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'Sufi
Rock' Pioneer Salman Ahmad in Concert at Smith
Salman Ahmad, one of South
Asia’s most influential cultural figures, will present "Sufi
Rock Unplugged," a rare solo performance, along with his son,
Sherjan Ahmad, on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m. in Sweeney Auditorium,
Sage Hall.
On Monday, Nov. 19, Salman Ahmad
will give a talk, with his wife, Samina, on "Rebuilding Pakistan
After the Floods," at 4:30 p.m. in Neilson Library Browing
Room.
Both events are free and open
to all.
 Salman Ahmad
Musician,
physician, teacher and United Nations goodwill ambassador,
Salman Ahmad popularized a blend of Western rock music and
Eastern/Islamic music that has been called “Sufi rock” and
that has been hailed as a cultural bridge within South Asia
and between the East and West. With his wife, Samina, he
launched an NGO called the Salman & Samina Global Wellness
Initiative, focused on interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue,
global health and wellness, and music education.
Born in Lahore,
Pakistan, Ahmad spent his teenage years in New York before
returning to Lahore to train as a medical doctor. Turning
to his true passion of music, Ahmad founded South Asia's
biggest rock band, Junoon, in 1990. The band faced death
threats and harassment from religious extremists and government
forces in its early years, but Junoon’s sweeping melodies,
bhangra rock rhythms and driving guitars led it to become
known as "the U2 of South Asia.” Junoon has sold over 25
million albums worldwide and has shared the stage with artists
such as Peter Gabriel, Melissa Etheridge, Ziggy Marley, Alicia
Keys, Sting, Earth Wind and Fire, and Wyclef Jean. Jon Pareles
of the New York Times has described Junoon as "South Asia's
answer to Santana," and the Wall Street Journal called Junoon's
eclectic music "a powerful combination of Led Zeppelin and
traditional South Asian percussion like tabla and dholak."
Ahmad has written a memoir for
Simon and Schuster titled Rock and Roll
Jihad and has written
commentaries for the Washington Post’s "On Faith" web
site. He is also a member of the Brookings institute's US-Islamic
arts & culture panel
for public diplomacy. He is a professor at Queens College
(CUNY), where he teaches music and poetry from Muslim culture,
and he received an honorary doctorate from the Claremont
Graduate University in 2009. |
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