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MWU! Articles Related to Music
August 21, 2007
Taqwacores on Tour!
They bought a yellow school bus, painted it green and are taking it on the road: the Kominas, Omar Waqar (formerly of Diacritical), Al-Thawra, Vote Hezbollah and MWU's very own Mike Knight. They're starting in Boston, and it all culminates...
December 10, 2004
Masjid Taqwacore: Introducing the Kominas
Basim Usmani’s most recent trouble started when the singer of Riff Raff (“a bald fat kid with Henry Rollins complex” as Basim put it) jumped off the stage and started pushing people, microphone still in hand. Basim was right in front and when the kid pushed him, Basim pushed back.
October 19, 2004
The Little Red Piano: Quest for Qawali
When they buried my father under a cold December sun in Toronto... instead of hearing Arabic prayers or the icy north wind whistling in my ears, I heard words from a Qawali that my dad sang to me, as he played my toy piano, in a place far away and long ago.
June 9, 2004
Put Your Guns Down for God’s Sake! And Pick Up your Pens... and Guitars
Muslims talk a lot about freedom and liberation. Have they, then, forgotten the libratory potential of the guitar solo? At the risk of being melodramatic, I would argue that the solo, if done with Claptonian precision and passion, frees one’s mind and, more importantly, one’s soul.
January 14, 2004
The Sedition: An Interview With Omar X of Rogue Nation
Muslim punk to me, rejects all the material aspirations that their Muslim community hammers into them and takes the diffrent route to become a weapon against kfr america and does whatever he can to fight the ideas of opression, capitalism, materialism and everything else that "America" (Canada included) stands for.
September 3, 2003
Between Laughter and Tears: Remembering Wesley Willis
Despite Wesley’s pain in both his internal and external worlds, he filled everyone around him with absolute love and joy. Wes made hearts glow. He could say something as simple as “you’re a good person” and you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself.
September 2, 2003
Ummah WakeUp! Interview with Ani
My biggest frustration with the Muslim community has to do with the mental blocks people have. In the Qur’an, the mind is supposed to be our biggest asset, and we should use it.
August 15, 2003
Dreaming in Two Languages: An Interview with Natacha Atlas
She has the most magical voice this side of Umm Kulthum, she’s bringing Arabic music to Europe and North America by creating a synthesis with western beats that still keeps the music real, she belly dances, and she’s politically aware. I’m hooked. And so is Ali, my four-year-old.
July 28, 2003
Progressive Music for Progressive Muslims? How Radiohead and Others Are Blurring the Line Between Music and Politics
But as bad as things seem to get, there always remains a glimmer of hope. There are still quite a few bands out there that are saying something that matters, creating what can actually be termed “art.” Art which makes you think, reflect, question, sometimes even hope and dream.
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