N.E.R.F.

Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam by Omar Majeed

When he was 17, Michael Knight left his mother’s home in Rochester to study Islam at a Pakistani madrassa. It was his first act of rebellion – against his abusive, schizophrenic, white-supremacist father. Years later, burned out on the demands of religious dogma, Mike rebelled once more – by penning a Muslim Punk manifesto called The Taqwacores. Striking a chord with young Muslims around the world, Taqwacore soon became a scene. This film follows Michael and his band of Muslim punks as they journey across the U.S. and Pakistan, transforming their worlds, their religion and themselves through the spirit of Taqwacore.

Omar Majeed is a filmmaker, a Gemini-Award winning editor, a motion graphics artist and celebrated raconteur par excellence. He is also a devoted husband, friend, armchair-therapist, bookbinder, soda-pop mixer, punk provocateur, sensitive poet, insufferable gadfly, cinephile snob, and can play three-chord rock very well on his accoustic guitar. Taqwacore is his latest film and he really wants you to see it.

Taqwacore will be screening at 815pm this Sunday (16 August) at The Substation, as part of the 4th Singapore Indie Doc Fest. More details / ticketing here »