TAQWACORE WEBZINE

the real-life taqwacore house

Is taqwacore real?

As the guy who is directing the indie film version of the novel, people have asked me this all the time. Even myself, I have often wondered… are we just an odd number of disenfranchised Muslim dudes that happen to make for an interesting news article? Are their really enough messed up Muslim kids to stand tall underneath the taqwacore banner?

The little sckeptisism I had left vanished after this past weekend. Making a visit to Chicago, I stopped by AL-THAWRA lead singer Marwan Kamal’s new DIY space. Marwan’s space is nothing but incredible… it’s the first ever real-life taqwacore house.

Although there have been enough pieces of evidence to give taqwacore validity, I feel Marwan’s construction is by far the strongest real-world display of taqwacore. It’s easy to write a book, put together shows, and even make a movie about the whole thing… but to actually build a place that you live every moment of your life in, a big-ass space that honors taqwacore with all of its walls… that’s real.

In our film version of THE TAQWACORES, we used Nick Riley’s Cleveland punk haven (TOWER 2012) as our set, and added our own “taqwacore” flare to it. Marwan on the other hand has architected a 100% taqwacore house from scratch. When I saw his dirty ass coffee table, full of beer cans and Arabic coffee cups, and his Sufi friend Saed counting Zikrs all night long while a punk band practiced in the low-celling basement below us… the deal was sealed.

Props to Marwan for turning the fiction into reality. This house would make Knight’s original version quite proud. For those you who can’t afford hajj, Marwan’s house is probably an even cooler pilgrimage destination. I encourage you all to go visit him, and perhaps spend a night or two over there. The rumor is that THE KOMINAS will be playing there on their upcoming summer tour. iA Marwan can get some sort of weekly jumma prayer going on as well.

- Eyad