Pakistani star rock ‘n’ rolls with punches

Concert at university highlights plight of quake victims and his own struggles with fundamentalists

By: Hilary Parker
   One of the first times rock star Salman Ahmad performed in his native Pakistan, the drum set was smashed, the amp was kicked off the stage and the guitarist lost his guitar.
   But it wasn’t Mr. Ahmad and his band who were carried away by the music in the heat of the moment.
   "My first thought was, ‘Wait a minute, rock musicians are supposed to break the instruments,’" Mr. Ahmad said, describing how a group of fundamentalists put a quick end to the concert, claiming that the Koran forbids music.
   This was one of many events in Mr. Ahmad’s life that ultimately led to the creation of "The Rockstar and the Mullah," a BBC-PBS documentary about the conflict between Mr. Ahmad and the fundamentalist clerics of Pakistan trying to suppress music and Mr. Ahmad.
   After a screening of the film Thursday on the Princeton University campus, Mr. Ahmad told the audience that another event that compelled him to make the film was the day that a close friend, and former band member, came to him and told him that he’d become very spiritual and was going to give up music. That, coupled with a note from a religious scholar damning him for his music, prompted Mr. Ahmad to study the Koran intensely, looking for evidence that music is forbidden in Islam.
   "I couldn’t find any evidence of music being prohibited in Islam," he said, despite the widespread view held by many in Pakistan.
   Mr. Ahmad dreamed of being a musician as a child, but grew up believing "there’s no career in music in Pakistan," he said. But after entering a national song contest for the one Pakistani television station, he found that his song "Dil Dil Pakistan" (My Heart is For Pakistan) struck a chord with the 60 million people who saw his band perform, and he decided to chance a music career.
   "It touched a nerve in that country, especially amongst young people. The lyrics conveyed, ‘We’re modern, but we’re Pakistani,’" he said. While the Pakistan-India border has long been a source of conflict, Mr. Ahmad’s music, and its message, easily crossed between the two nations.
   The first time he and his band, Junoon, performed in India, the whole country was singing his song "Sayonee" (Soulmate). "They saw a different view of Pakistan," he said. "Films and music break down these stereotypes, humanize the face of nations."
   Junoon’s focus is bringing nations together, and in that vein, the band performed a benefit concert Thursday evening at the Princeton University Chapel with all proceeds going to earthquake relief in Southeast Asia. Some 80,000 people, including Mr. Ahmad’s aunt and cousin, already have died, and he explained that as winter sets in, the biggest need is for winterized tents.
   He said, "Seventy-five dollars will cover the cost of one tent, which will shelter 10 to 12 people. Winter in Kashmir is brutal."
   His band’s Web site, www.junoon.com, has information and links on how to help, as well as a letter from Mr. Ahmad to his fans explaining why he cut his Middle East tour short to travel to the United States to raise funds and awareness for the earthquake.
   The concert at the chapel, which raised more than $3,000 for earthquake relief, is one more success for Mr. Ahmad’s humanitarian mission that knows no borders.
   Also a United Nations goodwill ambassador for HIV/AIDS, he explained on Thursday that the world is undergoing a huge social transformation.
   "Technology and the Internet, cell phones and diseases recognize no borders," he said.
   Neither does his music or his passion. Junoon, which he translates as "passion bordering on madness," has something to tell the world.
   "We put out a message of oneness," he said. "If you follow your heart, then all your dreams can come true."