'Abu Bakr Mohammadi, Fatemeh Mohammadi' a Warning

'Abu Bakr Mohammadi, Fatemeh Mohammadi' has two performances at the festival at Sangelaj Theater Complex.

'Abu Bakr Mohammadi, Fatemeh Mohammadi' talks more about his latest piece.

 

Audience's first encounter with your play is its name. You have chosen 'Abu Bakr', one of the most noted Sunni name of men, and Fatemeh, one of the most famous Shia name of women. They have one family name 'Mohammadi'. That means spectators are going to see a piece of two different religious approaches with one root. What is the reason for your naming?

It is not an unusual move to name a play after its characters. I supposed that giving famous Sunni and Shia names to my characters will make it more attractive. Those who are familiar with Islamic sects acknowledged that the title is smart though some people did not get the names. This led us to conclude that some audience are not familiar with cultural issues of Sunni Muslims. Some asked me why I had chosen the name of Abu Bakr, which is a man name among Sunni Muslims. I had perceived that people know Sunni followers of Islam more.

Have these reactions made you to select other names if you had to?

No. On the contrary, it reassured me about the name of the play because what it is trying to convey is that people are not familiar of each other's cultures and this is the root cause of conflict. The reactions towards the name acted like a thermometer. Some experts may say the name does not attract the audience. They may be right. But the spectators who know the name can get its meaning too.

What is the main theme of your play?

Co-existence. I believe there is no way except to get along with each other. If we do not live together peacefully, the society would be threatened. Co-existence is our destiny. The play is trying to set the alarm bell. It is a warning given the current circumstances in the region. We should talk about living together peacefully constantly. It should be said repeatedly in our schoolbooks and media. Our cultural knowledge of Sunni Muslims is poor.