Omid Djalili and interfaith - inter-religious humour

I came across this article by 'Delaine' – to read the article go HERE

They say laughter is the best medicine. But can it help fight religious prejudice and heal intercultural wounds? It’s true; comedy and religion rarely mix well together. However, there’s one film up for the challenge, and much to my surprise, I must admit, it looks very promising.

The Infidel tells the story of Mahmud Nasir, played by Omid Djalili. Mahmud is a loving husband and father, and somewhat of a “relaxed” Muslim living in the United Kingdom. Although Mahmud isn’t the most observant Muslim, deep down, he is as Muslim as it gets. However, Mahmud’s life is turned upside-down upon learning after his mother’s passing that not only was he adopted, he isn’t even Muslim. His real name is Solly Shimshillewitz. That’s right, Mahmud is a Jew. The discovery leads to a full scale identity crisis and the only person he can turn to is his friend Lenny, a drunken Jewish taxi driver. Lenny agrees to give him lessons in “Jewishness”, from dancing, to dressing, to everything else in between.

This body-swap movie has everything you would expect in a Muslim-Jewish comedy………………………………………

The article raises some interesting questions about inter-religious comedy – not the least because the star playing a Moslem who finds out he is a Jew is actually a Baha'i!

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TAGS: Omid Djalili, The Infidel, spirituality, religion, interfaith, interspirituality, peace, peace-building, Baha'i,