DAR AL ISLAM - EGYPT: MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD PUTTING ON PLAYS & VYING TO REPLACE THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT

Where the Girls Aren't: Egyptian Theater Applies Islamic Rules
By Daniel Williams

May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Egypt's Sanna Sharq theater company draws crowds to its political plays flavored with sharp anti- American rhetoric.

The attention isn't focused so much on the plots or message, though, as on the absence of women characters. The troupe's strait-laced style prohibits faux alcoholic beverages, vulgar language or anything else that goes against Islamic practices.

Sanna Sharq reflects an effort among Muslim activists in the Middle East's biggest country to infuse the arts, fashion, business and even popular culture with Islamic values. At the same time, the government is working hard to keep Islam out of politics. So when the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest opposition group, endorsed Sanna Sharq, the troupe became a source of controversy.

``It probably would not have gotten much notice if it wasn't for the context,'' Rafiq al-Saban, a critic and author of the book ``Islam and Theater,'' said in an interview. ``The Brotherhood is challenging the government's hold on power.''

The 80-year-old Islamic organization has been formally banned from politics since 1954, when it was accused of attempting to kill Prime Minister Gamal Abdel Nasser, who later became president. Nonetheless, the Brotherhood controls a fifth of Egypt's lower house of parliament through deputies listed as independents.

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Pertinent Links:

1) Where the Girls Aren't: Egyptian Theater Applies Islamic Rules