The difficulty of being young and Muslim in the western world is brilliantly captured in a new film described as the “Catcher in the Rye” for American Muslims. Based on a cult novel by Michael Muhammad Knight which was originally handed out free in parking lots in America, THE TAQWACORES (15) is available to buy from all good retailers on 24th October 2011, RRP £15.99.
Directed by Eyad Zahra, with music from American Muslim punk band “The Kominas” and starring a hip, young cast including Bobby Naderi, Noureen DeWulf and Dominic Rains, THE TAQWACORES is a thought-provoking and insurrectionary tale exploring notions of punk music, sexuality and what it is to be a young alternative Muslim Americamn today. Yusef (Bobby Naderi) a first-generation Pakistani engineering student, moves off-campus with a group of Muslim punks in Buffalo, New York. His new “unorthodox” housemates soon introduce him to Taqwacore - a hardcore, Muslim punk rock scene that only exists on the West Coast of America.
As the seasons change, Taqwacore influences the house more and more. The living room becomes a mosque during the day, while it continues to host punk parties at night. Ultimately, Taqwacore influences Yusef too, as he begins to challenge his own faith and ideologies.
