Beyond a Fear of Faith: Improving the Representation and Inclusion of Muslims within and through the Arts Sector
The Researchers
Dr. James HodkinsonLink opens in a new window is Reader in German in Warwick’s SMLC and specialises in Islam in German culture. He has worked collaboratively for a decade now with Mohammed Ali MBELink opens in a new window, Artistic Director of Birmingham based arts collective Soul City ArtsLink opens in a new window. In this latest project they continue to blend academic research and artistic interventions which both highlight the limits of Muslim and Islamic representation and inclusion in the UK arts sector and explore ways of rectifying these problems, both at home and internationally.
The Challenge
Whilst the wider fight against cruder, populist Islamophobia continues, this project. Across much of mainstream UK society, in education, industry, sport, government and the arts, we see an increased visibility and inclusion of Muslims. Yet which Muslims are included, how free are they to express their faith, or speak out in issues in a way that aligns with their own values though which may dissonate with mainstream opinions? Is it the case that modern diversity and inclusivity agendas favour ‘palatable’ forms of Islam and ‘acceptable Muslims’, and if so, why is this the case and who defines that acceptability? Since 2022, the ‘Beyond a Fear of Faith’ has sought to expose and expand the boundaries of narrower forms of inclusivity.
Our Approach
We engage both Muslim artists and non-artist members of the Muslim community, entrepreneurs, and local government. Our events range from multi-media shows in galleries and theatres, to art ‘hijacks’ of outdoor urban space, such as through live projections on buildings, and Ramadan street-markets and schools outreach programmes. Whether staging a Muslim-centred installation and performance in a secular theatre, bringing community art into mainstream galleries, curating a Ramadan street marketLink opens in a new window, or delivering Islamically inspired arts programmes to enrich school teaching, our programmes simultaneously explore themes arising from faith, explore wider society’s reticence to include and engage with faith, and model change by platforming Muslim practitioners as agents of change. In this way we seek to benchmark and in time impact public opinion, feeling, custom, and drive change in local policy and curriculum, and most especially impact cultures of programming and inclusivity in the arts sector itself.
Our Impact
Our Waswasa theatre show and installation, a six-figure commission for the Birmingham 2022 Festival of the Commonwealth GamesLink opens in a new window, drove the diversity of the audience engaging with the festival and the Games generally: the festival’s independent evaluation report stated that 58% of audiences identified their ethnicity as Asian or Asian British and were ‘significantly more likely’ to be Muslim than those attending other events. Qualitative testimonies reflected this shift and stated, too, that the Muslim audience itself was internally diverse and that the show had pushed boundaries in terms of theatre programming: “In reality, Muslims come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and colours and levels of practice and spirituality, and this event was brave enough to diverge from that one stereotypical view and present this in a really interesting way. Bravo! More of this please … it’s good for everyone to see and understand that everyone experiences struggles, it is a universal experience” (Festival Evaluation, Impact Report, p.30). Building on a public event at the 2023 Hay Literary FestivalLink opens in a new window exploring why, the arts see faith as divisive, our recent activity has seen us undertake a Warwick funded ‘Fear of Faith’ tour, combining film, spoken word performance and physical theatre, including theatres and schools in Melbourne and Sydney, AustraliaLink opens in a new window. There, against the backdrop of the cancellation of Muslim artists accused of Antisemitism in the midst of the Gaza debate, we surveyed audience reactions to our show. Diversity champion and consultant Tasneem Chopra: "You’ve put your finger on something here – namely that we are in danger of moving backwards on Muslim representation and inclusion in the arts because of a fear of division and conflict. This work shines a light on that topic and also embodies the change it seeks by bringing Muslim artists and Muslim-led organisations back into the mainstream. We need more of this in Australia." In this vein, the work continues to reimagine the project for different regional and national contexts and gauge its impact over time.
