Djihad playwright still hopeful after son's close call in Brussels

Exactly one week ago, Ismael Saidi's son exited a subway car just one stop before a deadly explosion.  

The school-bound student narrowly avoided the series of detonations that killed 38 and wounded more than 300 in the airport and subway system in Brussels. 

For the Belgian playwright, who has spent the past year tackling radicalization through humour, the events of March 24 were an all-too-real reminder of the stakes. 

Today Saidi returns to q to discuss the role artists can play in making sense of this tragedy. 

"Right now, we are mourning, but after that we will need to laugh," he says, adding that the closer the drama, the greater the need for humour. "We need to laugh. And we need to laugh together." 

Saidi also comments on his viral Facebook post, which repeats, yet again, that Muslims are also in shock and mourning following the attack. 

WEB EXTRA | The Belgian writer previously joined Shad in January to discuss his play Djihad and the power of comedy to provoke and inspire discussions about radicalization. Listen to the interview here.