic art and heritage as represented by the stunning beauty and artisanship of the Islamic art collections held in museums and galleries around the world.

* Why do you choose to focus on works from the Sufi Islamic tradition to promote and introduce Islam? Do you think that there is something in the nature and language of this tradition that is particularly attractive to people in the West?

- It is true that so far we have worked with the works of authors who
either identified themselves or are identified by others as Sufis. This
is because these authors such as Rumi and Attar have had the greatest prior exposure and recognition in the West, and, as such, the appeal of their work has been established. As a new company, it was easier, therefore, to work with these authors, not to mention the fact that theirs are some of the most potentially dramatic and colorful material within the Muslim tradition.

However, ultimately we are interested in virtue-laden wisdom texts of
the Muslim world and do not care what labels or ethnicities the authors
bear. We will, therefore, work with authors across the spectrum of the
Muslim world. In November, we plan to stage a production at the
Shakespeare’s Globe in London that will bring together tales from six of
the main subcultures of the Muslim world drawing from the works of a
variety of authors.

As regards Sufism, Imam Junayd used to say that Sufism used to be a
reality without a name; now it is a name without a reality. Islam is
ultimately one indivisible way of life. At various times in Muslim
history, people concerned with the preservation of Islam used various
terminologies to highlight those aspects of Islam that they felt were
under threat; Sufism was a product of this concern and remains as such. Its appeal to the West throughout the last century owes itself to the fact that it was concerned with the luminous essence of Islam that is at the heart of all human pursuits of spiritual awakening and
transformation, whether through organized religion or otherwise. As long as one is not blinded by the labels, they can be useful; otherwise cast them aside.

I think that the approach espoused by those often but not always known as Sufis offers certain advantages in that it mostly remains committed to the evolutionary dynamic of Islam as a system that primarily transforms from within and allows people to grow organically in phases with the unfoldment of the Qur’anic story particular to them. This approach attracted the first Muslims to Islam, so why should it not be the one that has proved most attractive to the West? Any inclination that we demonstrate towards the works of Sufis is based on this dynamic.

- We are dedicated to developing and organizing drama training and
workshops under our theater-in-education program. This program is
largely concerned with children and their relationship with their own
culture and heritage on the one hand and the popular culture of Western multicultural societies on the other. We feel that unless Muslim children are instilled with the virtues of their culture and heritage through artistic expression and drama, which are the languages of modern storytelling and dream creation, they will find it hard to reconcile themselves with society and will be compelled to make “either or” choices. They will also lack the confidence and inspiration to express themselves effectively in the modern world, sharing their story with those who wish to hear.

Our methodology is a synthesis of contemporary drama training methods and techniques that we have developed ourselves through our work. Most of the latter are based on self-development and understanding the nature of the human being. They include character games, role playing, craft skills, and the like. This particular aspect of our work is severely resource challenged because Muslims undervalue storytelling and the arts despite being some of the biggest consumers of media and entertainment.

Theater was the first arena for the portrayal of Muslims to the masses
in Elizabethan times. The vast majority of these portrayals were
negative and represent the basis of the historical conception of the
Muslim world. Today in Britain theater remains one of the pivotal points
of social convergence and engagement influencing opinion and mirroring society. Given that it is predicated on a culture of openness and communication, it offers unparalleled possibilities for direct dialogue with society and the introduction of new ideas and propositions. It also presents an accessible avenue for the development of the crucial socio-cultural capital that Muslims require if they are to truly integrate with society and be positively represented therein.

Given that the arts of Islam are the one aspect of our culture that has
not been vilified or misrepresented in one way or another, it is our
greatest asset and yet is most undervalued by the Muslim community. A renaissance of artistic expression among Muslims in the modern world
is essential if we are to forge sustainable channels for engagement and
dialogue with our non-Muslim counterparts. One of the greatest tributes to our work is made by Muslims who say, “Finally something I can enjoy with my non-Muslim friends.”

As Muslim artistic expression in theater, film, and other art forms
emerges within mainstream popular culture capturing people’s
imagination, touching people’s hearts, and blowing people’s minds, we
will begin to see how effectively those virtues that we hold dear can contribute to and influence society. This will in turn substantiate the positive and integral nature of our community and the role that it can play in inspiring people to revel in the life of the spirit.

For further information: http://www.khayaal.co.uk/home.html