a presentation a bout drama and history, and How to deal with history to and in making DRAMA

1. 1
How to Deal With History in Making Television Drama?
This lecture deals basically with the historical drama which is shown on
Television. It exposes the reasons behind the writers' interest in it, the
presumed value of history in dramatic works, the mistakes that are
criticized in such works, in addition to the perplexing problems that face
the writer who is entangled between understanding history, and working
in drama industry in a restraining reality. It concludes by discussing the
issues that maintain the success of the historical drama both
scientifically and artistically.
The pivotal Parts of the Lecture:
Why history, not the present?
What could the historical drama present to its viewers?
The mistakes that the historical drama falls in?
The Writer's dilemma; a bewildering situation between knowledge of
history, working in drama, and the working reality itself.
*****

2. 2
Curriculum Vitae
Mohammad Ali Bahri
- Lecturer at Damascus University, Faculty of Education.
- Ph.D.-Candidate at Damascus University, Arabic
Department.
- Teacher of Arabic language at the Netherlands Institute of Academic
Studies in Damascus.
- He supervised several educational and linguistic projects for children
at Al-Najm Company for Artistic Works.
He proofread and edited several books, including (The Visual
Construing of Al-Qur'an, 6 parts), and The Dictionary of Visual
Conjugation of the Arabic Verb).
*****

3. 3
How to Deal with History in Making Television Drama?
Introduction: the past two decades witnessed an increase in the
number of the historical dramas; i.e., the drama which relies on history
in its main plot, whether acted on stage of, or presented as a regular
T.V. show.
In our current discussion, we exclude the theatrical drama, because it
is symbolic in most cases. It involves a lot of twiddling and changing in
the historical story and it may have nothing to do with history, except
for the names of the characters. In addition to that, it is worth
mentioning that both the theatre and its audience are totally different
from the Television drama and its viewers, even when they have things
in common.

4. 4
I- Why History, not the Present?
There are several reasons that make us resort to history.
The reasons are as follows:
1- It is well-known that the intellectual, whether a writer, a
producer, a director or an artist/performer, tends to evade
the authority of the domineering and the bombastic
censorship, that tries to find any fragile excuse to impose
its spider-like web on the work, by searching for a work that
can't be censored by any means, neither in production, nor
in TV shows. Thus, writers resort to historical stories as a
means of avoiding censorship.

5. 5
2- One looks at the present reality and finds it ugly, so he/she finds in
history some interesting stories and situations that could be illuminated,
other than the current topics of modern TV dramas which revolve
around corruption, theft, misappropriation, and the trade in cement and
rotten meat, and so on and so forth of similar topics that became
tedious to viewers. Besides, each one of us believes that history
contains lots and lots of what could be beneficial. Numerous problems
and catastrophes struck those who preceded us, but they were
eventually overcome by sincere efforts, by a just social system, or by
men who belongs to nations that had the power to remove people's
oppression, ignorance and injustice. By exposing such efforts, systems
and men, the charmer (artist) thinks that he/she can open a closed
door for the efficient energies in society – a door through which people
can look into history to find solutions for the problems of their present-
day reality.

6. 6
3- The conviction of many that history, even when it does not repeat
itself, has similar rules and timeless laws, regardless of the difference
in time and place. Hence, one learns from history that injustice leads to
collapse no matter how long it lasts; poverty is akin to ignorance;
affluence is one the reasons behind hegemony; and tyranny is the
fastest path to perish. Furthermore, there are other universal laws that
cannot be changed or diverted, because their causes are immortal and
timeless. Such issues can be dealt with anywhere in our Arab world,
because spectators can spontaneously project what they see on the
screen to their present-day reality.

7. 7
4- The feeling of Arab intellectuals that there are many crucial problems
which cannot be solved at present, unless they are historically solved
by shedding light on them, and by scrutinizing them. The most
important of these issues revolve around matters of governorship, such
as leading and steering, despotizing and consulting, striving for ranks
on the part of the nation's leaderships, and their oscillation between
confrontation, hypocrisy and truthfulness, and between the private
interest and the public one, or between their concern for the
Throne/Chair and that for the nation.

8. 8
5- Some of these reasons are purely psychological. They reflect the
passion of those who live in a weak and divided reality to recall their
history which they regard it to have been strong and united. They seem
to be telling the others: "Don't become so arrogant for what you have
achieved so far, as I myself was so and so…"
In addition to that, there are many other reasons that make the return
to history an existing and adorable experience. I do not adapt an
opinion in that regard, but it is a mere description of what I think to be
the main reason behind our return to history. Maybe, escaping to
history is not an ideal artistic method, but this is what is going on quite
a lot anyhow.

9. 9
II. What Could Historical Drama Present?
Some might think that the historical drama has consumed its themes,
due to the large number of the historical works that appear each year.
What contributes to that outlook is that the topics which are presented
are either similar or even identical, for they tend to revolve around
certain themes, such as conquests and resistance of the invasions of
Mongols, Tatars, and Crusaders in the Moslem world, or the struggle
over the throne. However, a discerning look at history books shows the
legacy that the earlier generation left to the later one and the large
number of our history pages that have not been illuminated yet.

10. 10
Probably, it is our aloofness from history in general and the cultural
history in particular which tends to suggest that the stories of history
have been consumed and exhausted, since most of our knowledge of
history is merely bits and pieces, or even bubbles. We hardly cease at
the social and cultural history which is actually the real rich history, for
what can be discerned from that kind of history is more plentiful than
what can be taken from the political history. Nevertheless, political
history appears to be more glittering, due to the dominance of politics
over everything in our lives nowadays. For that reason, political
subjects tend to be more engaging and attractive to us, especially if
they are transmitted in an artistic dramatic mold.

11. 11
Moreover, history provides writers with resourceful materials and
enriching references for any story, in case writers wanted to take into
consideration all aspects of life, Had writers appreciated history by
giving it its due worth in portraying it, they could have enriched the lives
of Arab viewers by a vast scope of knowledge on sociology, history,
education, language, literature, economy, etc. It is notable that writers
do not give these issues their due respect whatsoever, for several
possible accounts which we will come to mention later on.

12. 12
The following points refer to some examples on these respects
which we underestimate in historical works:
One of the social issues that must be illuminated is the cause of the
woman, because the woman is an integral element in any dramatic
work. Some important issues about the life of the woman in pre-Islamic
ages (ages of pre-enlightenment), and after Islam have rarely been
dealt with in dramatic works, such as engagement, marriage, divorce,
lineage, and the protection of woman in an intensely possessive way
that is greater than one's zeal and passion for one's precious soul.
Hence, the consent of the honorable woman to her marriage was an
essential pre-condition to complete the marriage; it was as important as
the approval of her parent/close relative. For instance, books of
literature report how the poetess Al-Khansa'a refused to marry the poet
Duriad Ibn Al-Summa (1)
.
(1) Al-Kasimi, Zafer, Social Life among Arabs, Page12, Dar Al Nafaes, Beirut, 1981.

13. 13
Literary books also narrate how people refused to approve the
marriage of the young man without the consent and the request of his
own father, lest his marriage should become a stigma and a source of
dishonor for the family. As in the story of Kais Ben Zuraih, the father
refused to go with his son to betroth Lubna, so the son resorted to Al-
Husain (May the blessing of Allah be upon him), who in his turn came
to Zuraih's father and took an oath from him to betroth Lubna to his
son (2)
.
(2) Al-Kasimi, Zafer, Social Life among Arabs, Page 21, Dar Al Nafaes, Beirut, 1981.

14. 14
The zealous Pan-Arabic bigotry of the bride's kinsfolk made them
disapprove to marry their daughter to anyone, except to the one who
has a pure-blooded lineage. Hence, the poet Ibn Mayada was rejected,
because his mother was a Non-Arab, so he was ascribed to his
mother's name (3)
. It was well-known for the Arabs that the
qualifications that would entitle the woman to marriage were: affluence,
high esteem, beauty and faith. They used to protect the woman by their
souls and they dreaded to praise her in their poetry. They also
abhorred divorce, and rarely would a woman remain without a husband
among them. Arabs cited a lot of news/reports about women, their
stories, their tidbits of gossip; they even wrote books in that regard (4)
.
(3) Al-Kasimi, Zafer, Social Life among Arabs, Page 21, Dar Al Nafaes, Beirut, 1981.
(4) Al-Jawzia Ibn Al-Qayyem, Women's Reports, Dar Al Mada, Damascus, 2001.

15. 15
The woman was not merely a princess, a servant or a slave, as we
usually see her in most dramatic works. She was also a scientist, a
storyteller, a poetess and an educator, and she had her social and
cultural life which is divergent from the life of jealousy, envy, intrigue,
and lavishness that is typically associated with the woman.

16. 16
The social lives of the Arabs contained many types of banquets for
their celebrations and meetings. Therefore, there is a multiplicity of
names for the food which is used in their forgathering. In his book
Jurisprudence of Language, Al Tha'alibi lists the names of these types
of food, in accordance with their social occasion. Hence, he mentions
that Arabs used to call the food which is normally offered to the guest
"Al-Kira", whereas the food which is specially prepared for invitations is
called "Al Ma'aduba". In weddings, food is called "Al Waleema". On the
occasion of childbirth, food is called "Al Khurs", and on the occasion of
shaving the hair of the newly born baby, food is called "Al-Akika". In
circumcision, food is named "Al-Azira". In funerals, food is called "Al
Wadima. As for the occasion of building a house, food is called "Al
Wakeera“ (5)
. This is only part of the occasions that Arabs used to
celebrate and gather for.
(5) Al-Thaalbi Abou Mansour, Jurisprudence of Language, "In Food and Drinks and
What comes with them".

17. 17
Arabs had colored their lives with different types of games and ways of
having fun, such as beating tambourines, playing with harpoons,
herding and singing for animals during their travels, singing during their
night gatherings. Some singers used to search for the best poetry to
sing, in order to get a generous reward from princes. Arabs were also
tasteful of music, and their creative musicians became famous, such as
Ibn Suraij who invented the lute instrument, which came to be called
(Ibn Suraij's lute). They were acquainted with other musical
instruments, such as tambourine, drum, Al Kuba/Derbakka, Al Sannaj,
and Al yaraa'.
Never would a convoy travel without a singer for easing animals, a
singer, a poet, a writer and a sponger; and never was their society
without humorous characters, such as the clever, the sponger, the
stingy, the smart, and the fool. Books of literature are full of their humor,
let alone the humor of the jurists, judges, grammarians, linguists, lewd
people and drunkards (6)
.
(6) Zalzala Mohammad Sadek, Titbits and Funny Stories from Arabic Literature.
Dar Hilal, Beirut, 2001.

18. 18
Arabs also practiced several types of games and sports, such as
horse-riding, duels, races, the ball and the mace, in addition to the dice
and the chess.
Moreover, they knew several colors of adornment for men and women:
gold, silver, silk, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, eyeliner, and they were
accustomed to curling, straightening, and greasing the hair, and even
to lubricating the whole body. They did not only ornament themselves,
but they also embellished their horses and their animals as well. They
also decorated their houses and their meeting places with colorful
types of flowers, basils, lotus, Jasmine, Zuraib, lily, tulips, carnations,
and others.
Also, they had receptions at literary salons since the first century after
'Hijra' (i.e., after the immigration of the prophet), as the renowned
female author and critic in the East, Sukaina bint Al Husain (blessings
of Allah be upon her), and Al Wallada bint Al Mustakfi in Andalusia both
narrate.

19. 19
Concerning culture and education, the mosques were almost like
universities in which all kinds of sciences (7)
were taught. Libraries
spread all over the region to serve students and learners seeking
knowledge, and so did schools and reading corners. Among the
craftspeople were writes, paper makers, copy writers, and all of these
issues could be highlighted to demonstrate the extent which people
reached in approaching sciences.
Hospitals provided medical, scientific, and free services; and the
coming of the prestigious foreign patients to the Arab physicians, or
their invitation to examine their patients abroad, asserted their
prominence. In this regard, the hospital shines as a medical institution
and an educational one.
(7) Al Naeimi, Abdul Kader Al Dimashqi, The Scholar in the History of Schools,
Dar Al Kutub Al Ilmiah, Beirut, 1990.

20. 20
Furthermore, Arabs agreed upon the qualifications of leadership:
generosity, honor, dignity, courage, wisdom, cleverness, benignity, and
patience (8)
.
The judge used to have one's special solemn rank and magisterial
position, because the justice system was unattached to politics. History
narrates stances in which the prince or even the Khalif used to stand in
front of the judge in a defensive position, in order to be sued by an
opponent prosecutor
(8) Al-Khateeb, Waddah, Among the Stories of Arabs, chapter: Stories about the smart
ones. Al Hekma House, Damascus.

21. 21
In history, we find some aspects of the political life, such as the
struggle over power or the throne, and the tendency to win the
complacency of the Khalif or the leaders of society who are mainly
scientists, poets and others. One of these aspects of the struggle is the
situation in which the Khalif is controlled by soldiers, especially if he is
young and immature.
In addition to that, books and reports tell us a lot of information about
the strong attachment of the Arabs to nature; its trees, plants and
animals, to the extent that many of the names of Arab male children
were very often names of animals, or derived from animal titles or
cognomens, due to their virile attributes that can cause a shriek of
terror to their enemies (9)
.
(9) Abdul Hakeem Shawki, Popular Tales and Epics, Al-Hadatha Dar, Beirut 1984.

22. 22
The above-mentioned introduction is meant to say that history has
a prolific world or even worlds that are very rich and fertile. The
excavator in history can dig into the past, in order to derive what
he/she needs for the drama, taking into consideration that the
storyteller/narrator is not a historian, and that the story can do
without many of the aforementioned materials. Before delving into
this, we will stop at the mistakes in which the historical T.V. drama falls,
and then we will move to elaborating the writers' dilemma between
history and drama.

23. 23
III. The Mistakes in Historical Drama:
There is no doubt that each work is subject to trips and faults and that
is part of human nature. But, it is the duty of the scholar to refer to
them, because some errors can be avoided. Many a time would
specialists, historians, critics, artists and linguists, each according to
one's domain and specialization, come to cease upon something in the
work which they regard as defective, though they themselves are
subject to errors in what they conceive, but the accumulation of all
efforts would definitely lead to a clearer vision that would eventually
enable everybody to come closer to correctness, and fairness.

24. 24
These are the levels on which mistakes occur:
1- On the level of events:
Despite the fact that the historical drama relies basically on history as
it appears from its name, it is obvious that some of these works are not
examined by history specialists. In other words, historical works don't
receive a proper historical scrutiny. It is well-known for historians that
not everything in history must be taken for granted as being correct and
acceptable. Since each science has its own methodology, Moslems,
unlike the rest of the nations, had a very distinguished method of
approaching history; a method which entails tracking both the historical
item, and its narrators. In addition to their unique method of scrutinizing
tales, they had other skills which are related to collecting news and
intersecting them, in a manner that enables the researcher to reach an
image that is as close to the truth as possible.

25. 25
An example of such mistakes is the soap opera "Khaled Ibn Al-Waleed"
which raised several debates and critiques. One of the mistakes made
in that drama was its portrayal of Khaled Ibn Al-Waleed in the battle of
Mo'tah as a man seeking power and investing any chance to be a
leader, though books narrate in their depiction of that battle that after
the fall of the third flag-captain Abdullah ben Rawaha, the flag was
taken by Thabet Ben Akram who in his turn gave it to Khaled,
addressing him: "Take the flag, ye, father of Sulaiman!".
Khaled said: "No, no, I will not take the flag; you deserve it more than
me. You lost a tooth in the battle of Badr".
Thabet said: "Take it! You are a better fighter than me, and I swear by
Allah that I only took this flag to give it to you".
Then, he called upon the army: "Do you accept the commandment of
Khaled? They said: Yes! So, he took the flag and led the battle" (10)
.
(10) Ibn Al-Atheer ( Alkamil fi Altarikh) 1/114, Dar Al kitab Al Arabi, Beirut.

26. 26
One of the most problematic matters in that regard is that the writer
might ignore some very significant issues. For example, in the soap
opera "The Kings of The Cults", there was an important event that
should have been illustrated to project the present reality—which is one
of the most important tasks behind the return to history. It was the
event in which the Yousef ben Tashfeen's cousin abandons chieftaincy
in a very clear and pure atmosphere for the sake of maintaining the
public interest of the nation. This instance would make it clear to the
viewer that these are the spirits that are entitled to achieve victory (11)
.
(11) http://islameiat.com. "Historical Drama", Al Sheikh Abdul hameed al Kabti, 4 June,
2006.

27. 27
What could be annexed to that level is exaggeration in reflecting one
side of the story rather than the other, or at the expense of the other.
An example on that is the tendency to over-expose obscenities in "The
Kings of The Cults", and I understand the need for that. But, why
should I neglect the other side which is very significant, especially
when our purpose is to re-connect with history to benefit from it? The
part which was totally ignored was the role of the scientists (12)
who
were the intellectual leaders of the Islamic history. Of course, nobody
can question the prosperity of Andalusia and its being the greatest gate
of science and knowledge to Europe. Nevertheless, the drama did not
do anything to reveal the cultural and scientific movement in Andalusia.
(12) http://islameiat.com. "Historical Drama", Al Sheikh Abdul hameed al Kabti, 4 June,
2006.

28. 28
There is the tendency to magnify side issues, especially with regard to
women. Hence, we see the wife of Al-Mu'tamed whose name is
E'timad, as being distinguished in everything; in politics, wit,
cleverness, education, coquetry, and playfulness. Besides, she is
friendly, playful and flirty with her husband.
As for Zeinab, Ben Tashfeen's wife (13)
, she plays a dead role, for she
has nothing to do but to be the wife of Ben Tasheen. Although we say
in proverbs: "Behind every great man, there is always a woman", she is
not seen as being great at all.
(13) http://islameiat.com. "Historical Drama", Al Sheikh Abdul hameed al Kabti, 4 June,
2006.

29. 29
2- On the level of Characterization:
We know that the main pillar in a historical novel is the event, but in
both the bibliography/case-history, or in the historical drama, that pillar
becomes the character, because any error in its portrayal influences
the justification of the events. Here, mistakes are very subtle and hard
to determine. Hence, understanding the character is almost always
considered one of the most controversial issues in drama. But there
are some common aspects in characters that are agreed upon, so it is
wrong to ignore or manipulate them. Usually, the author is driven
unwillingly to fall in that mistake in characterization, due to the dramatic
plot which forces him/her to depict the antagonist in a very ugly
manner, even when it is not the case.

30. 30
Consequently, the writer deprives the anti-hero of any dignity, honor,
and goodness, as in "Al-Zeer Salem" in which Jassas is portrayed as a
mean and debased coward, void of any noble attribute. He is seen as
someone who insults women in a manner that is not done by the lowest
of the low among Arabs, let alone a noble man. Since the heroes of the
historical drama in Islam are human beings who might represent the
role model of the prophet, or who might deviate from that role model, it
is our duty in drama to show where the deeds of those heroes meet
with their principles, and where they deviate from them.

31. 31
3- On the Level of Time and Place:
The time and the place are important in history, but we notice that the
drama does not give them their due value, and that tendency to
underestimate them leaves its impact on other elements in the work.
For example, Mo'ta, the place in which the battle took place in Khaled
ben Al-Waleed's soap opera, was a village chosen by the Moslems to
be fortified in, lest they should stand – while they are few thousand
fighters- in a flat vast place in front of the Romans and the Christians of
the Arabs who were two hundred thousand fighters. Nevertheless, the
drama had portrayed the place as a vast one—which is not the case.
Had the place been that vast, the Moslems would have become an
easy and accessible target to the Romans. Besides, the battle that
lasted for several days, and that witnessed the death of three
commanders, before the fourth commander khaled started to
maneuver prior to his retreat, appeared to have taken place in one day
in the
soap (14)
.
(14) http://sha3teely.com. "A Dramatic Failure in all Standards", Wael Ateeli, 4 October,
2006.

32. 32
4- On the Level of Decoration and Costumes:
There are some who deal with decoration and costume matters in a
reckless manner. Hence, the viewer does not notice any difference
between the scene that takes place in the royal court of Baghdad
during the Abbasid era, and the one that takes place in the Andalusia
royal court during the Umayyad era. The viewer does not even notice
any distinctive marks that denote the changes in the place, though
such marks could be significant traits and features of famous places
that have an epistemological value to the viewer. Some dramatic works
even keep the decoration and the costumes to be used in other works.
Contrary to the previous neglect of decoration and costume, there is
interest in that issue on the part of others who are aware of the fact that
you cannot ignore such aspects if you want to introduce the viewer into
the environment you are discussing in your work. Consequently, in
"The Roof of the World", the design of foreign clothes was supervised
by Noël Howard, the one who supervised the fashion of Mel Gibson in
"Brave Heart".

33. 33
5- On the Level of Language:
Here, I don't only mean to refer to grammatical, verbal and
pronunciation mistakes in the work, but also to a more crucial issue,
which is language itself. In order to be able to re-live the historical past,
we have to listen to its language. However, it is notable that in some of
these dramatic works, the heroes, who belong to the pre-Islamic era,
that is the era in which the Arabic language was at its heyday, speak a
language that contains a lot of impaired phrases and expressions
which we hardly hear anywhere these days, except in official news
bulletins, or in boring political commentaries.

34. 34
In an old movie about "Salah El-Deen", I remember that I once broke
into laughter upon hearing the actor who is supposed to play the role of
Salah El-deen himself, or a soldier in his army- as far as I remember-
saying: "Our religion says that "religion is for God, and homeland is for
everybody'". By this statement, he wanted to reveal the justice of Islam;
its humanity; and the freedom of human beings and their responsibility
to choose their religion. But, had he said something such as, our
religion stipulates that "there is no compulsion in religion", or another
phrase such as "You are all the offspring of Adam, and Adam is made
of dust", that would have been more comprehensible. Indeed, saying
things in such a manner was funny and incredible, even if they had
been uttered by an actor playing the role of Sa'ed Zaghloul in the
twentieth century, let alone Salah El-Deen or one of his soldiers eight
centuries ago.

35. 35
Similarly, there are many other sentences that can never be used by an
Arab whatsoever, not because they are wrong, but because they are
not commonly applicable by Arabs in their discourse. An Arab, for
instance, uses an exclamatory expression such as: "What do you have
to do with Zaid!", and "Zaid changed to me, or he is avoiding me", but
she/he does not say: His treatment changed with me". Besides, an
Arab never utters expressions, such as: "currently, or at the time
being…, and so on and so forth".

36. 36
IV. The Dilemma of the writer between understanding history, the
dramatic work, and the current reality:
It is wrong to assume that writing the scenario is merely a literary and
an artistic work, for it might also be a scientific work on top of that; a
work that has vital rules and basic structures that are indispensable for
the artistic success of the work.
1- Before writing the text, the writer has to give the work its due right of
scientific and historical research, and a lot of reading as well. Writers
usually start to have a specific vision that is derived from a story or an
event that they once read, but after a thorough reading, they find out
that all the facets of the character have become different, and what
they used to imagine about that character was a mere fantasy. Hence,
it is better to abandon the character altogether if it is no longer
perceived as having an artistic or intellectual value.

37. 37
2- To guarantee the success of the historical drama, several issues
have to be maintained, such as the choice of a strong and credible
subject, and a powerful artistic means of demonstration. In other words,
it has to succeed both in form and content, unlike non historical movies
(like many of the American movies) which could have no content at all,
but they allure the viewer by mastering the technical industry.
3- The historian is sincere to the truth, whereas writers oscillate
between sincerity to the truth and sincerity to structuring the character.
However, it is not permissible for writers to curtail the truth in favor of
the character and the love they have for it.
4- In historical drama, folk tales and legends, the axis of the drama is
often the hero; whereas in history, the axis is the importance of the
event.

38. 38
5- Any intellectual –no matter how creative he/she is- is doomed by the
society, in which she/he lives. An underdeveloped society forces the
writer to retreat behind his/her peers, because he/she is scared of
being judged by society, or to have one's work rejected by it.
In relation to this point, there is the oscillation of the writer between
idealism and objectivity. When Michael Na'eima wrote the biography of
Jibran Khalil Jibran, people raged at him, because they saw Jibran as a
sort of a prophet, while he saw him as a good friend who sometimes
errs, just like as any other human being.

39. 39
6- What follows is the realization that historical awareness and the
balance in comprehending history is not only a mission that must be
accomplished by the dramatic work alone; it is a task that has to be
fulfilled by the dominant social and educational culture as well.
Therefore, hundreds of years ago, it was not strange to find prominent
people in the Islamic history, who were more objective in their views
about the others and themselves. Hence, we find someone like Al
Imam Abi Hamed in his autobiographical book The Savior from Going
Astray, and a man like Al Imam Ibn Hazem in his book The Cincture of
the Dove, who both talk very openly and in a transparent, and objective
manner about their lives, and they do not show any signs of fear of
censorship or accountability, even though they both were very
distinguished and renowned jurisprudents. This reflects the freedom
that used to exist in society at that time.

40. 40
7- One of the problems that face dramatic works is the barriers that
exist between the writer and the director. They probably do not come to
see each other. The work is usually purchased and presented to the
director who would actually start working on it, without any interaction
with the author. Of course, each one of them might have a different
understanding of the character, but the writer is the keynote judge in
this regard.
Sometimes, the director, for pure materialistic or artistic reasons, might
resort to changing some scenes and situations, and that would harm
the work and shake the image that writer wanted to create for his/her
heroes/heroines, thus making the whole work appear to be quaky and
unstable.
Hence, the relationship between the director and the writer has to be at
the utmost level of harmony and consonance, or else the whole work
will be lost between the two sides.

41. 41
8- It is very hard or even futile for someone who is remotely distant and
detached from the Islamic heritage and sciences to write about the
Islamic history. In addition to understanding the culture, the writer has
to understand the nature of each age, and people's understanding of
Islam. It is true that Islam is still one and the same, but people's
understanding of it changed from time to time, regarding some issues
which are probably important, such as woman's issues, governorship
and the relationship between Moslems and the others. The writer must
comprehend these thorny issues in their historical context, thus making
a distinction between times of peace and times of war, or between
society in its state of underdevelopment and society in its state of
prosperity.

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Whoever wants to understand history has to live in the past, not in the
present reality, and the more the person indulges in history, the more
he/she can understand, interpret and introduce it. It is essential for the
person to try to leave behind the present reality at all levels, especially
the current political reality, which is indeed a unique reality that never
existed before in such an influential manner that leaves its stamp on
everything.
(Discussing economy and the veil became a sort of a political critique
and a forbidden interference. Besides, the subject of polygamy is
prohibited by a political decision, and the state is in charge of either
spreading the institution or banning it, whereas in the past, the
foundation of Wakfs (endowments) used to be in the hands of society,
and that gave a chance for the existence of institutions that played a
role in developing the society, even while its politicians were
underdeveloped ).

43. 43
V. Is it Possible for Drama to Succeed in the Eyes of All?
Despite the fact that obtaining the satisfaction of all people is an
impossible end, the dramatic historical work has to achieve a high
proportion of success in the eyes of everybody; writers, historians, critics,
viewers, directors and actors.
But the raised question entails other relevant questions: How to attain
success? And, do we have to change history for the sake of realizing the
success of drama?
Let us have a look at the elements of the Dramatic Structure!
Our main purpose in such a hurry is not to illustrate how TV drama
is written, which is an important task that has its specialists, but the
aim is to present brief examples that clarify the idea.

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1- Event: the foundation of history is built in a way that revolves around
an event, not a character. Although the arts of folktales, legends and
historical dramas almost always revolve around a character, the
character itself cannot be materialized, except through an event
Again, we repeat that the event plays one of the first primary positions
in the work, and this event is usually what illuminates the character of
the hero, and what makes the writer choose the work.
Antara, for example, suffered from his father's denial of him, but when
the events of invasions and war emerged, his folk needed him, and so
his character started to become more visible. Born to a slave mother,
he was in a struggle against the values of his community to regain his
freedom, and against the occurring wars and invasions, in addition to
his struggle to win his beloved woman Abla from her father who
demanded lots of things to disable Antara and to make feel
incompetent.

45. 45
Thus, anyone dealing with that story does not have to insert a
substantial event, but it is possible to insert secondary events that shed
light on the lives of the Arabs, and the acceptable practices in their real
life at that time. Had anyone of us returned to the days of the Arabs
during which the Abs tribe appeared, he/she could have read names
that might be helpful in weaving some threads derived from the partial
stories. That sort of matrix does not cause any harm to the essence of
the original work.

46. 46
Despite the fact that our history is full of books by biographers and
erudites, our writers do not consider returning to any of these
autobiographical books to read about the most important tokens of
knowledge in their time and place. We also notice that values, such as
freedom, excellence, and self-sacrifice for the beloved one had always
been universal human values, with which the twenty-first century
individual would interact just as the tenth-century individual did. This is
an essential remark that should not escape the attention of the writer.
Similarly, motifs such as jealousy, envy, and the quest for love and
stability had always been amongst other immortal human motives that
are visible everywhere at all times.

47. 47
2- Characters: In Antara's story, there are several types of primary and
secondary characters. We see the hero Antara and the anti-hero who is
his rival in winning Abla, in addition to the supporting hero who could
be his brother Shaiboub. We also see Shaddad who is Antara's father,
and his mother Zabiba, and we might create a struggle between them;
a struggle in which one of them is with the hero and the other one is
against him. Some other characters appear and disappear depending
on the stream of the events. Each of these secondary characters has to
shed a light either on a part of the story, or on the main characters.
For the character to achieve its mission in the historical drama, the
private and the public have to be intermingled (15)
,because the cause
of the hero has to be a public one that is shared by any human being
(justice and injustice). The hero is a generous, brave, self-sacrificing,
poor and bare intellectual, who suffers from the lack of equal
opportunities, favoritism, regionalism, and sectarianism, but in the
gown of his own age, not ours.
(15) Khoursheed, Farouq, Folktales' Literature, Lebanon Publishers, Beirut, 1994.

48. 48
In drama, we must avoid falling in the trap of the American movies that
make the American hero a Superman, who is capable of doing
anything. Everything he does is justified, and the American white man
is very often the winner in the end. It is permissible for him to
exterminate the whole tribe, or even the whole world, in order to rescue
his darling girlfriend or his daughter from captivity. He bears grudge,
and manages to take revenge even after a while, in addition to many
other things of the sort. It is clear that what controls their culture is not
what controls us/our culture. Indeed, the Rambo Culture is not the
same as the Culture of forgiveness, elaborated in the famous saying of
the prophet to his enemies: "Go! You are free". Power was used as a
means of achieving justice, and not as it is the case nowadays with the
"unjust Veto" in which justice is a weapon for safeguarding power.

49. 49
In dramatic works, it is obvious that the hero often appears as a hero
from the very beginning. However, the art of storytelling/narration
reveals the factors which made him a hero; it exhibits the birth of the
hero two times (16)
. The second birth of the hero comes during the
crisis that stirred the struggle in the first place. And the more we
witness events, the more we come to discern other aspects of heroism.
In historical works, the character of the anti-hero is one of the most
problematic and complex characters in history.
However, many writers tend to expose it as a very bad one, for the
sake of uplifting the character of the hero. Usually, the writer forgets
that he/she is portraying history, and not anyone who stands in the face
of the hero is a conspirator, a traitor who is hateful and envious. It is
ironic that Antara, in his poetry praised the knight whom he had a duel
with, before describing the situation in which he quickly stabbed him. In
so doing, Antara managed to expose his own chivalry and bravery by
praising the strength and heroism of his rival, instead of belittling him.
(16) Ibrahim Nemat Allah, Arab Folk Tales, Al Matbuaat Publishing Company, Beiurt,
1994.

50. 50
In the realm of characters, one should not forget the woman and what
she represents in the lives of the Arabs. The woman is the invincible
mother, and the protected honor; she stands for sacrifice and
victimization, for love and longing. For her beauty, poetry was written,
and at her departure, homes cried. For her own sake, bitter pains
became sweet, and for the sake of her eyes, awful events were fought.
Among her kinfolk, she remained honored, immune, and defendable.
But if she was held as a captive, she would become weak, humiliated
and vulnerable.
A final note to the writers of Television Drama who do not conceive
their success apart from the portrayal of maids and mistresses: It is not
necessary for the success of the historical dramatic work to impose a
romantic love story with a maid, a mistress or a slave. Even though we
do not deny the existence of similar affairs in our history, there is a
need to project the loving woman who could be a mother, a wife, a
daughter or a sister

51. 51
3- Style of Narration and Dialogue: Television drama has a very
spacious range in terms of style. It is true that the outer dialogue is the
dominant one, but the writer can use the monologue and the soliloquy.
The writer can also resort to the flashback technique to mention an old
event or a side story. It is even possible to exhibit a silent scene, but
the most important thing is to know when to use each of these
techniques. One should not forget the role of modern technology in
emitting the inner dialogue (monologue) as if it were an exterior one,
and in broadcasting music and echoes, in addition to the power of the
camera, and the likelihood of presenting Al-Hakawati, the storyteller. All
these things enrich the dialogue and make it diversified in a manner
that escapes of the routine of the regular dialogue.
A significant matter that can waste the whole work altogether- if not
taken into consideration- is the allusive, expressive and articulate
language which is used by the writer. This is one of the biggest
challenges that face the writer of the historical drama, who should
master the Arabic language in all its eloquence and power of
articulation. The writer has to know how to make each character utter
the words that are normally said by someone like it.

52. 52
4- Setting (Time and Place):
In historical drama, setting is more significant than it is in any other
dramatic work, because most of the mistakes that occur in the historical
drama can be attributed to the failure in setting the time and the place.
The writer has to connect between the people and their area; its
circumstances and history. The character should not be examined apart
from the environment that surrounds it, because that surrounding is
indeed the framework that would convey the events and present the
characters.
Hence, the writer has to create a balance between contradictory milieus;
between the life of debauchery, and the life of the intellect; between good
and evil, taking into consideration that society at large was neither a
totally intellectual one that is engaged in reading and recitation, nor was it
a dissolute society that is merely indulged in lewdness and debauchery
that are normally associated with lives in palaces.

53. 53
The early scholars have preserved for us the greatest and the most
prestigious books that can help us depict the environment; they left
behind travel literature, such as the Travels of Ibn Battouta, and Ibn
Jubair. The erudite can find in these books many interesting and
enriching images that might be helpful in depicting the environment,
and in securing a plenty of ideas that could be inserted in side scenes.
It is odd that our ancestors left us books that are dated by day and
others that are dated by years. Some of these books even date
whatever took place in a particular area, such as the history of
Damascus and the history of Baghdad, in which everything that might
come across the mind of the researcher is mentioned.

54. 54
There are recent studies that tend to portray the social life in historical
ages, and such books rely mainly on literature books and the narratives
that exist in both poetry and prose.
The researcher can also resort to court files, especially during the late
centuries, or to some Islamic books that discuss legal issues that were
common in society and that disturbed the jurists, such as the mocha
(coffee), hashish, and legal wiles.
We should not forget the books on plants and animals and the
dictionaries about countries and proverbs that constitute a very prolific
and abundant material for any writer. It is noteworthy that we rarely find
in drama anything that attracts our attention to the diversity of the
environment; its variation, imparity and difference, or that tempts us to
read history, even though this is a valuable objective that the Arab
drama might drive the audience to attain.

55. 55
Conclusion: It is not easy for the writer to absorb history, to internalize
it, or to deal with it in a properly correct, modern and unconstrained
manner. In our modern age, any mistake in the historical drama evokes
the pens of critics to accuse the working people of treachery, as part of
the conspiracy theory. Nevertheless, drama can be applied in a
manner that creates a common ground and meeting point between the
human being and other fellow humans, so as to bring them together.
Consequently, it would enable both parties to perceive the past, to be
able to understand the present, and ultimately to foresee the future.
Today, the nation feels plundered, ravished and violated, starting from
its land, going to its honor, dignity and religion, and finally reaching its
history. That feeling makes the nation lose its clear objective outlook.
Hence, it is the task of the writer to be aware of that and to be lenient in
one's demonstration. It is a good idea to have symposiums and
workshops to discuss any of these issues, or to have a team of
qualified and professional researchers to investigate and to delve into
the topic that the writer wants to elaborate in his/her story.

56. 56
Depending on such efforts, it is possible for the writer to indicate, at the
beginning of the work or at its end that all efforts have been exerted to
attain the artistic and the documentary success of the work. Eventually,
this is the realized vision that has come to light. Thus, since there are
'no gains without pains', each hardworking person will reap the fruits of
one's labor.
*****
Written by Mohammad Ali Bahri,
Damascus 30/9/2007mabahri@gmail.com
Translated into English by Dr. Iman Al-Ghafari
Damascus, 6 December 2007Iman.gh@scs-net.org

57. 57
References
Ibrahim Nemat Allah, Arab Folk Tales, Al Matbuaat Publishing
Company, Beiurt, 1994.
Al-Thaalbi Abou Mansour, Jurisprudence of Language, "In Food and
Drinks and What comes with them".
Al-Jawzia Ibn Al-Qayyem, Women's Reports, Dar Al Mada, Damascus,
2001.
Al-Khateeb, Waddah, Among the Stories of Arabs, chapter: Stories
about the smart ones. Al Hekma House, Damascus.
Khoursheed, Farouq, Folktales' Literature, Lebanon Publishers, Beirut,
1994.
Zalzala Mohammad Sadek, Titbits and Funny Stories from Arabic
Literature. Dar Hilal, Beirut, 2001.

58. 58
Abdul Hakeem Shawki, Popular Tales and Epics, Al-Hadatha Dar,
Beirut 1984.
Al-Attar, Maha, The Artistic Narrative in Arabic Literature, M.A.,
Damascus University.
Al-Kasimi, Zafer, Social Life among Arabs, Dar Al Nafaes, Beirut, 1981.
Mohammad, Khaled Mohammad, Men around the Prophet, Dar Al
Kitab Al Arabi, Beirut.
Al Naeimi, Abdul Kader Al Dimashqi, The Scholar in the History of
Schools, Dar Al Kutub Al Ilmiah, Beirut, 1990. http://islameiat.com.
"Historical Drama", Al Sheikh Abdul hameed al Kabti, 4 June, 2006.
http://sha3teely.com. "A Dramatic Failure in all Standards", Wael Ateeli,
4 October, 2006.
******
Mohammad Ali Bahri,
Damascus 30/9/2007mabahri@gmail.com