by Mustafa Shareef from Najaf
The Restricted Freedom Project

Mustafa Shareef lives and works in the city of Najaf, where he was born in 1980. He obtained his BA in Civil Engineering from the University of Kofa. He continued to study for another BA degree in English language and literature at the same university. In 2016, he obtained a TESOL certificate and an MA in English language and linguistics from York St John University in UK. Since 2011 to the present, Mustafa has also been writing plays. In 2013, he opened his own language institute in Najaf, where he teaches English.

Mustafa’s project is entitled “The Restricted Freedom”. The play, which Mustafa both wrote and directed, aims to explore the root of conflict. How and why do Iraqi people participate in wars? Do they do it to save their country or their families? What is their motive?

The play, which lasts for approximately fifteen minutes, was performed in Najaf. In it, Mustafa shows how little is achieved or changed through war, despite all the upheaval and death. People vote in corrupt politicians. Later, these same figures exploit their position of power to breed new conflicts and wars. In the play, one of the martyrs appears to his sister in a dream and says, “How many times do you need me to die before you understand that you are all responsible for these wars?”

Mustafa’s objective is ultimately to challenge people’s thinking and bring them to realise that they all bear responsibility for war due to their choices in politicians. He examines the wider problems in society by placing individuals at the centre of the picture and prompting them to revisit their attitudes towards politics and their support for nepotists and corrupt politicians who endanger society through successive wars.

Mustafa’s personal experiences and losses led him to write this play. He chose the title “The Restricted Freedom” to remind audiences of their freedom to vote, a freedom that has resulted in a direct loss of freedom, namely, war. Might it be better to curb this freedom? What if people did not have the right or freedom to vote at all?
 
In this play, Mustafa challenges the Iraqi people’s conventional wisdom. Why do they always blame outside forces for their own mistakes and lack of rational thinking? Why do they blame the Americans and the British for their ordeals while, in reality, it is their own poor thinking and perpetuation of nepotism and corruption that lead to war and destruction?
 
Mustafa believes in the power of theatre to raise awareness in the general public. He acknowledges, however, that theatre is at a low point, in need of revival. One of the reasons for this slump, according to Mustafa, is that people are simply not looking for meaning and quality content anymore. They would rather invest their free time and money in escapism, like comedy. Mustafa believes this is a significant problem; serious theatre must make twice the effort to find an audience, placing undue pressure on playwrights and directors who produce meaningful work and who might not have the same finances as more popular producers. Good lighting, music and equipment are all necessary to put on a good show. And they are all rather expensive. A lack of these reflects in the quality of the show.
 
What Mustafa aims to achieve, in spite of the difficulties, is not necessarily what most people might be looking for; he does not have many funny stories to tell. Instead, he has a message, a hard pill to swallow: we are often complicit in our greatest troubles.