Ignorance/Jahiliyyah review, Hampstead Theatre Downstairs

Jahiliyyah is Arabic for ignorance and is a term used by hardline Islamists, against those who do not follow Islam. Steve Waters' timely new play, Ignorance/ Jahiliyayah looks at the term through the story of Sayid Qutb, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and his impact on the current generation of fundamentalists who believe the way forward is to return to the rules of the seventh century. Just who is being ignorant in this debate, and why?

Eyes of the storm

Intertwining narratives provide mirror images of the arguments. Qutb's 18 months in America, from 1948-49, was seminal in honing his ideas. We meet the scholar in Colorado, interacting with young students who crystallise his beliefs about purity of body and mind. In the future, in modern day London, a British Professor, Philip, is being done up like a kipper. Mysterious Egyptian student, Layla, turns up in his office with a bag of unpublished letters written home by Qutb. Where did she get them, what is their significance, and how will they be Philip's undoing?

Waters' script opens windows of understanding, only to slam them shut minutes later. We experience the deliberate removal of reasoning from the process of setting behaviours. Attempts to be even-handed underscore the contradictions; the cynical reframing of western bonhomie as cultural weakness. Qutb and Layla have some provocative and elegant lines, but no introspection. Philip's Egyptian colleague, exiled from his homeland for his politics, suggests that western liberals mistakenly seek intellectual explanations for behaviour that is in the blood. The circle cannot be squared. The debate needs a new framework.

In conclusion: Interesting subjects don't necessarily create interesting drama. The fragementary academic discussions and the tiring intensity of Islamist rhetoric turns one swivel-eyed with boredom within fifteen minutes.

References
Hampstead Theatre, Tickets

Hampstead Theatre is on Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London NW3 3EU. This production is now over.