Interfaith relations: Shakespeare in the service of Islam?

Islamophobes doth protest too much

If all the Muslim urban legends were compiled into a book (and a very big book that would be), the heart of it would be the claim that Shakespeare was a “secret Muslim”, whose real name is something like “Shaykh Zubair” or “Shaykh Al-Sapir” or a variation thereof. But regardless of Shakespeare’s biographical data, he and his works are being used to bridge the gaps between faiths in Britain, as part of Britain’s “Islamic Awareness Week” (Really, who isn’t aware of Islam these days?) with the theme of “Your Muslim Neighbour“. “Shakespeare is part of our heritage,” said Shafiq Sadiq, national coordinator of Islamic Awareness Week. “His plays remind us of the global communities that we live in and the need for respect and goodwill.” The event, produced in conjunction with the Globe Theatre (the epicenter of all things Shakespeare), features exhibitions of traditional Islamic art, an Arabic souq, performances by the Khayaal Theatre Company, and more than 20 lectures at the Globe on subjects such as Islamic gardens, interfaith understanding, and a talk by Dr. Martin Lings that argues that the guiding principles of Sufi thought are evident in Shakespeare’s writing. There will also be a reading of a rare version of Othello, Shakespeare’s tragedy about a Moorish nobleman who fights for Christian Venice, and which reflects the combined fear and fascination that the West had of the Muslim world at the time. “Shakespeare’s plays are not about good versus evil,” explained Shaikh Hamza Yusuf from the Zaytuna Institute, who will be analyzing Shakepearean sonnets from a Sufi perspective, “not about a world in which you are either ‘with us or against us’.”

Shahed Amanullah is editor-in-chief of altmuslim.com.