Islam vs. Islam

It is so gratifying (almost melts my heart) to see that some authors are seriously taking an earlier advice I provided about jazzing up an article’s title to improve popularity!

So a bunch of Pakistanis and Pakistani Americans come to watch a music show where some of them actually dance! Lo and behold, the “land of madrassahs” (the author’s words) suddenly becomes the “land of pop music”. This is too much to swallow, even for me! O what an intra-Islamic clash – and what junoon (insanity)! Or maybe, just maybe (perish the thought) these guys went there to just to have fun (and not to make a statement)?!!

Notes:
[The storm is gaining momentum and Junoonis, as the fans of Junoon are called, are swelling in numbers all over the world.]
Q: So how many are there?
A: […. a sold-out Kresge Auditorium (capacity: six hundred)]. Now THAT ought to be more than enough to hold the other faction back!

[… young, educated people seeking to set apart a clear identity in a tense world where fence sitters are looked down upon.]
I am sure at the end of the show some of them actually got up and denounced terrorism! (What do you mean they didn’t?)

[…Ali Azmat, the shaven-headed lead singer of the band, is the main entertainer. He shakes, he swirls, he moves his pelvis, and struts from one end of the stage to the other. ]
[…--he introduced the bass guitarist of the band with a gesture that appeared pretty close to a Nazi salute!]
What do we have here? The makings of a Pakistani Elvis sans hair as well as sans a few “little grey cells” inside what the hair is supposed to cover?

[Well, move out of the way Mr. Fire Marshall, tonight the crowd doesn`t want you to come between it and its religious pursuit of happiness.]
Not abiding by the rules that make common sense? Now THAT makes this crowd SO different from the “other” faction!

[… and pray the reader can imagine what you are talking about.]
Must pray VERY hard!

[…this storm seems to portray the notion that the way life is presently lived in the west can be lived in the Muslim lands, with the native cultural stamp affixed and a light coat of Islam painted on it.]
Just as long as it is safely ensconced within the walls of Kresge Auditorium!

I believe the right heading should be ``Islam Vs Muslims.``

Islam is still the same as it was reveiled 1400 years ago. Some Muslims are trying to change Islam their way.

Asfand

Yippee!.Yay!.Hurrah!.Wow!.`Junoon` a pak band played at STANFORD!.Wow!.For an audience of 600 odd muslims.Islam is being challenged.Islam is at war with itself.Why?.`Cause a pak music band by the nom de plume `junoon` played at STANFORD.Y`know, the prestigious IVY LEAGUE UNIVERSITY in California.``Junoon`` on the major NATO-NON-ALLY preferred list of music bands that can play at american colleges and universities??.I`M SO IMPRESSED.

No offense Ali bhai, but Junoon is junk. They make lot of noise but you can`t make what they are saying. ABCD and Burger class feels good about it because it makes them feel close to home(thinking that they are listening something desi) and at the same time feel hip and westernized.

Tell me, is there anyone in Pakistan outside of urban and english educated crowd and ABCDs who listens Junoon or is moved by it? I doubt.
I agree it is different and might have some thing new about it that might triger some intellectual discussion..but thats about it.

dullabhati:4

Thank you very much for being that little kid who said `` but the King is Naked``.

These arseholes neither have a clue about music nor about poetry. They know not western music nor do they know eastern music. They know Zilch, Nada, Nil.

These are buffoons & bufoons who concentrate on ``looks``. Pay attention to their antics. Guitar in hand, these bunders have somehow developed the illusion that they look like a ``faariner``.

Look at the way the have their body-language. These are not even third-rate imitators. At least the genuine imitator announces that he is imitating.

Rafi sang a great song lampooning these freaks ; who at that time tried to be aping Rock `n` Roll. Stupid arseholes.

`` Teen-KUnUster peeT peeT kr gUlaa phaaRR kr chillana
yaar miray, mUT buraa maan, yeh Gaana hai, naa bjaana hai``.


When Nusrta Fateh was singing Qawwalis at the dargaahs & Uurs for ages, & this kanjaRR class was nowhere around. Lo & behold! Peter Gabriel ``discovers`` Nusrat, and these toads, from the cantonement & colonies, hopscotched to his Qawwalis and feigned haals--these toads & toadies.

Nusrat Fateh Khan got corrupted ever since then. He was never a Qawwal after that; he became a westernised excuse of a singer.

It is riff-raff like this who are a curse on Pakistan. No wonder they get a pat on the back as : ``Good Dogie; nice Doggie. you do good kewwaalley man I like good dogie Kewwalley``




PS: This guy SamandTaur ( wonder why he spells as cemendtaur) has an agenda. He belongs to the Society of Alternate, pluralistic, diverse, & liberal use of the Orifices. Such kind do not like Islamic laws. He thinks he is maadern.

This article is well and truly pathetic. A rock music correction to the jihadic path. Read the new my friend, bomb blast in srinagar and pak based organisation claims responsibility. there you have it, it is claiming responsibility to attact more funds more support so that the jihadic diktat of the book is met.

Jonoon, the rock music, what a counter act to the bombs of the jihadis. Pathetic

Despite all the negative comments (uncalled for really), Long live Junoon!

Teen kanastar peet peet kar
Gala phaaRR kar chillana
Yaar mere mat bura maan
Yeh gaana hai na bajaana hai
Teen kanastar...

Naach ke badle kamar hilana
Uchchal ke circus dikhlana
Bhool hai teri tu samjha hai
Duniya paagal khaana hai
Teen kanastar...


Udhar se le kar, Idhar jama kar,
Kab tak kaam chalaoge
Kiska raha zamana ek din
Mehfil se uthh jaaoge
Naqual ka dhanda chal nahin sakta
Ik din toh pachhtana hai

Yaar mere mat bura maan
Yeh gaana hai na bajaana hai
Teen kanastar...


Bhool gaya tu Taansen ki
Taan yehin par goonji thi
Sur ke jaadoogar Baiju ki
Shaan yehin par goonji thi
Markay amar hai Sehgal usska
Har koi deewana hai, har koi deewana hai,

Yaar mere mat bura maan
Yeh gaana hai na bajaana hai

Teen kanastar…



The scathing lyrics that take a purposeful potshot at plagiarism are penned by Shailendra. It is set to a lip-smacking catchy tune by Shankar Jaikishan for the film Love Marriage (1959) and sung with gusto by the inimitable Mohd. Rafi.

This 5:38 minute song has a two-minute prelude – an instrumental duel between the jazz / rock western sounds and the traditional slow eastern melody. Both the sets (with the western sounds being longer, leading to the jibe by the hero in the song) are a wonderful display of the duo’s expertise and versatility.

#8 by echoboom

Thanks! I never knew such a song existed, even though I have followed Kishore, Mukesh and Rafi very closely. I`ll definitely add this one to my collection.

Thanks again.

well its difficult for some people to accept change and more difficult for some to appreciate others..! this is what these interactions clearly prove.

Get a life guys...nothing is in clash with each other..nor music neither the religion..

Keep dreaming..!

Cemendtaur:

you acidly observe ``this storm seems to portray the notion that the way life is presently lived in the west can be lived in the Muslim lands, with the native cultural stamp affixed and a light coat of Islam painted on it ``

A salutary tribute to your writing: this article feasts a magical backdrop of modern Rock and Qawalli favorably fused: yet accentuating an identity confrontation within American-born Muslims/Pakistanis. The truths and contradictions about themselves, a pluralistic dual identity crisis will hopefully mesh and metamorphose itself into invigorating strength.

Music is a potent instrument that both unites and divides this captive Junoon audience. Fence-sitting is only a natural by-product of a super-imposed class of civilizations. Junoon mythically meander through their lyrics crushing Huntingtonian trodden paths to offer an alternative-

Not clash but co-alition.

Not contempt but caring.

Junoon are emblematic in that they are one of the precious few bands who reveal their music with poetic, evocative and philosophical underpinnings: enticingly re-inventing the cultural wheel fortifying an inquietude: One can reside in the West and hold traditional beliefs simultaneously: be they Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsi or Jain.

An endless search for transcendental passion only comes of age through internal cultural conciliation.

The shimmering air and light of dawn, even amongst torrid tensions of identity, finds its way through the capturing confines of obscurantism.

Your piece is a gift for any music fan and a must-read for identity conciliators.

#7 Rozaiba: Don’t get it wrong! The musical group “Junoon” is probably just fine. (Very few interactors here have any problem with that. Besides, the simple fact is that a lot of people attend those musical events because they LIKE to.)

But to extend it into an “Islam vs. Islam” or even “Islam vs. Muslim” phenomenon would take lot of hard stretching work, a feat that would be difficult to accomplish unless one perhaps enters (what I fondly call) the “HP state of mind” (which would probably require some serious preparation involving high-priced alcoholic beverages).

And unlike the spin that this guy #11 seems to be putting on it now, I don’t believe that the original article was meant as a satire!

And the rest of the stuff #11 talks about? What a load of (sorry, there is no other way to put it) CRAP!

This trend in music is reflective of the overall changes sweeping the world in all areas of life.It is not something which only the Islamic world is facing and BTW is there a separate world for followers of Islam? I dont enjoy pop music which is akin to the instant food or junk food or many similar things or trends.I prefer to listen to Beghum Akhtar or Mehdi Hassan or Yamla Jatt,but there are others in my own house who dont like them but enjoy listening to Jazzy B,Junoon or Shaan and I always fall in minority.They say it is their choice and I should mind my own business and keep listening to my kind of music.The individualization,starting from the west is engulfing everything.
When we take pride in driving Fords and Mercs and drink coffy at Dunkin Donuts or Batista and order Pizzas from Pizza Hut and quote Wordsworth or Keats and avoid talking about Manto,Iqbal or Munshi Prem Chand and beg for funds from WB and IMF every now and then,this was bound to happen and this is still a small change.Wait for few years,our children will start spending nights out and on being asked,will retort back,``you have no right to decide,what is right for me;this is MY life.``

Yes, the Muslim world is perhaps on a collision course with itself, and the unGodly (who call themselves hyperGodly) are winning but Junoon is nowhere in this picture.

For once I find myself agreeing with Echoboom (!! gigantic flying pigs everywhere!!!), Junoon is truly pathetic and a sad excuse for music. I remember watching part of their UN concert on TV, the first time that I had ever heard anything by them, and thinking just how bad they were. No wonder they were playing to empty stands! I`d rather listen to Abrar ul Haq`s ``Billo dey Ghar`` or ``Billo on GT Road.``

who the heck is king of leons ????

............ that`s what i asked my daughter when she said that they were driving all the way to cleveland to go to a concert ?.............. ``who the heck is junoon and abrar and that whiny nasal toned woman lata whathername that you guys listen to ?`` ............ good point!............. i apologized for dragging her to an abrar concert a few years ago - she still hasn`t recovered from the trauma ...........

............ on another note we are going to a big wedding in a few weeks where the only music allowed will be the daf - an ``islamic`` instrument sanctioned by the prophet ........... that`s why i ask mrs hamidm to stay away from indian muslims, specially hyderabadis - their taste in music is unearthly ...........

fuzair: 14

Thanks for launching the Porcine AirLines. There was a trial flight once before.


Now Abrar is solid, genuine, refreshing. What a great gift to Panjabi music.

We, the self-doubters of our own IQs and EQs, have become so much used to acquiring education that we feel uncomfortable to become examining bodies. Until & unless a certificate is issued by the colonisers we discard our own creative impulses.

`` Ghulami kya hai? zauq-e husn-O-zeba-ish sey mehroomee
Jisay zeba kahaiN azaad bUnday , hay vohee zeba``

---

ALLAMA Iqbal

tr: What is Slavery? An absence (in someone) of aesthetics & an inability to discriminate.
Whatever is deemed propper by free-men, is indeed propper & correct.



In my opinion, not necessarily humble, Alam Lohaar must be declared the topmost musician, singer, composer and innovator in Desi music [ of course, if there are others like him I want to know]. We waste time & money doing out totaa-mainaa routine about Amir KhusrO [ great guy for sure] but are perhaps waiting for another 800 years for someone [ in power, position, and prestige] to point out to us Alam Lohaar. The guy added a new genre (Jugni) to music, Popularised & got acceptance for Chimta as a musical instrument, wrote his simple, elegant and fabulous poetry--the guy kept the name Lohaar! his proud family trade & vocation.

He worked for the Railways as a Lohaar (Iron smith) and entertained the workers outside the workshop during lunch hour.

He, indeed, was a free man.