The Bombs of Dhamma

By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

I have a new article at the Daily Standard, co-written with my colleague Nick Grace, about two musicians who hope to create social change in Pakistan. Singer-songwriter Imran Raza and guitarist Faraz Anwar hope that their music and the tolerant spirituality that undergirds it can provide an alternative to the extremism that has gripped the country -- and they are taking personal risks in advancing this message. An excerpt:

Raza began looking for a musical collaborator. The search took four years, but was finally successful. Faraz Anwar, 30, had won Pakistan's national music competition at the age of 11, and had become a full-time musician at 14, touring as a guitarist with top-tier acts. Counting his recordings as a session musician, Anwar has sold over 30 million albums -- no small feat in a country where music piracy is rampant. Although popular performers had tried to form bands with Anwar, he had always turned them down.

It was President Musharraf who introduced Raza and Anwar. Raza had a family connection with the president -- an uncle had gone through officer training with Musharraf. Last May, Musharraf and Raza saw each other at a Sufi musical performance at the governor's house in Karachi, and Raza struck up a conversation with the president, a fan of classic rock. Raza explained his musical project and expressed an interest in working with the legendary Anwar.

Days later, Raza found himself in Anwar's modern recording studio in Karachi. Above an impressive guitar collection hung two six-foot posters, one of Jimi Hendrix and one of Anwar. Anwar was initially dismissive -- but when he flipped through Raza's lyrics, a song called "The Bombs of Dhamma" caught his eye. Dhamma is the Pali word for dharma, which Raza explains as "an enlightened state of purified intentions where one doesn't desire to do anyone harm." The song proclaims: "I believe in enlightened moderation, the beauty of knowing who you are." It calls for "Bombs of purity and bombs of joy / Bombs of peace and bombs of love / Bombs of harmony and bombs of compassion / The bombs of dhamma."

On reading this, Anwar exclaimed in Urdu, "Finally someone has come my way who is on my level!" The two musicians began recording Raza's songs. The first one they tackled was "Fly with Us," which mixes South Asian flutes and classical Sufi singing with classic rock. Speaking of the need for "a real reformation," the song contrasts religious intolerance with the fresh spirit of classic rock, inviting listeners to spurn extremism and "fly with" Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles.

You can read the whole article here. I have also previously written about the arts as a potential vehicle for creating social change in the Islamic world:

• "Movie Stars vs. Islamists," published in the Weekly Standard on September 18, 2006, examines the work of Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar.
• "Warrior of Love," published in the Daily Standard on November 15, 2006, examines the work of Indonesian rock singer Ahmad Dhani.
  

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