By her words and actions Sahar, the principal character in Sharbari Ahmed’s engrossing play, “Raisins Not Virgins,” emphasizes the difference between an American who happens to be a Muslim and a devoted Muslim who happens to be an American.

Sharbari  received her MA in creative writing from New York University.  An instructor in one of  the colleges …Her fiction has appeared in The Gettysburg Review, Caravan Magazine, Catamaran, and the Asian Pacific American Journal, among other magazines. In 2003, she won the First Words Literary Award for short fiction.

“Raisins Not Virgins is a tale of spiritual and political turmoil set against a backdrop of New York dating angst.  It traces the hilarious journey and jihad of a young American-Muslim woman as she traverses the minefields of identity and love.  Sahar Salam is a 29 year old, apolitical, well-heeled, and lonely New York advertising professional who loses her boyfriend to causes and ideologies greater than she is willing to admit.  This loss forces her to confront a lifelong resentment against the religion of her birth, Islam. It also marks the beginning of her personal jihad, which, for Sahar, involves a great deal of drinking and a dubious flirtation with the world of art,” according to press notes.

Incidentally, the title, “Raisins Not Virgins,” refers to a Koranic verse that refers to the reward Muslim martyrs can expect. Recent interpretations have found that the Arabic word more accurately translates into raisin, specifically raisins of “startling white clarity.”

Join Dilshad and Sharbari as they discuss the play/film in its totality of concept and characters and how the context a decade ago lead to a response which is artistic, affective and all embracing …the message of pluralism and peace!

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