Muslim American Journalists Association

Wajahat Ali found himself in a short story writing class during his senior year at the University of Calif. Berkeley, scrambling to complete units for his English major. He started out writing funny monologues of a female mosquito bemoaning her single status.

But in the aftermath of 9/11 and with the encouragement of his professor, he ended up with a 20-page play – a day in the life of a Pakistani American family – that has been transformed into a stage production and has landed him critical acclaim.

The play, Domestic Crusaders, opens in New York on Sept. 11 and Ali will host a screening tomorrow in Los Angeles at the Levantine Cultural Center.

Ali spoke with MAJA about his play. The 28-year-old attorney-by-day, playwright-by-night from Fremont, Calif. discovered the importance of American Muslim theater to both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences.

MAJA: Tell us a little about the play.
WA: It’s in the vein of traditional American dramas, it’s a kitchen drama. It takes people back to their roots. It takes place in one day. There’s Hakim, a retired Pakistani army general, his immigrant son Salman and wife Khulsoom, and their children. The eldest Sal, middle Fatima, and youngest Ghafur. They convene for the birthday party of Ghafur, who’s turning 21. It’s very old-school and very new school.

MAJA: What do you mean?
WA: From a generational point of view, it’s traditions conflicting with the rise of modernity - how we choose to identify ourselves. [The themes] are very universal.
  Stylistically how the play is written is very old school. Many of the themes -  family, marriage, generational conflict -  it’s a very old school, kitchen drama. It takes place in a confined space.
  The way it’s presented is very new school. The language is spoken not cleanly. You see “Urdish” - Urdu mixed in with Arabic, mixed in with slang, business language, mixed in with butchered Urdu. It’s language that makes certain people very uncomfortable.

Al-Jazeera English has launched a new web campaign to broaden their reach in the North American market. The web site I Want Al Jazeera English (www.iwantaje.com) tells users how to gain access to the English-language 24-hour global news network or encourages them to demand the station from their cable or satellite networks.

 

During their worldwide launch in November 2006, AJE reached between 30 and 40 million households, but the North American audience was largely left out. No major cable or direct broadcast satellite carriers had signed agreements with Al-Jazeera English. More than two years later, the station is only available through special satellite packages and a few scattered local cable stations.