Bridging the Gap Between Theatre Practice and Islamic Studies: An Interdisciplinary Engagement

Abstract

Theatre is seen as all-encompassing because it delves into every aspect of life as the case may be. On the other hand, Islamic studies deals also, with every aspect of life because it is religious based. To an extent, most Islamic scholars agreed that it a total way of life. But as agreeing as it seems with both disciplines, there exist disparities and misconceptions about theatre and drama by those with religious bigotry. They have misconstrued the discipline of theatre as misleading and misguiding. There is no denying the fact that some persons in any area of study may try to misbehave sometimes, but that may not be concluded as everybody in the particular field of study is wayward. This menace has contributed in painting the theatre discipline black, thus affecting the practice. It is against this backdrop that the study aims at constructing the bridge of understanding between both disciplines, engaging interdisciplinary paradigm. Hence, in order to achieve this, the study adopts the survey approach of quantitative research methodology to investigate how some Muslims have misconstrued theatre and the possible mediation into the challenge. The findings of the study reveal that people, especially Muslims misunderstood theatre because the character and behaviour most people in the discipline portray. The paper thus, concludes that there is need for theatre artists to re-mould the mode of dressing and general behaviour for societal acceptance. Hence, the study recommends that, Islam and Muslims have a very important role in this reconstruction bid between theatre and Islamic studies.