By Barbara Karkabi - Houston Chronicle - TX, U.S.A.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sufi songs of the 'beloved': Islamic music performance will benefit education
As a child growing up in Pakistan, Kausar Safar loved listening to the fast-paced, vibrant sound of Qawwali music.
She knew that there was a religious aspect to the music played on the radio on Friday, the Islamic day of worship.
But she didn't understand its connections to the Sufi mystics until she was older. As a teen, she focused on the romantic-sounding lyrics that talked about the "beloved" and his identity.
Now she understands that the words may sound very secular, but the language is symbolic and represents souls longing for knowledge and joy found in loving the divine.
"My mother always used to sing Qawwali music at home, and I do, too," said Safar, now a Houston speech pathologist. "Sometimes I sing at home, while cooking or in the car. For some people, it's a part of everyday life, though there are others who don't think music has any part in religion."
Safar is looking forward to next weekend's performance of a popular Pakistani Qawwali group. She helped promote the concert and hopes non-Pakistani members of the Houston community will attend.
(...)
Safar hopes to translate several of the songs into English for the concert program. But even if the words are not understood, she believes the audience will get into the beat and rhythm of Qawwali.
"There is so much negativity about Islam," Safar said. "And I want people to know it is not so bad; there is love and peace, and Qawwali is about God's love for us and our love for God and our desire to please him. God is one, and he wants us to love and appreciate our differences. We are all God's creation."
[Watch and listen: a live performance of this group
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_5Oe88Bn6s]
QAWWALI CONCERT
The Pakistani group Zaki Zaman Taji Qawwal will present an evening of mystical Sufi music.
• When: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 8
• Where: Stafford Civic Center, 1415 Constitution, Stafford
• Tickets: $25-$100; 713-464-4648
• Benefits: Developments in Literacy, a nonprofit group providing education to children in rural Pakistan (www.dil.org).
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
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Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Get Into the Beat!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sufi songs of the 'beloved': Islamic music performance will benefit education
As a child growing up in Pakistan, Kausar Safar loved listening to the fast-paced, vibrant sound of Qawwali music.
She knew that there was a religious aspect to the music played on the radio on Friday, the Islamic day of worship.
But she didn't understand its connections to the Sufi mystics until she was older. As a teen, she focused on the romantic-sounding lyrics that talked about the "beloved" and his identity.
Now she understands that the words may sound very secular, but the language is symbolic and represents souls longing for knowledge and joy found in loving the divine.
"My mother always used to sing Qawwali music at home, and I do, too," said Safar, now a Houston speech pathologist. "Sometimes I sing at home, while cooking or in the car. For some people, it's a part of everyday life, though there are others who don't think music has any part in religion."
Safar is looking forward to next weekend's performance of a popular Pakistani Qawwali group. She helped promote the concert and hopes non-Pakistani members of the Houston community will attend.
(...)
Safar hopes to translate several of the songs into English for the concert program. But even if the words are not understood, she believes the audience will get into the beat and rhythm of Qawwali.
"There is so much negativity about Islam," Safar said. "And I want people to know it is not so bad; there is love and peace, and Qawwali is about God's love for us and our love for God and our desire to please him. God is one, and he wants us to love and appreciate our differences. We are all God's creation."
[Watch and listen: a live performance of this group
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_5Oe88Bn6s]
QAWWALI CONCERT
The Pakistani group Zaki Zaman Taji Qawwal will present an evening of mystical Sufi music.
• When: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 8
• Where: Stafford Civic Center, 1415 Constitution, Stafford
• Tickets: $25-$100; 713-464-4648
• Benefits: Developments in Literacy, a nonprofit group providing education to children in rural Pakistan (www.dil.org).
Labels:
music
By Barbara Karkabi - Houston Chronicle - TX, U.S.A.Friday, August 31, 2007
Sufi songs of the 'beloved': Islamic music performance will benefit education
As a child growing up in Pakistan, Kausar Safar loved listening to the fast-paced, vibrant sound of Qawwali music.
She knew that there was a religious aspect to the music played on the radio on Friday, the Islamic day of worship.
But she didn't understand its connections to the Sufi mystics until she was older. As a teen, she focused on the romantic-sounding lyrics that talked about the "beloved" and his identity.
Now she understands that the words may sound very secular, but the language is symbolic and represents souls longing for knowledge and joy found in loving the divine.
"My mother always used to sing Qawwali music at home, and I do, too," said Safar, now a Houston speech pathologist. "Sometimes I sing at home, while cooking or in the car. For some people, it's a part of everyday life, though there are others who don't think music has any part in religion."
Safar is looking forward to next weekend's performance of a popular Pakistani Qawwali group. She helped promote the concert and hopes non-Pakistani members of the Houston community will attend.
(...)
Safar hopes to translate several of the songs into English for the concert program. But even if the words are not understood, she believes the audience will get into the beat and rhythm of Qawwali.
"There is so much negativity about Islam," Safar said. "And I want people to know it is not so bad; there is love and peace, and Qawwali is about God's love for us and our love for God and our desire to please him. God is one, and he wants us to love and appreciate our differences. We are all God's creation."
[Watch and listen: a live performance of this group
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_5Oe88Bn6s]
QAWWALI CONCERT
The Pakistani group Zaki Zaman Taji Qawwal will present an evening of mystical Sufi music.
• When: 8:30 p.m. Sept. 8
• Where: Stafford Civic Center, 1415 Constitution, Stafford
• Tickets: $25-$100; 713-464-4648
• Benefits: Developments in Literacy, a nonprofit group providing education to children in rural Pakistan (www.dil.org).
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