Edinburgh Festival hosts musical on Jihad

The ongoing Edinburgh Festival has taken the focus on terrorism to another level by hosting a musical on Jihad.

London, Aug.4 : The ongoing Edinburgh Festival has taken the focus on terrorism to another level by hosting a musical on Jihad.

Titled "Jihad the Musical", the play by the Silk Circle Production Company is a controversial satire about Islamic terrorism, and includes such classic tunes such as "Building a bomb today, what does the manual say" and "I wanna be like Osama".

According to The Daily Mail, its creators have been inspired by the success of The Producers - a runaway broadway hit, which attracted criticism for its camp rendition of Nazi Germany.

The musical on terrorism musical has already sparked protests.

A petition calling for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to condemn the musical has been launched on his Downing Street website.

Producer James Lawler, however, has downplayed the protest, saying: "We have no intention of causing offence or insult with this show, It is simply a musical comedy."

The musical tells the story of a young Afghan peasant Sayid who dreams of making it as a flower farmer selling poppies in the West. His plans are thwarted by a jihadi cell seeking to blow up Western targets, in particular one in Britain known as the "Unidentified, Very Prestigious Landmark".

Sayid sings to his burkha clad mentor: "I can only see your eyes" and theatre-goers are also treated to a song called "We're going to rock the righteous, to the Jihad jive".

The story comes to a head on the night of the attack when Sayid must decide whose side he is on. His sister eventually saves him, along with the French who sing "We turned and ran".

The musical runs until August 26.

ANI