I had a wonderful evening connecting with my dear brothers Ahmad Sakaamini and Emil Ihsan-Alexander Torabi on their podcast, Soul of Islam Radio.
You can check out our discussion here.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Thursday, March 12, 2015
CSULB Pow Wow 2015
A pow wow
is a gathering of the North American indigenous peoples. The plains
Indians got this going awhile back, but now it's really about people
from all tribes getting together to catch up and have a good time as
they preserve and share their respective cultures. Think ISNA for Indians.
While there are pow wows happening all the time, one of the more engaging ones I've been to is coming up this weekend, March 14-15 at California State University Long Beach. Clicking the link will take you to the flyer.
It's free, but bring money. Lots of shopping if you like Native American handicrafts.
It's also a good opportunity to see the extent to which drum and voice figure into the lives of our indigenous population. There are many other wonderful similarities between Native American and healthy Islamic worldviews, and that can be validating and interesting for some of us.
Take this picture of Zuni women:
Pretty incredible, right? There are very interesting linguistic relationships as well. Take this line from the Wikipedia entry on Zuni language:
"Zuni adults are often known after the relationship between that adult and a child. For example, a person might be called "father of so-and-so", etc."
Like abusajidah!
Anyway, you should totally go to the pow wow.
While there are pow wows happening all the time, one of the more engaging ones I've been to is coming up this weekend, March 14-15 at California State University Long Beach. Clicking the link will take you to the flyer.
It's free, but bring money. Lots of shopping if you like Native American handicrafts.
It's also a good opportunity to see the extent to which drum and voice figure into the lives of our indigenous population. There are many other wonderful similarities between Native American and healthy Islamic worldviews, and that can be validating and interesting for some of us.
Pretty incredible, right? There are very interesting linguistic relationships as well. Take this line from the Wikipedia entry on Zuni language:
"Zuni adults are often known after the relationship between that adult and a child. For example, a person might be called "father of so-and-so", etc."
Like abusajidah!
Anyway, you should totally go to the pow wow.
Monday, March 9, 2015
ISIS: Officially Not Cool
Now here's violence I won't stand for:
Not the drums, guys. Anything but the drums . . .
Not the drums, guys. Anything but the drums . . .
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Women, Drums, and Social Justice
I like to keep up with all of the wonderful things that Miranda Rondeau does. She's an amazing drummer and a wonderful, generous human being.
Browsing her Facebook page, I came across this article that really sums up the power of the drum in the hands of the socially conscious.
Read about how this group of lower caste Hindu women were empowered through the drum and how they leveraged their new-found strength and unity to protect women in abusive situations.
An inspiring read, for sure.
Along similar lines, I have been working for the last several weeks with Rowan Storm to build a local women's rhythmic ensemble. She facilitated a frame drum intensive a little over three weeks ago that left a small band of 15 women very inspired.
Will that inspiration be enough to bring these women into a committed relationship with one another and the drum? Will they blaze an opening for joy, power, and social justice through the universal language of rhythm? Will they break through the silent societal barriers that restrict imagination to only that which is immediately acceptable?
Whether taken up today or later, the drum is there, a holy tool ready to bring so much to those bold enough to strike it.
Browsing her Facebook page, I came across this article that really sums up the power of the drum in the hands of the socially conscious.
Read about how this group of lower caste Hindu women were empowered through the drum and how they leveraged their new-found strength and unity to protect women in abusive situations.
An inspiring read, for sure.
Along similar lines, I have been working for the last several weeks with Rowan Storm to build a local women's rhythmic ensemble. She facilitated a frame drum intensive a little over three weeks ago that left a small band of 15 women very inspired.
Will that inspiration be enough to bring these women into a committed relationship with one another and the drum? Will they blaze an opening for joy, power, and social justice through the universal language of rhythm? Will they break through the silent societal barriers that restrict imagination to only that which is immediately acceptable?
Whether taken up today or later, the drum is there, a holy tool ready to bring so much to those bold enough to strike it.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
The BDS Movement and Primal Music
Our collective silence is the playground of despots.
Our collective action is their death knell.
There is more than mere music that happens when you beat a drum and sing a song with others. You break silence. You create together. You build together. You listen to one another. You learn to trust.
And when you trust one another, you can roll up your sleeves in community.
God give us the bravery to work together for good.
Our collective action is their death knell.
There is more than mere music that happens when you beat a drum and sing a song with others. You break silence. You create together. You build together. You listen to one another. You learn to trust.
And when you trust one another, you can roll up your sleeves in community.
God give us the bravery to work together for good.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Idle No More
Frame drums and a high intention. Perhaps among the most galvanizing forces in the created world.
Don't believe me?
The white slave owners of the Americas knew this. They would let their African charges play anything they wanted, but not the drum.
I only just learned about Idle No More, an advocacy group for indigenous peoples everywhere. They are capturing the hearts and spirits of local communities with their spontaneous, and perhaps even confrontational, round dances. Check them out taking over the Mall of America back in 2012:
May we be led through the permissions granted us by the Almighty Creator toward the pursuit of justice and equity for all people.
In peace.
Don't believe me?
The white slave owners of the Americas knew this. They would let their African charges play anything they wanted, but not the drum.
I only just learned about Idle No More, an advocacy group for indigenous peoples everywhere. They are capturing the hearts and spirits of local communities with their spontaneous, and perhaps even confrontational, round dances. Check them out taking over the Mall of America back in 2012:
May we be led through the permissions granted us by the Almighty Creator toward the pursuit of justice and equity for all people.
In peace.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
The Primal Music Family Drum 11/23
We’ve got Primal Music Monday coming up in a couple of days. The second Monday of every month. It’s for men only and you can read about that here.
The real news is that sansfife and the good people at Zawiya Perspective are gearing up to host our first ever Family Drum on Sunday, November 23rd from 5-7 pm, insha Allah.
There is certainly precedent for what is being proposed. Elements of the primal music community circle can be seen in social gatherings around the world.
I don’t think we are making anything up so much as drawing from existing traditions to create a compelling whole that is new perhaps only at the level of intention.
And that intention is to smash current musical paradigms that leave us silenced. And to have fun and maybe learn something while doing it.
Our community circle is exactly that. A circle. Or rather three concentric circles that help us to identify and strengthen complimentary energies. More on that in a second.
I just want to mention a few remarkable things about circles. A circle symbolizes unachievable perfection. We can intuit from a circle that such perfection exists, but it is just outside our reach, for “there is no such thing as a perfect circle.”
A circle has no beginning and no ending. A circle is infinite. All points along the arc of a circle are equidistant from the center. Taking up our positions in a circle, we are all equal. Our relationship with the Divine is therefore suggested by the circle.
When the community gathers to make primal music, we place our children in the center of the circle. This is where a circle’s energy is most concentrated. This is the place of movement, of spontaneity, and kinetic abandon. The innermost part of the circle is the place of protection and potential. Children are free then to move with their joy, but they are also learning to function as part of the group.
And so our men surround the children. Masculine energy is recognized by its power to limit and contain. The men are a boundary- their proximity to the children is both protective and restrictive. The men’s circle is also the ring of voice. It is the men who carry the melody in primal music, and this is in consideration of the sad reality that many men have lost their way. Would we have a world so steeped in violence, waste, and disparity if the everyman had enough faith in his own voice that he might speak it? Where is that arresting voice of man that cries, “Enough!” to those who perpetuate injustice with terrible impunity? And so it is the men who must sing.
It is the outer ring of women that contains the gathering, as the womb contains the entirety of humankind. Feminine energy is expansive and passionate, and if men have been cut off from their voices, it may also be said that our women have been cut off from their deepest strength. Our mother’s heart is the first rhythm any of us will ever hear, and her drumming in the third circle will focus her limitless power into the primal pulse that carries the community.
A bit flowery, all that. We could just say that the girls play drums, the boys sing, and the kids dance in the mush pot. And that’s true, too, so look at it how you will. But I’d like to suggest that this is ultimately about shifting our ideas around music and entertainment.
We need to move back into that place where music is not mere diversion. There was a time when music was not the tool of distraction and division that it is now. A primal music gathering is about communal participation, civic engagement, and intentional silliness that revives, refreshes, and connects- the absolute antithesis of the contemporary musical experience.
Anyway, this is actually a real-time opportunity to build not just community, but culture, insha Allah. We haven’t done this before, so I’ll be haughty and even call it historic.
It all goes down on Sunday, November 23rd, from 5-7 pm. Bring your family and friends to Zawiya Perspective:
1800 E Garry Ave #101
Santa Ana, CA 92705
949-394-6090
Women are encouraged to bring one drum or many. Frame drums are preferred. We’ll have a few loaners, but they are likely to go quick. We’ll cover some basic drum strokes and within minutes you’ll sound like rolling thunder. You’ll love it.
Men are encouraged to be bold. A few of us will sing loudly enough that nobody will blame you for anything that happens. But I promise that if you allow your voice to connect and resonate with me and the other men, you won’t soon forget the experience, and with God is every success.
If your kids are having fun dancing in the middle of the circle, great. If they are acting like idiots and pounding on people and equipment, they’ll get thrown out. If they don’t feel comfortable being away from a parent, it’s perfectly fine to keep them near you. Later you can all talk about the importance of pushing past what is immediately comfortable.
Tea and light refreshments will be provided, insha Allah.
Wa billahi tawfiq.
The real news is that sansfife and the good people at Zawiya Perspective are gearing up to host our first ever Family Drum on Sunday, November 23rd from 5-7 pm, insha Allah.
There is certainly precedent for what is being proposed. Elements of the primal music community circle can be seen in social gatherings around the world.
I don’t think we are making anything up so much as drawing from existing traditions to create a compelling whole that is new perhaps only at the level of intention.
And that intention is to smash current musical paradigms that leave us silenced. And to have fun and maybe learn something while doing it.
Our community circle is exactly that. A circle. Or rather three concentric circles that help us to identify and strengthen complimentary energies. More on that in a second.
I just want to mention a few remarkable things about circles. A circle symbolizes unachievable perfection. We can intuit from a circle that such perfection exists, but it is just outside our reach, for “there is no such thing as a perfect circle.”
A circle has no beginning and no ending. A circle is infinite. All points along the arc of a circle are equidistant from the center. Taking up our positions in a circle, we are all equal. Our relationship with the Divine is therefore suggested by the circle.
When the community gathers to make primal music, we place our children in the center of the circle. This is where a circle’s energy is most concentrated. This is the place of movement, of spontaneity, and kinetic abandon. The innermost part of the circle is the place of protection and potential. Children are free then to move with their joy, but they are also learning to function as part of the group.
And so our men surround the children. Masculine energy is recognized by its power to limit and contain. The men are a boundary- their proximity to the children is both protective and restrictive. The men’s circle is also the ring of voice. It is the men who carry the melody in primal music, and this is in consideration of the sad reality that many men have lost their way. Would we have a world so steeped in violence, waste, and disparity if the everyman had enough faith in his own voice that he might speak it? Where is that arresting voice of man that cries, “Enough!” to those who perpetuate injustice with terrible impunity? And so it is the men who must sing.
It is the outer ring of women that contains the gathering, as the womb contains the entirety of humankind. Feminine energy is expansive and passionate, and if men have been cut off from their voices, it may also be said that our women have been cut off from their deepest strength. Our mother’s heart is the first rhythm any of us will ever hear, and her drumming in the third circle will focus her limitless power into the primal pulse that carries the community.
A bit flowery, all that. We could just say that the girls play drums, the boys sing, and the kids dance in the mush pot. And that’s true, too, so look at it how you will. But I’d like to suggest that this is ultimately about shifting our ideas around music and entertainment.
We need to move back into that place where music is not mere diversion. There was a time when music was not the tool of distraction and division that it is now. A primal music gathering is about communal participation, civic engagement, and intentional silliness that revives, refreshes, and connects- the absolute antithesis of the contemporary musical experience.
Anyway, this is actually a real-time opportunity to build not just community, but culture, insha Allah. We haven’t done this before, so I’ll be haughty and even call it historic.
It all goes down on Sunday, November 23rd, from 5-7 pm. Bring your family and friends to Zawiya Perspective:
1800 E Garry Ave #101
Santa Ana, CA 92705
949-394-6090
Women are encouraged to bring one drum or many. Frame drums are preferred. We’ll have a few loaners, but they are likely to go quick. We’ll cover some basic drum strokes and within minutes you’ll sound like rolling thunder. You’ll love it.
Men are encouraged to be bold. A few of us will sing loudly enough that nobody will blame you for anything that happens. But I promise that if you allow your voice to connect and resonate with me and the other men, you won’t soon forget the experience, and with God is every success.
If your kids are having fun dancing in the middle of the circle, great. If they are acting like idiots and pounding on people and equipment, they’ll get thrown out. If they don’t feel comfortable being away from a parent, it’s perfectly fine to keep them near you. Later you can all talk about the importance of pushing past what is immediately comfortable.
Tea and light refreshments will be provided, insha Allah.
Wa billahi tawfiq.
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