Theater at Center of Sikh Controversy to Stage Play About Muslim Brothel

March 22, 2005

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4373221.stm

On March 22, 2005 BBC News reported, "A theatre, which dropped a play after violent protests by Sikhs there last year, has confirmed it is to stage a drama about a fictional Muslim brothel. The Birmingham Rep said 'Bells' is set in a property which is a butcher's shop by day and a brothel by night. It says it has not had any complaints about Yasmin Whittaker Khan's play, which is due to open on Wednesday. The theatre cancelled 'Behzti,' which featured sexual abuse and murder inside a Sikh gurdwara, last December...'Bells' reportedly features Islamic girls being forced into prostitution. The promotional literature for the play states: '"Bells" takes us into the seedy world of Mujra (courtesan) clubs, a centuries old tradition in Pakistan which is now growing in Britain.'"