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.<br /><br /> Originally scheduled for just five performances last December, ‘Jihad’ has played non stop to audiences in Brussels ever since.<br /><br /> The story is about three disillusioned residents of the city who decide to travel to Syria.<br /><br /> In an interview with euronews, Director Saidi admitted there was a flavour of himself in two of the characters.<br /><br /> “At one point, I had these ideological views about a strict form of Islam, where everything is forbidden. <br />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.”<br /><br /> Critics say the play certainly has guts,
