Weddings

This could be the summer of the drum.

Primal Music Monday (PMM) was abandoned months ago. There were lots of reasons for that. Multiple obligations, dwindling participation, stagnant momentum.

It was time to move on, and that was a good choice, wal-hamdu lillah.

But seeds were planted. And we're seeing a little fruit.

I got a call recently from a brother who used to come out for the drumming. He's getting married. He wants a drum circle facilitated at his wedding feast.

And then another of the guys from PMM sent me a note. He's a professional musician and he's put together a drum ensemble. They've been asked to drum in the groom at another wedding. Would I like to help out?

Of course! To see my community embracing their celebratory heritage by pulling together the irresistible energies of drum and voice to commemorate holy matrimony- that's exactly what I'm about.

That's how you do it.

FOLI (there is no movement without rhythm)

Life is rhythm.



If you have external speakers, do yourself the tremendous favor of hooking them up before you watch this.

And see if you can spot the dancing sheikh.

We'll be organizing a field trip to Motherland Music for a West African drum circle real soon, insha Allah.

Be ready for that.

Interview: Soul of Islam Radio

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.

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.

ISIS: Officially Not Cool

Now here's violence I won't stand for:

Not the drums, guys. Anything but the drums . . .

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.

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.