Punk on a Prayer Mat
Australian/Indonesian. Vegan. Muslim. Left-Wing. Punk. Hijabi. These words seem so disjointed when you isolate them but collectively these words describe, basically, who I am. Strange, huh? It wasn’t long ago when I’d look at these words and feel a great sense of loneliness in my gut. A little over a year ago, I Googled the … Read more
The Taqwacores at Sundance!!
Donate to help the Taqwacores get to Sundance here: http://taqwacores.chipin.com/the-taqwacores-at-sundance Last week we received word that THE TAQWACORES was accepted into the 2010 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL. A few years of hard work has made this almost impossible dream into a reality. Now–we need your help! As an ultra low-budget film, we need to quickly raise … Read more
DIY Damascus: Interview with Syrian punk band, Mazhott.
Everything is more complicated in the Middle East, even playing punk rock. It’s difficult for us, punks in the First World, to really understand true love for punk. We’re spoiled. With somewhat cheap equipment, tons of places to play, and no one determining what you can say, starting a band in the US is relatively … Read more
Taqwacore Lyrics by Non-Taqwacore Bands
He said, “This is a Mecca.” I said, “This ain’t no Mecca man, this place is fucked.” – Rancid, Journey to the End of East Bay It should be no surprise to readers who’ve read my post on “Allah, Allah, Allah,” that I have a slight fascination with Muslim lyrics in non-Muslim places. After reading … Read more
Rebel Warrior Poet
I was just reading Blue-Eyed Devil while my Genius Itunes played music that I never knew I had. This song just jumped on, the 2008 song Rebel Warriors by Asian Dub Foundation. My ears perked as the open khobitah had recognizable words. It was in Bangla. I immediately went to the parents to ask them … Read more
Homage to Fearless Iranians from Hell!
There’s always an idiot on the internet. But this time, they were kinda right–KINDA. A lot of people have been commenting on Taqwacore videos around the internet, saying that we aren’t the first to do this. Although Taqwacore as a whole was not influenced by these guys, Kourosh from Vote Hezbollah was definitely rocking these … Read more
Why has everyone forgotten about Iraq?
Just to give a little statistics behind a more in-depth post I’m thinking about posting in a few days, I thought I’d give a little background into why it’s bullshit that everyone has forgotten about the war in Iraq. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the war in Afghanistan is not an important … Read more
Middle Eastern Punk Bands!
I don’t really want to say too much in this post, except that these are some bands that i think need some much needed attention. Recently, there was a post about rock bands from Pakistan and their plight, so here’s to the kids that are dodging the secret police (mukhabarat) just to play some punk:
Redefining Punk, My Way
Real punk is gutter punk, the kind of punk where you go dumpster diving for your next meal, are straight edge until you find a the tail end of a joint on the ground to smoke, and wear the same black jeans and metal studded jean vest with black and white patches of your favorite … Read more
