Jihad, a word that strikes fear into many Europeans and a term Belgian director Ismael Saidi couldn’t resist when he named his first stage production. He used the French spelling Djihad.

Originally scheduled for just five performances last December, ‘Jihad’ has played non stop to audiences in Brussels ever since.

The story is about three disillusioned residents of the city who decide to travel to Syria.

In an interview with euronews, Director Saidi admitted there was a flavour of himself in two of the characters.

“At one point, I had these ideological views about a strict form of Islam, where everything is forbidden.
In that way, I am just as naive as one of the characters Reda. But I’ve also asked deep philosophical questions like another character Ishmael who – as the son of an immigrant – seeks to understand what’s going on. He often looks for others to blame for his own failures. Yes they are, in many ways, very similar to me.”

Critics say the play certainly has guts,