When Islam Meets Rock and Roll

9'
slNl lE0l03
SINCE THE
..WAR
ON TERROR" BEGAN, AHMAD HAS BEEN PERFORMING AND SPEAKING AT
COLLEGE CAMPUSES, ADDRESSING STUDENTS' QUESTIONS ON BEING MUSLIM IN POST- 9/11
AMERICA AND ON SUFI ISLAM.
..SUFISM
IS THE MYSTICAL SIDE OF ISLAM, THE ANTI_TALIBAN,"
AHMAD SAYS.
luenced by Suf i poelry and inf used
with hard rock, Junoon (meaning "passion" ln Urdu)
introduced the world to a new genre of music: Sufi rock.
ln the process, they brought a whole new generation of
"You couldn't per{orm lmusicl publicly, couldn't appear
on TV, couldn't appear on radio," recalls Ahmad. "But on
South Asians back to the works of celebrated Punjabi
I had my guitar, and I was teaching everybody all these
songs I knew. When we were playing that music, it was
such a counterculture, we started right under the nose
With lyrlcs heavily
inf
and Urdu poets from the subcontinent such as Shah,
lqbal and Shah Husain. The band went on to become an
international success, selling over 20 million albums and
packing performance halls around the world.
But just as he's known for his music, Ahmad is also
known for speaking out regularly on polit cal issues in the
Uniled States and Pakistan.
Ahmad spent his teens in the United States after his
family relocated due to his father's job wilh the Kuwait
Airways. They seltled in New York, where Ahmad developed his interest fl rocr mus c.
"My first introduction to rock 'n' roll came at the age of
13," says Ahmad. "A friend of mine had an extra ticket to
of the military dictatorship." lt was during this lime that
Ahmad developed a passron for composing music and
writing original songs.
After medical school, Ahmad decided to "take a year
{rom medicine, He had planned on returning to it, "but
off "
once I put the stethoscope down and strapped on the
guitar, life never became the sarne again."
Ahmad joined a band called Vital Signs as their
guitarist. A precursor to Junoon, Vital Signs became
a huge success in Pakistan and is recognized as one
of the pioneers in pop music there. A{ter a couple
of years with Vital Signs, Ahmad left in 1990 to form
hrs own band with f riends Brian O'Connol and All
I saw this amazing spectacle of people w th peace signs
Azmat, and Junoon was born. With the charisma of
Ahmad as the lead guitarist, Azmat's powerf ul vocals
months and began scrounging to save the money to buy
himself a Les Paul, Page's srgnature guitar.
After finishing high school, Ahmad moved back
to Pakistan with his family. At his mother's urging, he
COLORLINES
music, so I started seven diJferent underground bands.
go see Led Zeppelin in Madison Square Garden. There,
and beads. Then Jimmy Page came on stage wearing an
outfit with dragons painted on it. He started to play his
guilar, and I was lust blown away by the whole scene."
Not long after, Ahmad took on a job as a busboy for six
46
campus l'd meet other kids who also had a passion for
and O'Connol on bass, Junoon shot to fame after
their third album, Azadi, in I996. Featuring songs like
"Khudi," "Sayonee" and "Yaar Bina," the album was
an instant success due to its unique style of mixing
lyrics inspired by Sufi poetry with hard rock. Once the
albums Parvaaz in 1999 and Daur-e-Junoon in 2002
were added, the genre of Suf i rock was off icially part of
enrolled in medical school, all the while sticking to his
guitar playing, which became more than a mere hobby.
the international music scene.
"l was studying medicine in Lahore, and I ended up
Nusrat Fateh Aii Khan, introduced the more traditional
starting several secret bands on campus," says Ahmad.
Secrei, because of the strict censorship laws of the time
It was the '80s, and the mrlitary dictator General Zia-
Qawwali form of Sufi music to the West. Ahmad also
worked with Khan and was greatly inspired by him. Speaking about the influence of Sufism in his music, Ahmad
ul-Haq was in power. The Cold War was going on, and
explains: "Su{ism is the mystical side of lslam, the anti*
Pakistan was then an American ally. Zia, with his strict
Taliban. People who follow Sufism are tolerant and love
religious beliefs, instituted an era of censorship of the
diversity; they seek knowledge in beauty and truth. I am a
media and the arts.
seeker of beauty and truth."
Before Junoon, another Pakistani musictan, the late
jil
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