Play Shows How Hope Can Overcome Fear

has a message born in fear but nurtured to maturity with hope. 

Born in London of Pakistani descent, Malik is Skokie raised and DePaul University educated. She offered her ideas through her one-woman production, “Unveiled,” to more than 125 people Saturday at the Patty Turner Center in Deerfield. 

Playing five different Muslin women through the production, Malik weaves a tale of people who have felt discrimination and even violence since Sept. 11, 2011. Some of the performance arises from her own experience and other circumstances are drawn from others and news accounts. 

Malik stayed after the performance to answer questions from the audience. 

Malik has been called a terrorist and draws insults walking down the street dressed in traditional Pakistani Muslim clothing. Her response is not always the same. 

“People will stop and glare at me to make me feel bad,” Malik said. “They’ll tell me to go back Arabia. If my children are with me I ignore them. If not I may say, ‘how are you?’” 

When Malik avoids confrontation she is demonstrating behavior she criticizes in her play but she is not willing to subject her children to potential violence or danger. The children still sense the insult. 

“I just stared at him,” Malik said as the first character in her play who was called a terrorist for wearing traditional Muslin attire. “You Arabs are ruining our country,” she added using the line of her tormenter.” She was compelled to respond. “If I ignore the man what will I do to my children?” 

One of Malik’s fears is how what she terms the “backlash” against Muslim Americans could trigger events in the United States akin to Nazi Germany. The Germens learned to hate the Jews then according to Malik. 

“It took a long time. It didn’t just happen overnight,” Malik said of the German emotions that allowed the Holocaust to occur. “The Jews became the other, something less than human. It became OK to kill them.” 

Malik also believes that if she can show others how she and her coreligionists are no different than other Americans she can overcome the “backlash.” She thinks she can do it with her words and spirit. 

As the last character in her play was just trying to find out if her brother had survived the Sept. 11 attacks, she encountered a crowd. “USA, USA they shouted,” Malik said in character. “Go back to your country you terrorist.” 

Malik described a woman in pain and torn. She told the audience how her character gathered her thoughts as she was being tormented. The woman she played was from overseas. 

“I am from the Middle East like Jesus,” Malik’s character responded to her accuser. “Let your anger go. Get to know me. Get to know me. With that his eyes changed. He looked human.” 

The local production is sponsored by Southeast Lake County Faith in Action Volunteers, a combined effort of three churches and a synagogue to assist people in need. The Deerfield churches are ,  and . Highland Park’s  is also part of Faith in Action.