Eight Pakistani singers join forces to try to root out misconceptions that most Muslims support terror
The Toronto Star, Oct 11, 2007
SONYA FATAH
ISLAMABAD–An anti-terrorist anthem by rock stars in Pakistan is reaching out across the web, echoing the music-with-a-message efforts of Bob Geldof and Bono.
But instead of a Christmas appeal for famine relief, or an environmental plea, Pakistan’s latest musical collaboration by eight top stars takes aim at popular misconceptions of Muslims that stereotype them as terrorists despite Islam’s legacy of peace.
Their song – “Yeh Hum Naheen” (This is Not Us) – is a video collage showing images of average Pakistani youth voicing opposition to the terror label. Its aim? To send a message of unity to Pakistani youth and to root out the impression that most Pakistanis support terror.
It’s up against seemingly non-stop media coverage of suicide bombings, sectarian killings and tribal strife across Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
“This is not us, not us, not us,” the song begins. “The stories that are being spread in our names are lies.”
The idea for an Islamic rock video with global appeal took root quickly among Pakistan’s music elite, but the musical wave is travelling relatively slowly by the standards of the Web. Downloads are in the tens of thousands, far from the millions of record sales and donations for Ethiopian famine relief attracted by Irish rocker Geldof’s “Do They Know it’s Christmas.”
It’s hard to gauge the impact of “Yeh Hum Naheen” on listeners in Pakistan or overseas. Accurate sales records are not available in Pakistan although the song played constantly on MTV Pakistan for four weeks when it was released in February. Then there was enough demand for a July release in Britain. In Pakistan, a nation of more than 160 million, the numbers are small. Since its release, there have been about 73,000 hits on YouTube and the “Yeh Hum Naheen” website has been visited 26,000 times.
But it’s a start. Musical collaborations are rare in Pakistan, so getting eight stars to record a single together was no simple feat – akin to persuading Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé and Shakira to make music together.
“So many people approach us with their causes,” Ali Zafar, 27, Pakistan’s hottest young singer, said in an interview. “But I was interested in this cause from the start.”
Zafar, who sang before 10,000 fans at Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan last summer, says he wanted to make a difference.
“I thought about it – what do I really want to do with my music? If I could somehow use my music to connect the world, why not? I think the media are providing a certain kind of awareness to the public. We see one colour of Pakistan being splashed all over the place. Where are the 20,000 different colours in our palette?”
Pakistanis in the diaspora feel that frustration as much as anyone. For them the song is a visual way of rounding out Pakistan’s public face.
“I like the video in that it’s good to see Pakistanis uniting and taking a political stand,” says Nadya Habib, 28, an elementary school teacher in Toronto who watched the video on YouTube. “I feel that people have begun to internalize the negative images they have been bombarded with, and it’s definitely affecting the younger generation a lot.”
She’s skeptical of whether it will bring change unless there is a stronger response from the larger Pakistani public.
The song’s inspiration emerged from the experiences of two brothers in Birmingham, England. Khurrum and Khaiyyam Mahmood, 20 and 18 respectively, who asked their father to do something about the image of Islam being propagated by young Muslims in Britain.
“Some children came to my children and told them they were bad Muslims because they ate pasta,” says Waseem Mahmood, 45, their father, a media consultant and a former BBC producer, who says “Yeh Hum Naheen” is his way of bridging a perception gap between the West and Islam.
So Mahmood decided he’d turn to music and Pakistan’s pop sensations to influence Pakistani youth at home and in the diaspora.
“It was such a worthy cause that all of us just jumped on board,” Haroon Rashid, one of the eight singers, told the BBC.
“There’s a lot of misunderstanding, mistrust. There’s a lot of fear of what’s different, of the unknown, and I guess this is an attempt to help bridge that.”
Mahmood says he’s been overwhelmed by the response he’s received since the single was aired. He’s also a proud dad since his sons shot and filmed the video.
He’s not, however, removed from the debate on home turf. The few negative voices, he says, disagree with his approach. “They believe this should be aimed at the real terrorists who are in Downing Street or in the White House.”
Now Mahmood is on a mission. “Yeh Hum Naheen” cost $60,000 but Mahmood feels this is just the beginning. The song hasn’t been released in North America yet but Mahmood has plans. He’s also planning a Band Aid or Live 8 style concert to continue his journey.
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