Culture humanises what politics diminishes

JAIPUR: Coming to India is like returning home, says Salman Ahmad, Pakistani musician, former actor and now a writer. In Pink City to perform at the on-going Jaipur Literature Festival, the founder of Junoon, Ahmad, in an informal chat with TOI, spoke about his passions, including music and politics.
"I share the same passions with my friends here - cricket, music, travel and of course, politics,'' he says, with a smile.
Talking about his book Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star's Revolution, Ahmad says that he is probably the first Pakistani and Muslim musician to write his memoirs.
"The idea came to me post 9/11, where media in US would ask me deep questions about issues like Islam and Pakistan and in return, expect short sound bytes for answers. I realised during these interview sessions that while the wedge between Islam and the West existed, their knowledge about the issue was zero,'' he says.
That prompted him to write a book, where he describes how his passion for music - his "junoon'' helped him in his fight - his jihad - to bring about unity between the West and Muslim world and raise his voice for bring about a social change in Pakistan. Having faced a ban in Pakistan twice and death-threats now a routine', the journey must have been difficult?
"Of course, but the job of the artist is to speak out. Pakistan is a faith-centric country, discussions should be allowed, free and fair. I have read the Quran and I am against anybody who misquote it. The holy book clearly says there are no compulsions in religion. When suicide is haram', how can extremist justify suicide-bombers,'' he said, adding "In Pakistan, thugs and murders are masquerading as holy men and people are just confused".
Talking about the Indo-Pak debate, he said, "Culture humanises what politics diminishes. The culture we share is the same but yet diversified' is different, which we should celebrate through the channels of the shared culture.''