No Guns for Yuna
She may not be the conventional punk, but this hijabi woman singing a Nirvana cover seems pretty “Up the Taqx” to me. Wiki says this: Yuna is an independent Malaysian singer-songwriter. She began writing her own songs when she was 14 years old, and her first performance of her own songs was at the age … Read more
Your Hair Is Haram
I think I may have misinterpreted the whole Muslim thing – I didn’t realize that I had to be baptized by being thrown into a lake and have my girlish long locks hacked into a bob chop fashioned by a police chief to prove my Muslim-ness. 59 guys and 5 girls have been sent to … Read more
Ramadan Mubarak, Punxxx
Another new moon – another month of fasting. Keep it halal, yaki. And remember to stay away from the triangle-shaped haram samosas.
Riot Pit in #Egypt
Tahrir Square looks like a mosh pit. At least from what I can see on the Al Jazeera live feed. People chanting, fists in air. The crowd moves, like the crowd in front of a stage. Naturally, you hear Arabic, words of “Allah”, “Inshallah”, “Walahi”, “Yallah”. It is their language. They say other things, things … Read more
It’s All Happening: The Taqwacores Debuts in Los Angeles
Sundance Festival Pick The Taqwacores officially premiered in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theater to a modestly sized crowd on November 12. Friday night’s screening marked the fifth time I had seen the film, almost two years after hearing of a movie in pre-production about “Muslim Punks.” Though it’s a phrase I try to … Read more
Composing Master Mind of Omar Fadel
It’s hard to believe that The Taqwacores feature film Sundance Film Festival debut was back in January. So much has happened since the adventures in the Taqx punk house in the snowy valley of Park City. It was in the house that I first met the illustrious Omar Fadel. Poised and soft spoken, it was … Read more
Oaklandistan
Blue skies, potholed streets in Oaklandistan – I was craving halal hot links as I drove by the halal market. It was Friday, and I was stealing some “me” time away from my job on the campaign trail. In my head though I was still working, thoughts preoccupied, stressed about finances and wondering if we … Read more
DarthNader & the Intifada
At last night’s open mic to support Los Angeles divest from Israel’s water issues, I finally met up with a Taqwacore punk – Nader, otherwise known as DarthNader on the twitterverse. I’d been following his tweets for some time, but even though we live in the same region and have attended the same rallies, we … Read more
Pass the Mic. To Riz MC.
Crossposted from Sepia Mutiny. I was first blown away by Riz Ahmed when I saw him perform on Britz. It was only after seeing him perform on The Taqwacore documentary, that I realized that Riz wasn’t just an actor – he’s also known as Riz MC. Straight out of the U.K., his lyrics are dynamic … Read more
Showdown with Sunny Ali. AND The Kid.
There’s been some rumbling in them thar hills of a new band that’s rolled into town: Sunny Ali and the Kid. Who is this duo behind behind the quirky name and cowboy hat? I decided to find out. You may remember Hassan Ali Malik from being formerly of the Philly based POPO (he would be … Read more
