September 05, 2007	Wednesday	Sha'aban 22, 1428

NEW YORK, Sept 4: A Muslim punk rock band, called ‘Kominas’ is making waves in the music scene in the United States and is the focus of attention of religious groups and the Hollywood music industry, according to a major radio station here.

Members of the ‘Kominas’, which comprises of Muslim American teenagers of Pakistani descent, say in interview with the Voice of America radio that Muslim punk is not just about offending people or promoting a specific ideology or religion. “We’re not trying to endorse Islam. This is not like Christian rock. This is people who are asking questions about religion.”

The group say they are trying to create music that appeals to first generation Muslims Americans.

Lead guitarist Shahjehan Khan tells the VOA: “At the end of the day, you know, I grew up in a suburb of Massachusetts. I basically am white for all intents and purposes. I wasn’t really conscious of being anything else, until after 9/11. That was kind of like when I felt the this other identity thrust upon me and I [was] suddenly needing to explain myself.”

The Muslim punk rockers blend words from the Holy Quran with American slang, as easily as they perform Islamic songs in a Christian Church. This is a new generation.

“When I was a kid there wasn’t any music to really relate to. There was punk. There’s rap. There’s American culture. There’s music from Pakistan, and both of those are totally disjointed from what’s actually going on,” Basim Usmani lead singer of Kominas told the VOA.

Like other punk rockers, Basim Usmani yearns to break new ground, the VOA says. “It’s the voice of alienation. Growing up as the kid of immigrants you do get alienated and then you do look to create your own poems, your own music, you just want to escape into your own little world.”