An Exclusive Interview with David Baddiel

David Baddiel discusses his latest entertaining and innovative work, THE INFIDEL, a comedy that explores the interactions of faith and culture in Britain.

David Baddiel is a comedian, novelist, columnist and screenwriter. He first found fame in the UK in the early 90s, for the BBC radio and TV series, THE MARY WHITEHOUSE EXPERIENCE.  Most recently, he created and hosted a Radio 4 comedy discussion programme, HERESY, and in November 2007, BBC1 screened his documentary, BADDIEL AND THE MISSING NAZI BILLIONS.

Why Theatre Still Matters

Luqman Ali explores the richness and relevance of theatre in Britain today and its resonances in the British Muslim community.

Luqman Ali is the Artistic Director and CEO of Khayaal Theatre Company, an award-winning theatre company which explores Muslim world culture through contemporary art forms. Luqman has a background in the Islamic sciences and the languages (Arabic, Persian and Urdu) of the Muslim world. He is African American of Fulani heritage, but has spent most of his life in the UK.

By Uzma Hasan

My biggest fear growing up was assimilation. I was desperate not to assimilate, to be different, to stand out from the crowd; as a teen my hair was the shortest in the class, I’d be listening to Prince when everyone else was into Nirvana, and later on in life I prided myself in making sure every major life changing decision was predicated on following the road less travelled. So it didn’t come as much of a surprise to my parents – both doctors – when I told them I was going to make movies for a living!

I’ve just produced my first feature film, THE INFIDEL which is a culture clash comedy written by David Baddiel and starring Omid Djalili about a Muslim man who finds out that he was adopted and born Jewish!

By Milad Ahmed

In the future, what would I want? A world without the need for telephone helplines services providing listening ears and safe spaces for many members of our societies with no place/s to turn. As Head of Support Services of the Muslim Youth Helpline (MYH), Britain’s first and only telephone helpline service dedicated to Muslims, which may sound like a very peculiar wish, not to mention a “resignation letter”, for myself. So why make such a statement?

By Tamanna Rahman

I often hear the complaint, with some justification, from many friends that Muslims are almost always portrayed negatively in the media; as wildly exaggerated caricatures of stereotypical backward types, or as the vanguard of the new feminist movement who are using driving lessons to kick start the revolution.

For some reason, they say, of all the immigrant religious communities that live in Britain, Sikhs and Hindus are seen as being more integrated and seem to get a better press. How do they manage it without trying, they wonder? It’s not like Muslims are so very different.

By Suleman Khan

Afloat

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The sight of different cultures and religions coexisting is an inspirational one and worthy of preserving and sharing. I enjoy capturing the vibrant images of people and landscape

By Sadia Kidwai

A few weeks ago, I found myself wandering through the Omar Khayyam exhibition at the British Library. The exhibition celebrated the 150^th anniversary of Edward Fitzgerald’s publication of ‘The Ruibaiyat of Omar Khayyam’ – it was a translation that would spark a cultural phenomenon, gaining popularity in the fashionable ranks of the British elite. These verses, written by a Persian polymath in the 12^th century, became a poetic sensation in the Victorian arts scene. Admirers in both British and American intellectual circles established clubs and societies in Khayyam’s honour, and even today the ‘Rubaiyat’ has barely been out of print.

By Saffi Ullah Ahmad

Something struck me the other day whilst flicking through Facebook. I don’t have many white friends. Hell, I have around 20, from a list of 450. Damn. There’s a common conception I feel amongst many English people and non-Muslims in general – that Muslims “don’t mix”. Are we really that bad?

I think it’s important for Muslims to make that extra effort to integrate, but recognise it can be difficult at times. Like on my Law course for example. For a while I had a problem; every time I’d be invited out by my largely-white tutorial group, it would either be to a pub or a rave.

By Tamsin Silvey

Art, culture and the exhibition

Salt Water Tears: Lives Left Behind in Satkhira, Bangladesh. Munem Wasif©Prix Pictet Ltd

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By Munem Wasif A father, son and uncle cast their net to catch fish at dawn. One of the fishermen fell prey to a Royal Bengal Tiger five days after this picture was taken. Sunderban, Sathkhira. 2008

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Over the last ten years, art has increasingly become a forum for cultural exchange and expression.  This is particularly evident in London, where we are lucky enough to have world-class art on our doorstep from all over the globe.  Working for a cultural consultancy, I see on a daily basis the rich dialogue that exists between art and culture, and the contribution this makes to an integrated society.

Art has been a vehicle for communication ever since the first cave paintings and continues to have a contemporary resonance within the diverse society that makes up the United Kingdom today.  Art can bridge the barriers of language and nationality and

By Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

It is without doubt that Islamic ideology was pioneering in its re-assessment of women’s role and status in society and in its restructuring of social relations between men and women.

It broke away from two distinct heritages which immediately surrounded it. The first was Arabian pagan culture where women were considered chattel. They were items of property that belonged to their fathers and then their husbands, reminiscent of Europe till the 19^th and even 20^th centuries where women had no right to vote, nor to own property in their own name. In Arabia, in the 7^th century, it was worse still.