“Akbar Ahmed's 'Noor' Is a Paean to Religious Tolerance”
By Nicolas Burch, Rory Hayes, and Andrew McAllister
American University
Washington, DC
The Fall of 2020 was my first semester as a graduate student and teaching assistant at American University’s School of International Service. I had the auspicious opportunity to work under Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, as well as distinguished diplomat, writer, poet, director, and filmmaker.
Although I had little prior education in Islamic studies, I began assisting in Ambassador Ahmed’s 'World of Islam' course, which sought to explore the historical experiences of Islamic societies to better understand the issues facing the Muslim world today. I was exposed along with the students to a wide array of discussions and media which began fostering a comprehensive and multi-dimensional perception of Islam. One key piece of literature we analyzed in the course, which became influential to me and two students, in particular, was Ambassador Ahmed’s own acclaimed play, Noor, which premiered on stage during the summer of 2007 as part of Theater J's "Voices From a Changing Middle East" series.
The script of Noor tells the story of the struggles of a Muslim family dealing with the disappearance of their youngest daughter, Noor. Undergraduate students Rory Hayes and Andrew McAllister felt particularly impacted by the play and chose to further reflect on its themes for their midterm papers. This play allowed the students and me to develop a broader understanding of the plurality of Muslim perspectives by engaging with the different perspectives and the factors that shape them. This was, in fact, Ambassador Ahmed’s primary motivation for writing Noor in the years following 9/11, when misunderstanding and discrimination against Muslims become a rampant issue in the United States. Noted by a Washington Post article on the play titled, “Akbar Ahmed's 'Noor,' a Paean to Religious Tolerance,” Ambassador Ahmed hoped the play would help “ shatter the idea of Islam as a monolith" for its audience and combat religious intolerance.
In their analysis, Rory and Andrew examined the three prominent modes of thought in Muslim societies identified by Ambassador Ahmed: the literalist, the modernist, and the mystic Muslim, each characterized by Noor’s three older brothers. In discussing the play, Rory and Andrew also made use of various themes explored through our class, addressing underlying topics like intolerance, women in Islam, and the effects of Western interventionism.
As demonstrated by their writing, Rory and Andrew gained a deeper insight into Islam, which is critical for the future of American education in a time heavily afflicted by Islamophobia as well as hate-crimes against Asian-Americans, many of which are Muslim. This is remarkable seeing as how freshman students of American University this semester are in a unique position. Not only are they navigating college during a global pandemic, but they also represent the first generation of students in academia who were born after September 11, 2001, and grew up completely in a version of the United States molded by the War on Terror. Despite this, they are arguably the most receptive generation, eagerly seeking to deconstruct stereotypes and misconceptions about marginalized communities. During my first semester as a teaching assistant, I’ve been privileged with witnessing the growth of students like Rory and Andrew and learning alongside them, which itself represents a hopeful light paralleled by the ending of Noor, of a generation of young people intent on bridging a gap in understanding between America and the Muslim World.
Nicolas Burch
Written by Dr Akbar Ahmed, a distinguished professor at American University and lecturer for the class World of Islam within the School of International Studies, the play Noor follows the abduction of a young woman and the reaction that her family and community have towards her disappearance. Released in 2007, the play’s setting is intentionally vague as to allow for a flexible narrative to be represented that is not tied to one specific geographic region of the broader Muslim world. Although most of the plot occurs without the eponymously named main character, her lack of presence is noted to such an extent that her absence seems to be its own entity as her three brothers, all concerned with safeguarding her honor, make plans for her future. While Noor eventually makes an entrance at the end of the play, her disappearance and abuse that she encounters represents the unique state-sanctioned violence that women face in occupied Muslim countries, as is her subsequent, albeit unseen, ostracization from her wider community.
As aforementioned, the play takes place in the Muslim world. Set against the backdrop of constant military surveillance from local and foreign coalitions, Dr Ahmed keeps the action in the edited script of the play in the Father’s home. Although the characters frequently come and go, there is always an ominous awareness of the forces that police them outside of the space. In several instances throughout the play, many violent acts, including Noor's abduction, are carried out by the military. Although Noor’s brother Daoud frequently names the villains as Americans, it is shown that the military could be of any background, underscoring Muslim people's inability to defend themselves against the torment from international and local oppressors.
To represent the diversity of the Muslim community and the variety of responses that could be generated after the abduction and possible rape of a treasured family member, Dr Ahmed incorporated seemingly opposing elements in individual characters.
Each person is composed of many different characteristics. Their turmoil regarding Noor’s disappearance represents the several layers of conflict and anxiety present in their wider society. For example, Daoud is a doctor who takes care of the poor and, out of all of the characters, is most grounded in the day-to-day life of the community. Daoud knows that nothing in the country works without a bribe, indicated by his lack of surprise when Ali mentions the Minister of Justice hinting openly for money. He also knows that the Holiday Inn is a location where young women are imprisoned and raped. If able to get back to their families, these young women are often rejected by them due to the cultural stigma attached to an ‘impure’ woman. Due to this knowledge, Daoud finds himself vindicated to dismantle his oppression through violent acts against his oppressors. However, his desire to do this conflicts with his joy at Noor’s return. Unfortunately, even as she begs Daoud to stay in the house, he leaves because he believes in his heart that her abduction is only representative of the continued oppression of the Middle East by Western colonizers, from the Crusaders to the Americans, and that the only logical response to this violence is to create more violence. This behavior of Daoud’s is reflected in his belief that Islam has been cultured to become soft towards enemies from the West. His ideology is reflected in the hearts of many in the Muslim diaspora who have turned towards a radical demonstration of Islam that they describe as beneficial for the ummah or Islamic community. However, one of the main points emphasized in the play and reflected in reality is that the ummah, who are supposed to be safeguarded and protected, often end up becoming the victim of the radicals’ violence.
While Daoud’s characteristics are strongly reminiscent of a radical, they do contrast and serve as a dramatic foil to Abdullah, the eldest brother. Abdullah represents the Muslim man who lives within the region but functions differently from his siblings. In fact, out of all the characters, he most resembles Noor in his desire to prioritize positive interpretations of Islam in the world and maneuver through interactions as a Muslim with a staunch faith in Allah, a merciful deity. Although living under constant surveillance, Abdullah does not think that it is right to engage with the military on a violent level as he believes that it is a battle that Allah does not want.
For example, after learning that the youngest brother Ali had left Noor in prison, Abdullah still regarded him with kindness. While he did not know exactly what happened in the prison, Abdullah was patient and was able to correctly identify that Ali had been abused himself, as indicated by the latter’s silence and the inconsistency of his story. However, instead of trying to yell at him like Daoud, Abdullah remained gentle. His purpose as a foil to Daoud was further developed by his faith that Noor would return unmarred. While Abdullah did not have any physical evidence to have confidence of her safety, Abdullah kept faith that Allah was a merciful God and that she would be returned as the pure woman she was. In stark contrast to Daoud and much of the Muslim community, Abdullah did not even regard the possibility of Noor being raped as a stain on her or the family honor; he knew that the purity of her soul and her faith would be intact and, as her older brother and a faithful Muslim, that was the only thing that mattered to him.
In Noor, women are routinely treated as objects and as an extension of the family. By developing the plot to center the family and their reaction to Noor’s abduction rather than setting it in the jail she was kept in, readers can identify Dr Ahmed’s illustration of the gendered violence that women face with regard to the nuances of Muslim life under occupation. In the play, it is noted that the perpetrators of violence against women are not only men; people from every gender can perpetuate misogyny, as seen in the character Auntie Fatima, the mother of Noor’s fiancée and her Father’s sister. Overbearing, pushy, and overtly gossipy, Auntie Fatima contains every negative characteristic that a mother-in-law could possess. Her entrance in the play is revealed to be an attempt to break Noor and Rahman’s engagement while the former is still missing. Although Auntie Fatima’s attitude towards the family could be interpreted as unnecessarily malicious, one could argue that she is simply adhering to the rules of the community by removing Noor from Rahman’s life as many people, including Daoud, suspect Noor has been raped and question her purity, which they believe is solely based on her virginity. This situation took place before Noor was returned to her home. However, it demonstrates women's inability to designate their worth themselves as it has been decided by the community. Even though purity in an Islamic sense does not have anything to do with virginity, the interpretation of Islam by the people in the community has been performed to marginalize the victims of sexual violence rather than regarding them with empathy and open arms.
Noor was a phenomenal play and added an artistic component to the typical coursework offered within the School of International Studies that I found extremely beneficial. The themes explored in the play, such as religious fundamentalism, gendered oppression, and the role of military occupation as a tool of Western imperialism are in accordance with the topics discussed in class. Coupled with the stimulating assigned readings and lectures from a diverse list of distinguished guest speakers, reading the play Noor heightened my experience in the class by incorporating the narrative of Muslim people who live under modern-day colonialism. Even more than its connection to the class, Noor was a startling example of women’s inability to control their own fate. However, instead of writing about gendered oppression in an abstract manner, Dr Ahmed used the play to illuminate the systemic and state-sanctioned violence that accompanies misogyny. Noor is riveting, but more than that, it is relevant to audiences of all backgrounds, whether that be the international Muslim diaspora or the populations of people whose taxes fund the military occupations by Western countries in the Muslim world.
Rory Hayes
Noor written by Professor Akbar Ahmed is an insightful play that is simultaneously entertaining but carries a powerful message about problems in Islam with relation to Western nations. This play educates as it relays a different perspective than what we, as Americans, are taught about Muslim society. There are underlying messages, such as character symbolism, brutality, and American and Muslim perceptions of each other in this work that can be found throughout the script, which makes this read even more enjoyable. This play manages to touch upon nearly every major theme in Dr Ahmed’s World of Islam course.
This play is about a woman named Noor who was abducted by soldiers. Her three brothers, Abdullah, Daoud, and Ali, work tirelessly to try and bring her home without losing her honor, which seems to be a big part of Muslim society. It was conveyed multiple times how important honor is in this civilization, as parents would kick out their children without second thought if they dishonor their family. The brothers try to keep the news from their father, as he is physically unwell, and they do not want to make him more uncomfortable with terrible news about Noor. Unfortunately, this does not work out and he eventually finds out after soldiers force themselves into their home and search for evidence of terrorist motives against Noor. All three brothers have different ways in which they want to approach this problem, which shows a lot about who they are as people. Noor ends up returning home with her honor and brings wisdom to the brothers, especially Daoud. There is a cliffhanger, as we do not know if Daoud ends up going through with his radical plan to get revenge for what the soldiers did to Noor.
The three brothers represent something much deeper than three siblings with differing opinions on the matter of Islam. Abdullah represents mystic Islam, Daoud represents tribal Islam, and Ali represents modernizing Islam. You can see each of their visions of what they think Islam should be through their actions and words. Abdullah is the calmest and is very composed. His plan to save Noor is to pray and let God help Noor return to the family. He sees Islam thriving through peace, not violence against their enemies who have done them wrong. Mystic Islam is one of the three categories of Muslim leadership and they are the people who seek God’s help in their personal problems. They seek to reach out to the divine and due to this different way of thinking, many Muslims do not look at them fondly. Sufis, who are the Islamic mystics, have political power in Islam, which causes even more problems internally in Islam.
Daoud is more hot-headed and wants to save Noor through violence and revenge. Another category of Muslim leadership are literalists, also known as fundamentalists. It was even said in the play that his thoughts for Islam are very tribal and he should know better to promote peace over violence. Daoud was interpreting the Qur’an literally multiple times in this play, which demonstrates his fundamentalist mentality. The other brothers know that if he kills Western soldiers, Westerners will only think worse of Muslims, as it will only be portrayed as terrorism and not revenge for what they have done to their civilization. Daoud sees Islam thriving by themselves without Western intervention. The problem with fundamentalism is that it is so closely related to tribal Islam, which tends to lead to extremism and terrorism. This is due to terrorists justifying their actions through a flawed, literal interpretation of the words written in the Qur’an.
Ali is the last brother, who went through the deputy minister to try and save Noor. As he is a lawyer, he wanted to go through the order system to try and save Noor, as he wants to modernize Islam. He doesn’t blame Americans, as they are uneducated about this problem, and sees Islam thriving with Western countries, not against them. Modernists are the last category of Muslim leadership presented in this play, and they believe in the balance of modernity and tradition. The problem with modernism presented in the play is that the Western system in place in Islam is largely against the civilians, as we see Ali try and use this approach and it largely fails. Daoud and Ali’s attempts fail in the end, which symbolizes the failure of both viewpoints. It is revealed by Abdullah that him praying to God to save Noor was the approach that prevails in this play. Tribal Islam did not work in this play and it is hard to support this way of thinking, as it is rooted in extremism and terrorism. Modernism is currently being utilized, however it has flaws as demonstrated in this play. Mysticism prevailed in the end, which shows that this way of thinking is working the best in today’s Islam.
It was very disheartening to see the very realistic way in which women can be treated in societies like this, as the soldiers who are meant to protect these people are actually doing the complete opposite. It was said that Ali was assaulted while in prison, even though he had done nothing wrong, which is heart breaking to see. This connects to America, as police brutality is something that is very real today. Policemen, who serve to protect civilians and keep societal order, are killing black people due to the color of their skin, which is just as disgusting as what the soldiers do to the Islamic civilians in this play.
Another thing I found very informative is the realistic portrayal of the Muslim perspective of us, Americans. In America, many are taught that Muslims are terrorists and without education on the matter, that negative stereotype of Muslims only grows larger. Most Americans do not have a proper education on Islam, which is the main reason for the growing Islamophobia that is exhibited in the United States. People of different ethnicities, races, and religions, that are not white and Christian have to worry every day for the discrimination that they might be exposed to, as many white extremists will shoot up mosques, synagogues, etc. This play really opened my eyes to how Muslims view Americans, something I never thought about. People only see the horror of Muslim extremists, which is a small minority within Islam. Daoud said that Americans call all Muslims terrorists, but do not know of the terrors that America does to them, in this case the Western soldiers assaulting, raping, and killing the civilians. The realization of the fear that these people go through on a daily basis is a very unsettling thought as an American reading Noor.
As you can see, the three brothers have huge differences in personality and what future Islam they would like to live in, but where does Noor come into the equation? She is the link to the three brothers. She is very wise, which allows for all the brothers to come together even though they have different opinions. I actually thought of Zainab when reading the parts of the script with Noor. They have striking similarities, as both of them were imprisoned and tortured by oppressors and their wise, powerful personalities is what led them to be freed. Without these personality traits, they would not have been strong enough to overcome the injustice that was done to them. They both were strong females. Noor wants to inspire women in Islam to fight for their rights. Zainab inspires many women today through her strong voice against an oppressing tyrant, even as she stared death in the face.
We have learned about the story of Zainab, women’s rights, mysticism, modernization, Western perspective of Islam, relationship between Islam and Western countries, and terrorism in our class lectures. All of these were neatly incorporated into this play, which is why I rate it so highly. Education of the issue is the biggest problem, as people form their opinion without knowing anything about the issue. Learning about all the aforementioned topics should be a first step before someone can have an educated opinion on the matter. Reading this script would be a great start, as it incorporates so much information of Islam.
Dr Ahmed’s class on the World of Islam was a very educational and informative experience for me. I have never known much about Islam, as I have primarily lived in a suburban area and I attended a Catholic school until high school. I have never had a close relationship with any Muslim, as there are very few where I live. I decided to take this course so that I have a general background on this religion, which is one of the largest religions in the world. This class left a large impression on me because I learned so much on Islam that I previously had no knowledge of. We, as a class, dived into philosophical ideas such as perceptions of Islamophobia, terrorists’ ways of thinking, and overall perceptions of Islam and what Muslims think of the West. The information I learned in this class was invaluable to me and my perception of Islam has changed as a result of it. This goes to show how education on a topic may be the only way for people to truly understand complex ideas that have been portrayed in this course.
Andrew McAllister
(Nicolas Burch is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Global Governance, Politics, and Security at AU. He is also a teaching assistant for the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at AU’s School of International Service. Rory Hayes is a junior undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor's in Anthropology and Spanish at AU. She currently works as a research assistant for Black Archives, a multimedia platform dedicated to uplifting the Black African experience. Andrew McAllister is a first-year undergraduate student at American University pursuing a Bachelor’s in Finance.)
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