Arts Desk, "Ramadan Festival rocks" - The Asian News - UKWednesday, October 1, 2008
London: Muslim cultural extravaganzas reinforced Islam’s spirit of harmony at the Ramadan Festival.
The event closed its series of groundbreaking arts and cultural events with a storming array of musicians and performers from around the Muslim world.
The London based Barbican Arts Centre provided an eclectic setting for the unique event held here to mark the end of the holy month.
Arts Crafts and literature exhibitions were accompanied by a performance by Pankaj Silat Mediational Sufistic Martial Arts.
The Qawaali took centre stage at the event marrying music & spiritual cultural humanism in a way that made it accessible to all. Sajid Ahmed Khan Qawwal Ensemble are a great example of British based Muslim artists in this regard - performing devotional music from the shrines of Pakistan spanning Arabic, Urdu and Persian languages with lyrics from Sufi poets and mystics.
Sajid's vocal improvisations created dynamic rhythms which took devotees into transcendental ecstasy & for the general audience the high octane energy of the performance engaged even those who may not have understood the depth of the poetry. For hundreds of visitors of the Barbican Centre, the sound Tabla, Dholak and Sitar and the band’s rendition of sufi Islamic singing was a special treat which throughout captivated their imagination.
Supported by the US, Dutch & Egyptian Embassies in London, the Festival has successfully partnered the Notting Hill Carnival with Al Tanoora Whirling Dervishes, the V&A in Interfaith tours and Sufi Dhikrs at St Etheburga's Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, amongst many others performances.
An innovative 'Fast & Feed a Friend' campaign was also launched in which Mosques were asked to open their doors to the British homeless.
More than 50 volunteers went out to city centers, homeless points, tube stations and community centers to feed the hungry and just to interact with those who do not know about the spirit of hospitality that the holy month generates.
Syed Mohsin Abbas, Director of Ramadan Festival UK, summarised the month long events as the first ever transnational expression of the culture of Ramadan with hundreds of events all over Holland, Norway and Great Britain.
He said: "It was great to see mainstream British society enjoying music, visual arts & food from the Muslim World. The events of this month are already leading to greater dialogue understanding & therefore is bound to lead to enduring friendship between people of different faiths & cultures."
He said the festival’s real success lies in engaging grassroots Muslims in opening their doors to the British society in the spirit of hospitality & generosity.
Abbas said the success of the festival had encouraged him to organize the Ramadan hospitality dinners in 2009 with an even greater participation from different communities. "The celebration of the auspicious month of Ramadan is not just for Muslims but something that everyone can share in & will become regular feature in the British social Arts & Culture calendar which this year showcase has proved is a distinct reality."
Abbas explained it was regrettable that the Muslim communities were only being talked about in the sense of religion and political Islam and without the context of its varied cultures. Such narrative, he said, was distorting the true spirit of Islam and doing a great deal of harm to Muslims communities in the west, especially British Muslims.
He said: "Ramadan Festival is a clear message to both Muslims & mainstream British society that it is possible to share common platforms & spaces regardless of colour, creed or religion. Muslims must engage more proactively outside the religious narrative in a language which communicates effectively with the rest of society.
"The emergence of creatives & thinkers from the British Muslim community is crucial to providing new impetus to what has become a stale scenario of provocative anti-faith action followed by knee jerk reactions from Muslim extremists. The kaleidoscope of opinion that exists between these polarised camps of secular & religious fascists is all too often subsumed by the cacophony of noise generated by self proclaimed community leaders & sensationalist hacks," he added.
London: Muslim cultural extravaganzas reinforced Islam’s spirit of harmony at the Ramadan Festival.
The event closed its series of groundbreaking arts and cultural events with a storming array of musicians and performers from around the Muslim world.
The London based Barbican Arts Centre provided an eclectic setting for the unique event held here to mark the end of the holy month.
Arts Crafts and literature exhibitions were accompanied by a performance by Pankaj Silat Mediational Sufistic Martial Arts.
The Qawaali took centre stage at the event marrying music & spiritual cultural humanism in a way that made it accessible to all. Sajid Ahmed Khan Qawwal Ensemble are a great example of British based Muslim artists in this regard - performing devotional music from the shrines of Pakistan spanning Arabic, Urdu and Persian languages with lyrics from Sufi poets and mystics.
Sajid's vocal improvisations created dynamic rhythms which took devotees into transcendental ecstasy & for the general audience the high octane energy of the performance engaged even those who may not have understood the depth of the poetry. For hundreds of visitors of the Barbican Centre, the sound Tabla, Dholak and Sitar and the band’s rendition of sufi Islamic singing was a special treat which throughout captivated their imagination.
Supported by the US, Dutch & Egyptian Embassies in London, the Festival has successfully partnered the Notting Hill Carnival with Al Tanoora Whirling Dervishes, the V&A in Interfaith tours and Sufi Dhikrs at St Etheburga's Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, amongst many others performances.
An innovative 'Fast & Feed a Friend' campaign was also launched in which Mosques were asked to open their doors to the British homeless.
More than 50 volunteers went out to city centers, homeless points, tube stations and community centers to feed the hungry and just to interact with those who do not know about the spirit of hospitality that the holy month generates.
Syed Mohsin Abbas, Director of Ramadan Festival UK, summarised the month long events as the first ever transnational expression of the culture of Ramadan with hundreds of events all over Holland, Norway and Great Britain.
He said: "It was great to see mainstream British society enjoying music, visual arts & food from the Muslim World. The events of this month are already leading to greater dialogue understanding & therefore is bound to lead to enduring friendship between people of different faiths & cultures."
He said the festival’s real success lies in engaging grassroots Muslims in opening their doors to the British society in the spirit of hospitality & generosity.
Abbas said the success of the festival had encouraged him to organize the Ramadan hospitality dinners in 2009 with an even greater participation from different communities. "The celebration of the auspicious month of Ramadan is not just for Muslims but something that everyone can share in & will become regular feature in the British social Arts & Culture calendar which this year showcase has proved is a distinct reality."
Abbas explained it was regrettable that the Muslim communities were only being talked about in the sense of religion and political Islam and without the context of its varied cultures. Such narrative, he said, was distorting the true spirit of Islam and doing a great deal of harm to Muslims communities in the west, especially British Muslims.
He said: "Ramadan Festival is a clear message to both Muslims & mainstream British society that it is possible to share common platforms & spaces regardless of colour, creed or religion. Muslims must engage more proactively outside the religious narrative in a language which communicates effectively with the rest of society.
"The emergence of creatives & thinkers from the British Muslim community is crucial to providing new impetus to what has become a stale scenario of provocative anti-faith action followed by knee jerk reactions from Muslim extremists. The kaleidoscope of opinion that exists between these polarised camps of secular & religious fascists is all too often subsumed by the cacophony of noise generated by self proclaimed community leaders & sensationalist hacks," he added.
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