**8. Conclusions**

This case study, as an exercise in comparative theology, attempts to reassemble the structure and threefold sense of theatrical action creating a "religious" experience as Peter Brook observes especially in the *ta'ziyeh* tradition. From a Catholic perspective, first, it outlines challenges and opportunities for intersecting theatrical drama and religion specifically with concerns for fostering Muslim-Christian understanding. Thereby developing a lens for "witnessing truth", it approaches this case that, simultaneously, mediates tandem performances that are set in a refugee space in Amman and a besieged space in Homs. The performance encourages discussion of the late Jesuit Frans van der Lugt, whose life and death this case study examines for his potential contributions to understanding Christian martyrdom and its interreligious implications. Affording an occasion for comparative theology, specifically on the notion of "witnessing truth", this article turns toward the work of liberation theologian Jon Sobrino on the key role of Christian martyrs, and the theology of signs as found in Ibn 'Arab¯ı's *Fusus al-Hikam ¯* , specifically his chapter on Shuayb. While former addresses the ways that Christian martyrs manifest an example like the life and death of Jesus, the latter compliments the heartfelt, affective response that the memory of Frans van der Lugt seems to register with his Syrian audience. On this comparative theological basis, this exercise returns to the performance as itself as a foundation for a concluding reflection that aims to stimulate a case discussion between Muslims and Christians. As such, overall, this article seeks to reconstruct a key moment in that performance as potentially "salutary", "anticipatory", and "communal" in a way outlined in dialogue with Peter Brook. Meanwhile, for outsiders, this narrative approach may offer lessons for a virtue response in keys of solidarity, hospitality, and mercy.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interests.

## **References**


Austin, R. W. J. 1980. *The Bezels of Wisdom*. New York: Paulist Press.


Begheyn, Paul. 2015. *Frans van der Lugt S.J. 1938–2014: Bruggenbouwer en martelaar in Syrië*. Nijmegen: Valkhof Pers. Brook, Peter. 1979. Leaning on the Moment: A Conversation with Peter Brook. *Parabola* 4: 46–59.

Burrow, Colin. 2013. What Is a Shakespearean Tragedy? In *The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Tragedy*, 2nd ed. Edited by Claire McEachern. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–22.

Chittick, William. 1984. The Chapter Headings of the Fusus. ¯ *Journal of Muhiyiddin ibn 'Arabi Society* 2: 1–42. Cook, Michael. 2007. *Martyrdom in Islam*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cornille, Catherine. 2011. The Role of Witness in Inter-religious Dialogue. *Concilium* 1: 61–70.


Geertz, Clifford. 1968. *Islam Observed*. New Haven: Yale University Press.


Heffernan, Thomas J. 2012. *The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity*. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.


Leclercq, Jean. 1979. *Monks and Love in Twelfth-Century France: Psycho-Historical*. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ling, Martin. 1983. *Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources*. New York: Inner Traditions.

Loosley, Emma. 2008. Christianity and Islam in Syria: Island of Religious Tolerance? In *Christian Responses to Islam: Muslim-Christian Relations in the Modern World*. Edited by Anthony O'Mahony and Emma Loosley. Manchester: University of Manchester Press, pp. 162–74.

Montjou, de Guyonne. 2006. *Interviews with Paolo Dall'Oglio, Mar Moussa: Un monastère, un homme, un desert*. Paris: Albin Michel.


Pope, Stephen J. 2015. *A Step along the Way: Models of Christian Service*. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.


Shakespeare, William. 1990. *Romeo and Juliet*. New York: A Signet Classic.

Sobrino, Jon. 1993. *Jesus the Liberator: A Historical Theological Reading of Jesus of Nazareth*. Translated by Paul Burns, and Francis McDonagh. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

Sobrino, Jon. 2001. *Christ the Liberator: A View from the Victims*. Translated by Paul Burns. Maryknoll: Orbis Books. Sterling, Greg. 2001. Mors philosophi: The Death of Jesus in Luke. *The Harvard Theological Review* 94: 383–402.


Valiente, O. Ernesto. 2014. Renewing the Theology of Martyrdom. *Irish Theological Quarterly* 79: 112–27. [CrossRef] van der Lugt, Frans. 2012. Lief en leed uit Homs. *Streven* 79: 592–97.

© 2020 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
