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Bringing Down the House with a Message
of Peace
Rock stars are a hot commodity in our culture. Since I belong to more than one
culture I have noticed that rock stars are making somewhat of a buzz in other
cultures as well. One example of this is the Pakistani group Junoon. I
discovered some interesting information about the three main members of the band
(Ali Azmat, Brian O’Connell, Salman Ahmad) when I spoke to them.
When I was first introduced to Ali, he looked at me through his thick shades
with a blank face and shook his head in acknowledgment of my existence. I took
that as a sign of him being a superficial, stuck up rock star that thinks he is
beyond smiling at a stranger when first introduced. After talking with him I
realized that wasn’t really the case. His raw and honest explanation of the
world and the people in it is very plausible. The first band member I got to
spend time with was Salman; I realized he works pretty well under pressure. The
thing that impressed me about Salman was his patience. I think that’s one of the
reasons Junoon has gotten as far as they have. Between the three guys I
appreciated Brian the most. He is a very humble and open-minded person. His
tolerance is obvious from the kind of lifestyle he has adopted while being very
aware and proud of his own roots.
Their music has Sufi influence. They have been very controversial because of
their political thoughts. They have held concerts in India (India and Pakistan
have been enemies since the two nations were separated mainly because of the
territorial issue of Kashmir); they also raised their voice against the nuclear
testing of the two countries. Salman, the guitarist who says he is a devout Sufi
Muslim told me that there could be a nuclear “holocaust” with the two countries
having nuclear power that is why they have spoken out against it. Also, Salman
explained that they went to India with a message of peace from the people of
Pakistan to the people of India. Despite the efforts made by the group, the
truth of the matter is that the people of Pakistan strongly believe there can be
no relations between the two countries at least until the issue of Kashmir is
solved.
Brian and Salman grew up together in New York. They attended junior high and
High school together. The two formed a band in high school. Brian says, “we were
quite good, we took the music very seriously we always won the battle of the
bands contests at school”. After High school, Brian went to a collage in upstate
New York and Salman went back to Pakistan to study medicine. However, they kept
in touch through out the years. In 91 Salman showed Brian the first album that
he had done with the other band member, lead singer Azmat. By 1992 Brian had
joined the banned and moved to Pakistan. “I started a new life over there and I
started a family over there as well, I met my wife Aisha and we have two
beautiful daughters together and it [Pakistan] became my home” says Brian. It is
unusual for an American to call a country like Pakistan his home. He has had
occasional death threats since 9/11 and some amount of resistance from the
people. But he explained that people who know him through Junoon, which is most
of Pakistan, treat him just fine. He considers himself an ambassador for peace,
he also says that people of Pakistan who know him through what he does recognize
him as such as well.
Since Junoon’s music has a lot of religious undertone I wanted to know what role
religion plays in the individual lives of the members. Ali Azmat was quick to
tell me that he is not a religious person. He explained that he believes in God
and His presence in the universe, but in the spiritual sense, and not in the
religious sense. For Salman, his music is influenced by his belief in Sufism.
Salman writes and sings about God because that is what he believes in. For most
people being a Sufi means being a Muslim. But Brian had a different out-look on
this issue. Brian a devout Christian says, “Sufism is not Islam, The Sufis
wanted them not to be in a category, since they were in that part of the world
and Islam was very prevalent in that part of the world it kind of got linked to
that”.
They are advocates of peace; I spoke to them about peace and what they think
causes people to become enemies. According to Brian and Salman, this takes place
when people stop listening to each other and start to think that they are right
and everyone else is wrong. People need to look at what is common between them
rather than what is different, they say. They have made themselves somewhat of
an example of that. Ali, a Shiite Muslim, Brian, a Christian and Salman, a Sunni
Muslim all came together for one cause. While it is very admirable, we have to
look at the dynamics. Ali is not much for organized religion, so faith is not
important to him in the same ways as it is to other shias. Salman and Brian have
been friends since childhood. The kind of understanding that exists between
childhood friends cannot exist between nations. So, while there a good example
of unity, people around the world cannot be buddies like they are. To expect
different cultures and countries to understand and accept each other like two
friends hanging out and ignoring the differences is expecting too much of human
nature. Their intentions are very sincere and worthy; however, it is not as
black and white as they make it seem. Sometimes the differences are such that
they cannot be ignored. What does one do when believes are at odds? Whose belief
should prevail? I know none of us have the answer to these questions, but for
that reason their singing for peace in my opinion will not be as effective.
However, this does not mean that I do not believe in tolerance and understanding
of other people. I just think that it is not as simple as they make it sound.
Let me also say that I hope it is as simple as they make it out to be and that I
am wrong, because my way of thinking brings about no solutions, just more
problems.
Junoon is the first rock band in Pakistan. They have started something new and
unique for that country. However, along with rock and roll come many things that
are against the custom and religion of Pakistan, such as drugs, sex and
drinking. Ali does not deny going to bars and indulging every now and then. He
does say that since in Pakistan the “drugs sex and rock and roll” culture does
not exist, this is something that is not a big issue. Brian thinks that if
Junoon was into drugs they would be dead by now and Junoon would not be what it
is today. Salman being a Muslim, knows that this is not something he can do,
however, when I asked him about his past he said, “Are you kidding me?”
Obviously no one should be held accountable for what they did in the past.
All three of these guys are educated men and believe that education is
important. Ali explained, “ [Education] gives you a window of opportunity, its
all about awareness, education doesn’t give you awareness but it gives you the
means to get that awareness.” Even though they have degrees in different fields,
they want to pursue music. They don’t ever plan on stopping. They are trying to
do what they love and at the same time convince people that human connection is
far more real than any religious or physical boundaries. However, I would have
to disagree with them on how important religion is in one’s life and sometimes
it takes president over everything else. Even with the few disagreements I
commend them for trying to do what they are doing and wish that they succeed in
their endeavors. All and all they are a bunch of cool guys trying to do some
cool things.
Mahvish Akhtar
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