Taqwacore: The Birth Of Punk Islam

All of this started off back in 2002. Michael Muhammad Knight, a 32 year-old American converted muslim wrote a book called The Taqwacores (from “Taqwa”, an Islamic concept of love and fear for Allah, and Core from Hardcore). This novel is a fiction story of a group of Muslim punk-rockers living in Buffalo, NY who soon inspired the start of an actual scene!

8 years after its self-publication by the author, the Taqwacores, which I hardly recommand to read, is now a documentary. The trailer speaks for itself.

Interview of Michael Muhammad Knight:

“When he was 17, Michael Knight left his mother’s home in Rochester to study Islam at a Pakistani madrassa. It was his first act of rebellion – against his abusive, schizophrenic, white-supremacist father. Years later, burned out on the demands of religious dogma, Mike rebelled once more – by penning a Muslim Punk manifesto called The Taqwacores. His work of fiction struck a chord with young Muslims around the world and before long, real-life Taqwacore bands were creating a scene. This film follows Michael and his band of Muslim punks as they journey across the U.S. and Pakistan, transforming their worlds, their religion and themselves through the spirit of Taqwacore.” – from the Taqwacores website.

I also recommand the BBC story on the Taqwacore, who where the first to follow this bunch of bands touring America in a school bus! HERE

And of course, for those who might wan to listen to the bands:

The Kominas

The Secret Trial Five

Al Thawra

Omar Waqar