05-29-2008, 07:40 AM
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Guru
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Florida
Age: 42
Posts: 15,378
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Taqwacore: Punk Rock Islam
http://rationreality.com/2008/05/29/...sque-not-mosh/
I (expletive deleted) you not...
Quote:
The subculture in question is (drumroll, please): “progressive Muslims”! On the surface, the overall historical punk culture might seem at odds with Shari’a Law, the Qur’anical code of muslim conduct, what with all the alcohol and drug consumption, the Anarchic and nihilistic philosophies, casual sex and skepticism of conventions like religion. However, there is a history of movements like “Straightedge” within punk that encourage clean living and virtuous thought (and thinking you’re better than everyone else), while there has been a burgeoning Christian scene in nearly every subgenre of punk music, so perhaps it isn’t such a stretch to see Muslims carving out a musical and philosophical refuge inside punk rock.
In fact, the real opposition often comes not from fellow punks, but from the rigid social and religious institutions within the Islamic community. In recent years, Islamic states like Monaco and Egypt have waged the equivalent of an artistic Jihad against metal and heavy rock music, with fans and artists being censored, imprisoned and/or being attacked by civilians on the street. The contention is that such music is Haram (prohibited by Islam),much like eating pork or committing adultery. Indeed, the Qur’an can be interpreted to say that all melodic or tonal music (music made with instruments other than drums) is Haraam.
Taqwacore (/taqwa/ approximating “piety” or “fear (of God)” in English) is now a worldwide movement from Pakistan to the U. K. to the American heartland, with thousands of adherents and dozens of bands representing it. Often, the rock music is peppered with traditional Middle Eastern and Asian styles. It’s not out of the ordinary to see a taqwacore punk wear a radical hairstyle or mosh, even though there are admonishments about personal adornments and causing “harm” to others, unprovoked. The scene is often characterized by questioning the war in Iraq, the Qur’an’s justification of terrorism, and the narrow interpretation of Shari’a law.
Recently, some of the best-known bands in Islamic punk, embarked on a U. S. summer tour. Led by Boston’s The Kominas, whose shock value song titles include “Rumi was a Homo, but Wahhaj is a Fag” and “I want a Handjob” and Virginia’s Diacritical, the tour was the new style’s first major introduction for much of the country. Now, when can I see some Hare Krishnas starting up a “Wall of Death”!
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And more, from the Guardian UK:
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A lot of Muslim kids are tired of being told what to do, how to think, what to believe in, and how to act, by their parents. There are 'the angry muslim kids' who wanna grow beards and pray five times a day, and then there are the OTHER 'angry Muslim kids' who wanna get drunk and say a huge big '(*)(*)(*)(*) you' to the Muslim population. Or maybe they just don't care and wanna sit at home and not think about Osama's video speeches about how America is the Great Satan."
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The words stable, door, horse and bolt spring to mind. Some Muslims are deeming his book to be nothing short of a revelation. "When I read The Taqwacores," says Basim Usmani, frontman of The Kominas, "all my reservations about Islam melted away."
Usmani was born in New York and moved around the US when he was growing up. "I had this identity that stretched way further back than these disenfranchised white kids I was hanging out with, but they were the ones who showed me the most respect. I entered America where I was weird and, when I went back to Pakistan, I was weird there too. I was too Pakistani to be American and too American to be Pakistani."
His aggression was ongoing, although he freely admits his rage didn't come from social dynamics. "In Boston I was middle class. In Pakistan, where I am now, I am definitely upper class. But the poverty here is intense and that makes me angry."
http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2066036,00.html
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Interesting how America still finds ways to meld immigrant cultures into our own distinctive culture.
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