2007年VOA标准英语-Muslim Punk Rock Joins American Cultural Scene

By Katie Photiadis
Washington
03 September 2007
 

A new American subculture is emerging - Muslim punk rock.  Islam is not often associated with punk rock, but like young people across many cultures, Muslim youth are expressing themselves through punk music. The Kominas are punk rockers based in Boston who are trying to create a unique sound based on South Asian beats, the Koran, American punk and Bollywood. Producer Katie Photiadis prepared the story. Ruth Reader narrates¹ it.

The Kominas

 In a run-down Episcopalian Church on the outskirts² of Baltimore, (in the coastal³ U.S. state of) Maryland, the Kominas and other punks rock on.

The Muslim punk rockers blend words from the Koran with American slang, as easily as they perform Islamic songs in a Christian⁴ Church.  This is a new generation.

Basim Usmani

"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" says Basim Usmani.

Like other punks, Kominas lead singer Basim Usmani yearns⁵ to break new ground. "It's the voice of alienation⁶. Growing up as the kid of immigrants you do get alienated⁷ and then you do look to create your own poems, your own music, you just want to escape into your own little world." 

The Kominas' songs are unique, at times offensive - like Suicide Bomb the Gap. Usmani adds, "There's a no-man's land in our lyrics⁸.  There's extreme repulsion with American mall culture, and there's extreme repulsion with bigotry⁹ in all its forms. A lot of people do get offended."

But Muslim punk is not just about offending people or promoting a specific ideology¹⁰ or religion. "We're not trying to endorse¹¹ Islam.  This is not like Christian rock. This is people who are asking questions about religion."

Shahjehan Khan

Instead, the Kominas say they are trying to create music that appeals to first generation Muslims Americans. Lead guitarist Shahjehan Khan. "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 feeling of isolation¹² is captured in the novel The Taqwacores about a group of Muslim punk rockers. Author Michael Knight¹³ says: "Taqwa means God-consciousness.  We're trying not to split hairs on anything. You're not Muslim enough, you're not punk enough that's the kind of thing we're retreating against.  We just accept each other."

But will Islam accept the Kominas? Is there room for Muslim punk rock at all? Author Michael Knight thinks there is. "People like to make Islam look really small, but Islam has had people like this before in its history. This isn't really anything new. Muslims have always been complicated human beings."

At the Church in Baltimore, the Kominas belt out their last song filled with English phrases, quotes from the Koran, lines from Bollywood movies and South Asian slang.  These punk rockers are not timid about meshing¹⁴ different faiths and cultures.  Indeed, they crash them.

1 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

2 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 yearns   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Every man yearns for sympathy in sorrow. 每个遇到不幸的人都渴望得到同情。
• What I dread is to get into a rut. One yearns for freshness of thought and ideas. 我害怕的就是墨守成规。人总是向往新思想和新观念的。

6 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

7 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

9 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

10 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

11 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

12 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

13 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

14 meshing   

结网，啮合

参考例句：

• The modification of gear is a principal method for improving performance meshing. 齿面修形是提高齿轮副啮合性能的重要手段。
• Exact modeling of gear teeth is based on meshing theory. 摘要根据齿轮啮合原理，建立了轮齿的精确齿形。