Mothers Challenging the Divine: Ali Al-Zaidi’s Ya Rab!

Mothers Challenging the Divine: Ali Al-Zaidi’s Ya Rab!

By Amir Al-Azraki

Introduction to Ya Rab! (O Lord!)

Ya Rab!, written in 2013, premiered in 2015 at the Fine Arts Institute Theatre in Baghdad. It was subsequently performed at the Fine Arts College Theatre in Babylon and was later staged at the National Theatre in Baghdad in 2016. The year of 2013 was marked by the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), following the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces in 2011. Between 2014 and 2016, ISIS rapidly expanded its control, seizing large swathes of territory, including the major cities of Mosul and Tikrit, as well as critical infrastructure such as hydroelectric dams and oil refineries. By June 2014, the group declared the establishment of a caliphate, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed as its caliph, claiming leadership over Muslims globally. The group's actions resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and precipitated a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands.

That period was defined by escalating terrorism and violence, which incited widespread protests against death and injustice. The protests in Iraq, evolving from the Arab Spring in 2011 to the Tishreen Revolution in 2019, were sparked by issues that included terrorism, national security concerns, unemployment, corruption, displacement, and inadequate public services. Throughout this turmoil, women emerged as crucial figures, leading efforts to advocate for justice and human rights amidst the chaos.

Ya Rab! depicts an Iraqi mother who breaches Tuwa Valley, sacred within Islam, to appeal to God; Moses (Musa) appears as an intermediary. The mother demands that God halt the violence and chaos in her country that is causing the death of children, and replace it with love and harmony. She vows that if her conditions are not met, she will put a stop to all prayer, fasting, and other acts of worship. Moses, as God’s intermediary, argues that the earth’s misfortunes are brought on humankind by its own acts, and that her proposition is equivalent to rebellion against God. The mother, however, convinces Moses to leave Paradise to join her on earth in protest against God.

 It is surprising that the play was staged in a prominent theatre, given its provocative subject; within the conservative religious political ecology of Iraq, the playwright and those involved opened themselves to accusations of sacrilege. More importantly, Ya Rab! critically engages with the role of “mother activism in Iraq,” intertwining Islamic theodicy and themes of divine justice and human suffering, while juxtaposing the sacred and profane within the revered context of the Tuwa Valley, ultimately challenging religious and political authority through the powerful confrontation of a grieving mother with God’s inaction.

Mother Activism[1]

Ya Rab! explores the emerging role of mother activism in Iraq in recent years. The mother-protagonist embodies a powerful form of mother activism that integrates maternal essentialism with emotionalism to challenge patriarchal, religious, and divine authorities while asserting her political agency. Her protest can be seen an example of “activist mothering”, “maternal activism”, and “political motherhood”. By taking her grief and turning it into a public plea for peace, she reconfigures her maternal identity from a passive, private role into a potent, public force. Her actions are characterized by a powerful performance of maternal dedication that extends beyond traditional caregiving to include political advocacy. Seen through Natalie Wilson’s notion of "activist mothering," the mother is depicted as reasonable, argumentative, outspoken, and confident.  She uses her personal experiences of loss and grief as catalysts for political activism. Her public protest against violence demonstrates how personal and emotional experience can be transformed into powerful political statement. The mother’s refusal to accept traditional constraints of motherhood and her engagement in activism underscores the concept of activist mothering, where maternal roles are integrated with political advocacy.

Islamic Theodicy

Ya Rab! explores themes of divine justice, human suffering, and the relationship between the divine and human actions. Islamic theodicy, the discourse that addresses the paradox of a benevolent and omnipotent God who allows suffering and evil, typically emphasizes the notions of free will, the testing of faith, and the idea that suffering can be a means of spiritual growth or a consequence of human actions. By demanding an end to violence and chaos and threatening to cease all acts of worship if her demands are not met, the mother embodies a profound struggle with the problem of evil and divine silence in the face of suffering. Her insistence on justice and peace reflects a deep sense of moral outrage against the suffering inflicted on innocent lives. Her vow to halt worship signifies a radical protest against what she perceives as divine inaction or complicity in the suffering of her people. This stance brings her into direct conflict with the traditional Islamic understanding that suffering has a divine purpose, whether as a test of faith, a means of purification, or a consequence of human free will and sin. Moses's role as an intermediary is significant. In traditional Islamic theodicy, the belief is that human suffering is often a result of human actions rather than divine arbitrariness. Moses’s argument reflects this view, suggesting that the earth’s misfortunes are a product of human misdeeds rather than direct divine intervention. This aligns with the Islamic perspective that suffering is not always a direct punishment from God but can reflect human moral failings. The dramatic twist which occurs when the mother convinces Moses to leave Paradise and join her in protest challenges both the character's traditional role and the broader theological implications. By persuading Moses—a prophet and a figure associated with divine communication—to side with her protest, the play suggests a radical reinterpretation of the relationship between the divine and human spheres. It implies a form of divine dissatisfaction or disconnection, where even a prophet feels compelled to align with human suffering and injustice.

The Sacred and the Profane

Set against the backdrop of the Tuwa Valley, a revered site where Moses conversed with God, Ya Rab! portrays the dichotomy of the sacred and profane, in which protest serves as a critique of religious and political powers in Iraq. It challenges established hierarchies and confronts the sanctity of divine authority with compelling urgency and sociopolitical critique.  At its heart are revered figures like Moses who, anchored by the omnipresent God, becomes a stage for profound theological inquiry and existential reckoning. The narrative's power lies in its exploration of the profane—the earthly and the maternal—as embodied by the mothers who dare to breach the sacred confines of Tuwa Valley, demanding an end to death and violence with the threat to cease worshiping. Their audacious intrusion disrupts the established order, symbolizing a defiance that challenges the very essence of religious authority. Mirroring Moses's barefoot approach to God as described in the Quran (20:12), the mother’s presence signifies a radical departure from conventional norms, asserting the mothers’ agency in the face of perceived divine injustice. Their dissent extends beyond mere rebellion to a direct confrontation with the divine. They engage Moses in heated dialogue, invoking Quranic verses to justify their grievances and asserting the primacy of their earthly suffering over the sanctity attributed to prophets. Their protest, situated within the socio-political landscape, critiques how those in power manipulate religious rhetoric to justify oppression and maintain control. Moses, embodying religious authority, uses familiar discursive platitudes, such as “God wishes to test your patience” and “death is a law of life” to quell the mother’s anguish and dissent amid violence and death. These statements not only normalize her suffering but also encourage passivity, framing any resistance as a challenge to divine will. By suggesting that her deceased sons are “in paradise,” he offers comfort while dismissing her grief, reinforcing the notion that enduring injustice is part of a divinely ordained fate. He advises her to be patient and strong, pray, and not revolt against God’s will. This rhetoric ultimately serves to maintain the status quo, silencing dissent under the guise of religious reassurance.

Breaking Religious Taboos

Ya Rab! stirs controversy primarily through its bold interrogation of religious taboos. The play directly challenges divine authority by depicting a grieving mother who confronts God’s perceived inaction regarding her suffering and that of her community. This confrontation is controversial because it deviates from traditional religious reverence, which typically holds God as an omnipotent and untouchable figure. By having the mother threaten to abandon prayer and fasting unless her demands are met, the play questions the efficacy of these sacred practices, which can be seen as an affront to deeply held beliefs.

Another contentious aspect is the portrayal of the prophet Moses. Instead of representing Moses as a revered messenger of God, the play uses him as a mediator who struggles to address the mother’s grievances and answer her questions. This depiction potentially diminishes the sanctity and authority of prophetic figures, making it problematic for those who view such portrayals as disrespectful. By showing Moses as somewhat ineffective in negotiating with God, Al-Zaidi disrupts traditional views of the prophetic role and its perceived divine authority.

The play’s depiction of divine inaction or detachment is also controversial. Islamic religious traditions teach that God is actively involved in human affairs and responsive to human suffering. Al-Zaidi’s portrayal of a seemingly indifferent or silent God challenges this belief, presenting a divine being that does not intervene in the face of injustice and violence. This representation can be perceived as offensive by those who see it as undermining the concept of a benevolent and involved God.

Finally, the play’s reception reflects its controversial nature. Critics praised its daring approach and its critique of how religious and political authorities exploited sacred narratives. The play’s radical approach to sacred themes and figures provoked strong reactions, highlighting the tension between artistic expression and religious respect.

[1] In this section, I draw upon the scholarship of Hadeel Abdelhameed and Ghyath Alkinani, who provide a performative model of mother activism in Iraq. For more details, see their work, "Mothering the Protest: Gender Performativity as a Communication Mechanism in the Iraqi Protest Movement," in The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Media and Communication in the Middle East and North Africa (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023).