Salman Ahmad may be the most well-known Sufi rock star of the moment. A dedicated Muslim, who claims his ponytail is a “gift from Allah”, he’s been described as Pakistan’s Bono. The Guardian caught up with Salman in London, where he was promoting his controversial new book, which counteracts extremism through music: aptly named: “Rock & Roll Jihad.”
The great Sufi rocker, Salman Ahmad.
Rock and Roll Radical?
Sufi rock may not be everyone’s cup of tea – in fact, some deem Salman’s music downright sinful. Still, he’s sold 25 million albums worldwide, is a UNU goodwill ambassador for HIV/Aids, has helped to raise money for refugees from Swat, and played at the Nobel peace prize ceremony in 2007. Not bad, if you ask me…
“I love music,” Salman tells The Guardian. “I feel also that my belief in Islam inspires my creativity, as it has inspired hundreds of thousands of Muslim artists over the last 1,400 years. That cultural heritage has been blurred by violence and fear.”
The Great Music-and-Islam Debate
Salman goes on to mention the competition between Salafi and Sufi value systems, which represent a lot more than music alone. Individual Muslims’ view on music, it seems is just the tip of iceberg on a whole host of other issues.
The London Muslim blog is less than impressed by Ahmad’s mission, labelling it as a “discredited gimmick” – using “an ageing Muslim Pakistani rock star to sing a few songs which apparently should do the trick and prevent any tendency towards extremism”.
Nevertheless, the Sufi rock star remains faithful to his path: to shed light for young Pakistanis on alternative ways of being a Muslim and thereby illuminating choices they may not have previously considered.
“There wouldn’t be such a thing as counterfeit gold if there were no real gold somewhere.” - Sufi Proverb
