Jihad van liefde
Jihad van Liefde is a musical story based on the book of the same name. In it, David Van Reybrouck chronicled the moving story of Mohamed El Bachiri. This metro driver from Molenbeek, Belgium, lost his great love and mother of his three children in the terror attack in the Brussels metro on 22 March 2016.
Festival Nederlands Theater Festival
Run time 90 minutes
Genre Theatre
Jihad van Liefde
As a Moroccan and Muslim, Mohamed El Bachiri was a potential perpetrator in the eyes of some, but he did not get carried away by the hurricane of opinions and media violence that followed immediately after the tragedy. The impressive book and his inspiring and hopeful call for compassion on television expressed his love, grief and resilience.
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Played by actor Mohammed Azaay, Jihad van Liefde is a raw, musical and inspiring performance about an ordinary man who - struck by fate - forces himself into an almost superhuman thought. A man who fights hate with love and remains human even though something inhuman has been done to him. An extraordinary story about love, pain and reconciliation.
The jury report
'In Jihad van Liefde, Sarah Ringoet's crisp adaptation of Mohamed El Bachiri's autobiographical book, Mohammed Azaay plays a father of three who lost his great love in the 2016 Brussels metro attack. Azaay plays warm-blooded and meticulously conveys the forces at work on this man.'
In the press
Trouw
'In Sarah Ringoet's adaptation and Eran Ben-Michael's direction, it has become a theatrical document that hits you straight in the heart.'
de Volkskrant
'Jihad van Liefde is a brilliant blend of grief, anger and purification.'
NRC
'Hatred and sorrow turned into a story of love... that story is great'
Credits
text and adaptation Sarah Ringoet, based on the book 'A Jihad of Love' by Mohamed El Bachiri, written by David Van Reybrouck published by De Bezige Bij
music Amsterdams Andalusisch Orkest
directed by Eran Ben Michaël (George & Eran Producties)
set and lighting design Kouwenhoven&Kranendonk
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with Mohammed Azaay
producer Meervaart in cooperation with Amsterdams Andalusisch Orkest and George & Eran Producties
Nederlands Theater Festival
For 11 days - from 7 to 17 September 2023 - the Nederlands Theater Festival will present this season's finest performances. The festival also showcases successful new developments in theatre, is at the forefront of the conversation about the role of theatre in society and blurs boundaries between different art disciplines. Traditionally, the festival opens with the Staat van het Theater and closes with the Gala van het Nederlands Theater, where the most important theatre awards are presented.
The Nederlands Theater Festival is there to celebrate theatre and audiences.