What does it mean to be Muslim? Or what does it mean to be White? How do we view ourselves versus how others see us? One way to find out is to ask. At a time when it’s easier to gloss over differences and avoid depth, perhaps that’s exactly the time to dig deeper.
Intercultural Spark explored these themes with Jamil Khoury, co-Executive Director of Silk Road Rising and world-renowned award winning playwright, theatre producer, essayist and filmmaker. Promoting playwrights of Silk Road backgrounds (Asian and Middle Eastern) is a passion that dovetails well with Khoury’s experiences living in the Middle East and his eleven years as a cross-cultural trainer and international relocations consultant.
What Jamil demonstrates is that connectivity and thinking expansively, adding layers of depth and meaning, is the road to meaningful outcomes and relationships along the way.
Key Takeaways
- Go deep. Our messaging gets shorter and shorter. Attention spans are fleeting. But deep is where life change happens. The creation of Mosque Alert was a five year + process to create the amazing work of theater. It started with dozens of funders and a community-based approach to writing the play and sending it across the country after its debut. Black Teen Lives Matter, an upcoming video release, started three years ago with EPIC (Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course) in with Chicago area students. Learn more about everything Silk Road Rising is doing.
- Culture and identity are fluid. How you see yourself changes when you are immersed in another culture. Having parents of different backgrounds, you yourself may see yourself differently in relation to others. This is a beautiful thing, driving connectivity between people and fueling community partnerships to engage first-person voices to understand “the other”
- Jamil’s Spark: There are a few sparks, but I’m going to say “healing”. How do we build trust, understanding and empathy? It happens through stories and it happens through art. Certainly it happens when we see ourselves in someone else’s story. And that begins healing.
About Jamil Khoury
Jamil Khoury is the Co-Executive Artistic Director of Silk Road Rising. Promoting playwrights of Silk Road backgrounds (Asian and Middle Eastern) is a passion that dovetails well with Khoury’s experiences living in the Middle East and his eleven years as a cross-cultural trainer and international relocations consultant. A theatre producer, playwright, essayist, and filmmaker, Khoury’s work focuses on Middle Eastern themes and questions of Diaspora. He is particularly interested in the intersections of culture, national identity, religion, and belonging.
