Punk rock means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but to Michael Muhammad Knight, a young white guy from upstate New York who converted to Islam in his teens and traveled to Islamabad to study at the Faisal Mosque, punk rock is a way to transcend cultural boundries. Upon his return to the US, Michael started to lose touch with Islamic orthodoxy, and fell in with a group of punks in Buffalo, NY, where he decided to write a book about a group of Islamic punk rockers as a letting go of his religion, but it managed to catch the attention of kids around the country. Children of Muslim immigrants gone against their religion, forming bands, playing shows, and expressing themselves in a way that isn’t generally acceptable in the eyes of the Islamic faith. Docu-helmer Omar Majeed’s Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam captures both the often wonderful political provocation, and sometimes embarrassing naivety of punk rock, while preserving these pitfalls in its construction.
A mish-mash of Muslim punks pile into a spray painted old school bus, driving from town to town spreading the undefined word of Taqwacore. With most Islamic purists appalled at the thought of expression through aural aggression, and most American’s confused by their religious undertones, these Muslim punk kids are trying to bust down the walls on both sides. As a group, they vary greatly in what they are trying to get across. Some are using music as a way to spread their love of Allah, some use their voice to publicly question Islamic ideals, while others seem to revel in the rejection of it all. Their short lived tour culminates in a surprise performance at The Islamic Society of North America, where they faced much controversy from traditionalists, resulting in a police shutdown. Shortly after, Michael and a few others travel back to Pakistan to continue reaching out to people using punk rock without the ridiculous stereotypes that followed them throughout America. As one might expect, some people were outraged, but those open to something a bit different were instantly sucked in, maybe not ready to rock liberty spikes, but enough to enthusiastically sing along, and dance a bit with their fellow strangers in the pit.
Like many of these young and passionate musicians, Majeed’s film seems to lose its way on its punk rock journey. He smartly uses Michael as a narrator, and a stage setter, as he is the reason many of these kids got into playing punk in the first place, but he is also unnecessarily used as a protagonist. Midway through the film, Majeed trails off into Michael’s re-embracing of his faith upon his return to Pakistan, leaving our musical journeymen behind for quite some time. Though there is some mesmerizing imagery, and a smattering of theological contemplation found on his little tangent, most of it is irrelevant to the overall story. The film peaks as we witness the tension build until the first harsh yell of a performance, breaking through to a crowd amidst a revelation, instantaneously having their minds blown at the fact that they could be enjoying something so challenging and raw. At its heart, punk rock is all warm and fuzzy after all.
Lorber Films has brought this 2009 docu feature to DVD for the first time. The film is not a pinnacle of technical prowess, but for what it is, the muffled basement show footage, and on the fly shooting fit the subject matter well. Conversation is reproduced well on this stereo mix, and while there is distorted indistinguishable vocals or the occasional Arabic, Punjabi, or Urdu mixed in, easily readable subtitles are in place to fill in the gaps. The film is presented in its original 1.77:1 aspect ratio, and the disc is region free for easy importing for those outside of US borders.
Original Theatrical Trailer
The disc’s lone special feature is one measly, but well constructed trailer that manages to capture the spirit of the film, balancing religion and musical rebellion.
Losing itself a bit halfway through, Taqwacore, doesn’t possess the cohesion needed to construct a fell length doc. With a bit of crafty editing, this could have been a much more arresting mid-length doc, rather than a rag-tag full length that doesn’t manage to pin down its subject. Lorber’s release lacks any substantial goodies, but the film’s transfer is decent. If you’re into the music scene this might be worth a look.
