Musa Hijazeen Pushes Boundaries in Anti-Government Theater Performance, Al’an Fahimtkom
Musa Hijazeen, one of Jordan’s most controversial comedians, walks on eggshells with his theater performance Al’an Fahimtkum, which translates to, Now I Understand, a performance that exposes the failures of the current crumbling Jordanian Government, in which he features in.
The political satire stars Musa Hijazeen as one of the main characters, Attah or also known by others, Abu Saqer. Attah is a pro- government father of four who is struggling to keep his rebellious children under control. With the Arab Spring underway, the protests his children begin to see on television influences them to stand up and rebel against their strict father. The children begin to demand weekly allowances, late nights out, and other “normal” teenager activities. This is a foreshadow to the events that follow.
Attah, struggles to see the effect of his controlling personality, until his long-lost brother decides to make a visit. Attiya, his brother, has been happily living in Canada for the last 30 until he gets into an accident and all of his memory is completely erased. Attiya, decides to move back with his brother to help jog his memory. During his visit, he asks his brother Attah to fill him in on everything he has missed. During their conversation, Attah, points out all of the struggles his family has been facing lately due to a failing government, such as poverty, lack of clean water, the refugee crisis, Palestine vs Israel, the USA influence, government protests, attacks on journalists, and unlawful arrests for people who speak out against the governments’ wrong doings. All of these struggles, and Attah refuses to speak badly about Jordan and even attacks his Canadian brother when he disagrees with him. In the middle of the conversation, Attah gets a phone call from the government asking him to choose the next government representatives. Attah, a random citizen, picks the next government officials through a lottery-style system, which highlights how current officials and the voting system is a total failure. One of the officials chosen for the education sector- a failing system in Jordan, is a Swiss man who barely speaks a lick of English- which further drives his point.
Through his humor and relatability, Musa is able to poke fun at the government in a way that is still appropriate for all audiences, even the King of Jordan, King Abdulla II, himself who decided to make an appearance at one of performances. This performance successfully depicts all of the issues that are causing Jordan to deteriorate. Even Attah, a stubborn nationalist, begins to see all the ways the government is failing its people by the final scene. The performance draws on topics we have discussed in class, especially the two sides of the Arab Spring. One being, the population that wants and needs a change in a failing government, and the second being nationalists who see the failures, but refuse to change. With capturing the attention of one of the highest powers in Jordan, The King, Musa hopes to bring awareness and change to the pressing issues that loyal citizens are facing every day. in the final scene Attah makes a powerful statement saying, that Jordan will forever have his heart and that is the reason for wanting change is to see his country thrive.