Omar Waqar the rock sound of underground DC Omar
Waqar, A Pakistani-American rock artist, is not just a singer-songwriter but
also a lyrical activist whose music is engaging underground DC audiences like wild fire.
His songs
reflect diversity, originality, independence and expression of free thought -- the
most celebrated symbols of American society. Omar says that people are the same all
around the world, but what makes us different is how we think and treat one another. 
Click to watch the story
Omar says that people are the same all around the world, but what makes us different is how we think and treat one ...
Omar
Waqar, A Pakistani-American rock artist, is not just a
singer-songwriter but also a lyrical activist whose music is engaging
underground DC audiences like wild fire. His songs reflect diversity,
originality, independence and expression of free thought. Omar says
that people are the same all around the world, but what makes us
different is how we think and treat one another.
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video lang: en
(Translation disabled)
Added: 8 months ago
Views: 696
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Omar Waqar a Pakistani American rock musician and Kishan an Indian American Tabla player are using the power of their ...
Omar
Waqar a Pakistani American rock musician and Kishan an Indian American
Tabla player are using the power of their music to break barriers of
race culture and traditions. They say music is the best language to
speak in, people understand it no matter where they're from.
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video lang: en
(Translation disabled)
Added: 6 months ago
Views: 144
America series, Imran Siddiqui explores the culture, values, and philosophy of Omar Waqar, an up-and-coming songwriter ...
For
decades, rock-and-roll has been a staple on the American radio. But
just as America evolves, so, too, does its music. Today, a
California-born Muslim is reinterpreting rock-and-roll through both an
American and an Islamic lens, combining the familiar sounds of American
rock with traditional Islamic music and poetry. Yet he doesn't merely
synthesize; his experiences as an American Muslim allow him to add a
unique twist to his art.
In this third part of VOA's Muslims' America series, Imran Siddiqui
explores the culture, values, and philosophy of Omar Waqar, an
up-and-coming songwriter whose music creates an aural tapestry of
rock-and-roll, qawalli, and his experiences as a young Muslim in
America.
Growing up in the US, Waqar was drawn to the ideals of the punk rock
movement. But as he got older, he began to notice similarities between
these ideas and those of some traditional Muslim writers.
Rock-and-roll, qawalli, ghazal, and Sufism all helped to shape Waqar's
identity. Now, they are all present in his music.
Waqar thinks cross-cultural understanding could be improved if
Americans were exposed to Islamic authors and poets in schools.
Students might see, just as he did, that many people share the same
ideas across cultures.
As a Muslim in America, Waqar sometimes encounters ignorance and
bigotry, but he hopes that his music might help to create a more
positive image of Islam. "But really," Waqar says, "I just want to do
what feels good in my heart."
________________________________
Summary text by Gary Butterworth
VOA Urdu TV
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video lang: en
(Translation disabled)
Added: 3 weeks ago
Views: 151
Omar Waqar calls his Sufi-infused rock music "Sarmast." As a Muslim born in California, he uses his cross-cultural ...
Omar
Waqar calls his Sufi-infused rock music "Sarmast." As a Muslim born in
California, he uses his cross-cultural upbringing to bridge the gap
between East and West through music. In this second part of Muslims'
America's profile of "The Rock 'n' Roll Muslim," VOA's Imran Siddiqui
visits both Waqar's bandmate and his Ustad, or teacher. As Muslims in
America, both have had different experiences than Waqar. Yet the three
men share remarkably similar views, not just on music, but also on
society, culture, and the fault lines between religions. They agree,
though, that these differences are relatively small, and that different
people can coexist. According to Ustad Hamid Hussain, "Music makes a
common ground, where all the religions can come together."
________________________________
Summary text by Gary Butterworth
VOA Urdu TV
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video lang: en
(Translation disabled)
Added: 2 weeks ago
Views: 44
America series, Imran Siddiqui explores the culture, values, and philosophy of Omar Waqar, an up-and-coming songwriter ...
For
decades, rock-and-roll has been a staple on the American radio. But
just as America evolves, so, too, does its music. Today, a
California-born Muslim is reinterpreting rock-and-roll through both an
American and an Islamic lens, combining the familiar sounds of American
rock with traditional Islamic music and poetry. Yet he doesn't merely
synthesize; his experiences as an American Muslim allow him to add a
unique twist to his art.
In this third part of VOA's Muslims' America series, Imran Siddiqui
explores the culture, values, and philosophy of Omar Waqar, an
up-and-coming songwriter whose music creates an aural tapestry of
rock-and-roll, qawalli, and his experiences as a young Muslim in
America.
Growing up in the US, Waqar was drawn to the ideals of the punk rock
movement. But as he got older, he began to notice similarities between
these ideas and those of some traditional Muslim writers.
Rock-and-roll, qawalli, ghazal, and Sufism all helped to shape Waqar's
identity. Now, they are all present in his music.
Waqar thinks cross-cultural understanding could be improved if
Americans were exposed to Islamic authors and poets in schools.
Students might see, just as he did, that many people share the same
ideas across cultures.
As a Muslim in America, Waqar sometimes encounters ignorance and
bigotry, but he hopes that his music might help to create a more
positive image of Islam. "But really," Waqar says, "I just want to do
what feels good in my heart."
________________________________
Summary text by Gary Butterworth
VOA Urdu TV
(more)
(less)
video lang: en
(Translation disabled)
Added: 3 weeks ago
Views: 78
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