The Magical Tale of Hoshruba, a Dastangoi Classic

By Musharraf Ali Farooqi

Qawalli and the Art of Devotion

Qawwali, the ecstatic music at the heart of Sufism, has traveled the globe for centuries in the mouths, ears, hearts, minds, and, more recently, the digital players and MP3 files of the South Asian diaspora. Resonant with high, clear calls of praise and deep harmonies, qawwali is a part of the Sufi tradition.
Faiz Ali Faiz and the Power of Qawwali

Watch an exclusive video clip of Faiz Ali Faiz in this stunning example of the qawwali musical tradition.

Adam Matta and Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra: The Bosses of Beatbox

Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion-- the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using the mouth, lips, tongue, voice and more. It may also involve singing and the vocal imitation of turntables, as well as simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments.
Matta and Muhammad: Together in Beatboxing

Adam Matta and Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra are two of the world's leading human percussionists, known as beatboxers. In this exclusive footage, check out a rare sample of Matta and Muhammad performing together.

Actor Naseeruddin Shah on what Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas means to him

Naseeruddin Shah (sometimes spelled Nasiruddin) was born in India in 1950 and is widely recognized as India's and one of the world's finest actors today. He began his career in parallel cinema, India's New Wave cinema movement, and is now one of that movement's icons.
Video: Shah Speaks

One of India's leading actors on the Dastangoi art form.

Artist Voices

In this section, we hear from a number of the artists who participated in Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas. In exclusive interviews captured on site and around town, artists share their perspectives, insights and observations about the festival and the impact that Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas has had.

Video: Youssou N'Dour Speaks

In this short interview, shot just before the opening of Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas, Senegalese world music giant Youssou N'Dour explains what this festival means to him personally and what he hopes to communicate with his participation.

US President Obama's Speech to the Muslim World, delivered June 4 2009 in Cairo, Egypt

The following is the text of President Obama's prepared remarks to the Muslim world, delivered on June 4, 2009, as released by the White House.

Art and the Islamic World: Toward a Deeper Understanding

Mahnaz Anwar Fancy

Music and Islam: A Deeper Look

By Hussein Rashid, Hofstra University

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Aftertimes

A poem by Forugh Farrokhzad
Translated by Prof. Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak

Death shall come upon me one day,
In a spring brightened with waves of light,
In a winter foggy and far;
Or in an autumn void of howling and mirth!

Death shall come upon me one day,
On a day amidst these bitter-sweet days,
On an idle day much like other days;

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Forugh Farrokhzad: A Landmark Iranian Artist, Revisited

Read a sample of Farrokhzad's work here.

Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak
Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Persian Studies
The University of Maryland

Urdu Poetry and the The Masnavi Tradition

By Asad ur Rahman

Sulayman Al-Bassam in the Arab Shakespeare Tradition

Margaret Litvin, Boston University

Arab Shakespeare: An Overview

The World of Persian Music and Poetry

Steve Blum, CUNY

The World of Abstracts: Parissa's Persian Music and the Rumi Poetry She Sings

With her soaring vocals and adherence to the classical style, Parissa has been heralded as one of the most important Persian musicians today. But the beauty of her music defies easy classification. Parissa is a traditional dastgah vocalist, or one who uses the system of Arabic maqām, the scales arranged to form the modes of Persian music.

Notes on Islam and Popular Musical Expression in West Africa

Ryan Thomas Skinner, Columbia University

Hearing Islam

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