Written by Wajahat Ali
The Domestic Crusaders focuses on a day in the life of a modern Muslim Pakistani-American family of six eclectic, unique members, who convene at the family house to celebrate the twenty-first birthday of the youngest child.
With a background of 9-11 and the scapegoating of Muslim Americans, the tensions and sparks fly among the three generations, culminating in an intense family battle as each "crusader" struggles to assert and impose their respective voices and opinions, while still attempting to maintain and understand that unifying thread that makes them part of the same family.
The three generations of the family include:
Hakim (Grandfather) - a retired, Pakistani army official who harbors a terrible secret;
Salman (Son) - a middle-aged corporate engineer trying to maintain his pride and self-respect;
Khulsoom (Salman's wife) - longing for her homeland and wishing to impart her traditions, values, and morals to her American-born children;
Salahuddin (Eldest child) - stubbornly clinging to his ideals of success, as well as his anger and resentment towards his father;
Fatima (Middle child) - passionately advocating her Islamic identity, while rejecting the traditional stereotypes and biases of her mother;
Ghafur (Youngest child) - the golden child abandoning his family's expectations in order to discover his own path.
Ali N Khan
| GS class of 2011
Ali N Khan is currently studying Film/Theatre at Columbia University. Ali has also studied under Samrat Chakrabarti from the A.R.T Institute at Harvard and Jeanne Kaplan at HB Studios as his acting coaches. His Theatre credits include Leaves of Grass at The Cell Theatre, and film credits include Indebted, An Affair with New York, The Last Airbender. Ali started his career as a documentary filmmaker with his debut of 7.6 at the SAIFF in New York. Ali is honored to be part of this revolutionary play at this time period in America.