Verified Purchase. Muslim punk music dates at least to the 1979 founding of British band Alien Kulture. First, you'll need an open mind. The Taqwacores is a riveting read through identity, politics, identity politics, culture, religion, society, music, spirituality and what it means to be the subaltern when they reject most of the duelling civilisations around them, only taking what they want and putting up fingers to the rest. But the overall message of Islam personal to you and not being afraid to question tradition and culture as it evolves is an important one not just for Islam but all religions. Check out this great listen on Audible.com. Buy The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight from Waterstones today! Telegram Books. Few times have I read a book that have forced me to stay up extra late to get "just one more page" in. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "one of the most necessary and, paradoxically enough, hopeful writers of Barack Obama's America," while The Guardian has described him as "the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature," and his non-fiction work exe. The story itself was a little clumsy, the writing & structure a bit amateur-ish, but on the whole very readable and, like I said, fascinating. Well, to put it simply, it’s about a world that is beyond any interpretation of faith with which I have grown up. I'm copying a few passages to keep for inspiration as I look at my own quest to connect my values orientation, spiritual experience, and articulation of faith - in a tradition that is equally as unfriendly (on the surface) to me as Islam seems to be unfriendly to punk. Each character within the story is a different archetype of Islam (from the fundamentalist Umar to liwaticore Muzammil and everything in between), and this works wonderfully to see the interactions and reactions of varying belief systems. Muslim-American Punks in Buffalo, New York. Something went wrong. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 February 2011. Their living room hosts parties and prayers, with a hole smashed … There is a woman in full burka who nevertheless leads prayer and has a very sharp tongue for what she identifies as the misogyny of her religion. There are no fewer than two Mohawk haircuts, and both the Indonesian and the Sudanese (who adopts the patois of the Caribbean) are serious consumers of marihuana. March 2009 Kati Nolfi fiction The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight. Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Each character within the story is a different archetype of Islam (from the fundamentalist Umar to liwaticore Muzammil and everything in between), and this works wonderfully to see the interactions and reactions of varying belief systems. Read "The Taqwacores" by Michael Muhammad Knight available from Rakuten Kobo. Refresh and try again. About 80% of the book is a conversation where someone says to the narrator "Have you ever heard of ..." The narrator says no and then there is pages of one character going on and on punctuated by the narrator saying "awesome" or "uh-huh" or "wow." In addition to the points it raises, the beautiful prose of the book that's a cross between … Read "The Taqwacores" by Michael Muhammad Knight available from Rakuten Kobo. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published So tedious. The author, a revert to Islam, details the lives of several punk Muslims living in Buffalo. All of the Muslims in the novel, including the conservative, are wildly original and human. It is heavy on the arabic/islamic terms so if one is uninitiated, it would be good to have a reference at hand to clear a few things up. 5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. they were fucking awesome) and I didn't end up getting it back. That sounds like a good idea." The book’s narrator, Yusuf Ali, is a ‘straightedge’ Muslim, shunning his … But something far grander was in the works; unbeknownst to Knight, a real Muslim punk scene was starting to emerge, based on the one he had imagined for the book. Paperback. Unable to add item to List. Conditions apply. In time, the book found widespread publication through Autonomedia and garnered supporters, even inspiring the first woman-led prayer of a mixed-gender Muslim congregation in the United States in 2005. A pot-smoking mohawked Sufi called Jehangir plays the rooftop call to prayer on his electric guitar, while debates rage downstairs about the Quranic sources for Iggy Pop songs. Discount Books; … Skip to content. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. That's farga, the groups—Allah discourages this in the Quran, you know, never ever form the groups.”, 'The Office of Historical Corrections' and the Power of the Short Story. And yet somehow Knight makes it work. Read more. The documentary comes across a little like, "White Guy Discovers Islam, Writes a Book." THE TAQWACORES vividly depicts day-to-day life in a Muslim punk house in Buffalo, New York. I guess I had higher expectations - these characters were just typical college students who just wanted to party and behave irresponsibly, just give in to their desires, and didn't want to follow any 'rules' - Islamic or otherwise. He has now returned to the faith 'on his own terms'. His writings are popular among American Muslim youth. The Taqwacores was banned in Malaysia, and a kneejerk reaction to its publication around Europe is almost certainly predictable. However, most of the characters feel more like ideas or sides of an argument than actual people. The locus is a house in the college section of Buffalo, where a collection of young people, not all of them necessarily students, gather to live, pray and party. Prime members enjoy fast & free shipping, unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Prime Video and many more exclusive benefits. This excellent novel represents the first blast of the trumpet - loud and utterly unique.'. I quite like the idea of straightedge providing a way to be both punk and (fairly) orthodox Muslim, but on the whole found this quite frustrating. **Simply Brit** Shipped with Premium postal service within 24 hours from the UK with impressive delivery time. The book is so jam packed with references from political discord, oppression, religious studies, punk rock and even the Eisenhower highway system, that at times my head was spinning more than the vinyl hotly debated in the 2nd half of the book. The Question and Answer section for The Taqwacores is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.. This book crosses every line with a relish and it's almost a shame that it does as it perhaps detracts from some very valid points that it makes. The Taqwacores. You have just come across the most vital work of fiction of the new millennium. Set in a Muslim punk-house in Buffalo, New York, this novel explores the twin identities of punk and Islam in their many varieties and degrees of orthodoxy. I picked this book up because one of the reviews called the author the Hunter S Thompson of Islamic literature. The documentary comes across a little like, "White Guy Discovers Islam, Writes a Book." The locus is a house in the college section of Buffalo, where a collection of young people, not all of them necessarily students, gather to live, pray and party. The book triggered a real-life musical movement, and this film is a fiction feature that dramatises the book, and brings in the actual bands it … Helpful. I also deeply appreciated the ways that these characters remained true to their own truth in a quest to experience the sparks of truth within their religion. The concept is interesting, as well as some of the ideas being discussed about what it means to be a modern American Muslim, but it's a bit long-winded - this book could have easily dropped 50-75 pages. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2011. This book tells the story of a fictional muslim-punk (taqwacore) scene in Buffalo filled with such colorful characters as a tattooed straight-edge fundamentalist, a riot girl in a patch-covered burqa, a pothead sufi, and other slices of the muslim ummah transplanted into slices of the punk scene. You have every category of Muslim represented, the hard line Salafi, the permanently burka wearing Muslimah, the pot smoking Mohawk sporting Sufi type and the Shia with Kerbala hang up as well as a whole host of other Muslims. Storyline Yusef, a first-generation Pakistani engineering student, moves off-campus with a group of Muslim punks in Buffalo, New York. The story here is primarily with the characters Umar, the straight-edge Sunni; Rabeya, the burqa-clad riot grrl; Jehangir, the dope-smoking mohawked Sufi (who plays rooftop calls-to-prayer on his electric guitar) and their … The Taqwacores Quotes Showing 1-12 of 12 “If a woman enjoyed sex, or expressed her sexuality outwardly she was automatically a slut with no respect for herself. Tumblr is a place to express yourself, discover yourself, and bond over the stuff you love. He turned to strict Wahhabism before 'flipping out' and abandoning Islam. by Autonomedia. I CAN speak to the folks who blurbed it, This is a really fascinating story of a super-small social niche—Muslim punks—who it never even occurred to me to think existed. Sex was a favor you allowed your husband so angels wouldn't curse you until morning.”, “A Muslim just follows Allah. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Select type of book search you would like to make. We use cookies and similar tools to enhance your shopping experience, to provide our services, understand how customers use our services so we can make improvements, and display ads. Unbelievingly irreverent at times, but has its redeeming moments in some of the characters monologues. There's a, Michael Muhammad Knight's "The Taqwacores" invents a world at the intersection of Islam and youthful America, of religious observance and college (with all its energy and wonder and lust), of prayer and, hardest of all to believe, a Muslim punk movement. I'm grateful that the author used situations and traditions that are quite unfamiliar to me in his portrayal of this struggle. Knight’s novel is set in Buffalo, New York, where a group of Muslim punks – Taqwacores – share a commune-cum-mosque. Very interesting insight into the practicalities and diversities of muslim lifestyles in the western world. One of the residents is a tattooed, hulking conservative, bewildered by all the anarchy. The Taqwacores (Book) : Knight, Michael Muhammad. Helpful. The Taqwacores. “If a woman enjoyed sex, or expressed her sexuality outwardly she was automatically a slut with no respect for herself. Especially engaging was Rabeya, the burqa-wearing feminist who crosses out verses in the Qur'an that promote the inequality of women. My major gripe is that there is little space for empathy with any of the characters: Knight adopts a gonzo pose where the writing style is pretty flat, and despite some appealing characteristics, they all remain fairly distant people about whom we are not expected to care. Few times have I read a book that have forced me to stay up extra late to get "just one more page" in. Click and Collect from your local Waterstones or get FREE UK delivery on orders over £25. Toggle book search form. Jan 11, 2021 - 07:54 AM Michael Muhammad Knight. This movie continues to speak to me, as do the book and the other writings of Michael Muhammad Knight. Visit Amazon's Michael Muhammad Knight Page, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. I recommend watching the documentary in addition to reading the book because I think it adds some insight into the author's motivations. I had no idea punk Muslim culture existed! I had no idea punk Muslim culture existed! Welcome back. The title comes from the mixing of the word hardcore with Taqwa - an Arabic word meaning “fear of the Divine.”. Dispirited with the … Used; Good. The Taqwacoresis a fictional novel that tells of an Islamic punk rock scene. Because it's the lyrics to a song called, "Muhammad Was A Punk Rocker". Where these punks stand in their religious community feels so much like where I stand in mine, even if we don’t look or act the same or follow the same faith. 5.0 • 2 Ratings; $12.99; $12.99; Publisher Description . In an interview, Aki Nawaz, founder of Nation Records, stated that "Islam for me was more punk than punk" Knight's novel was instrumental in encouraging the growth of a contemporary North American Muslim punk movement, and many … Both entertaining and serious, THE TAQW. Sex was a favor you allowed your husband so angels wouldn't curse you until morning.” ― … Not the worst book I've read for school, but unless American punk rock Muslims are a specific interest of yours, you could skip it. Real wild stuff. While reading this book, I also watched the documentary Taqwacore which is about the author getting a few Muslim punk bands together and touring the US. Exchanges, for the most part it does n't matter. or affiliates. Books on your smartphone, tablet, or expressed her sexuality outwardly she was automatically slut... As an ostentatious cultural provocateur, Yusuf Ali is more mainstream and through... 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