\u201cI\u2019m Nur. I\u2019m 19. I\u2019m an Arab, I\u2019m a Muslim,\u201d\u009d says a young man in a hoodie and grey sweats. \u201cI\u2019m a good person living in a bad area,\u201d\u009d he pauses and looks up from his script. \u201cCan someone listen while I speak?\u201d\u009d Nur asks.<\/p>\n
This is a rehearsal for Conflict of Silence, a radio play to be performed \u201d\u201d and recorded \u201d\u201d in Birmingham on November 17. The three stars, all unemployed, are different ages and of different ethnic backgrounds. What they share is religious faith: Derek, who reads his script straight, then in West Indian patois, is Christian. Nur and Hanna, a tall, leggy girl in a magenta hijab, are Muslim. And they could not be more different. \u201cWhat I\u2019ve learnt is the strong effect that different cultures have on Islam,\u201d\u009d says Derek. Hanna is of Somali origin, Nur\u2019s family are from Yemen. \u201cWe had a bit of a disagreement about women staying at home,\u201d\u009d says Hanna lightly.<\/p>\n
And that is the point. This is a project for InterFaith Week (which runs from tomorrow until next Satuday), and the aim is to air differences and have open debate. The audience will be invited to respond afterwards, ask questions, share thoughts. \u201cThe play is a question mark rather than a full stop,\u201d\u009d says Steve, the Christian co-ordinating the play for Soul City Arts. The hope is to spark dialogue between polarised faith communities. He explains: \u201cOur [faith] communities aren\u2019t talking because we are afraid to challenge each other.\u201d\u009d People remain polite, he adds, but, often in Muslim majority areas, community relations are perceived \u201cas a question of them and us\u201d\u009d.<\/p>\n