“Hodja Effendi,” the classic short tale begins, “last night I was passing by your house and I heard a lot of commotion. What was all that racket?”

“Nothing serious. My wife just threw my coat down the stairs,” the wise man replied.

“But Effendi, how could a coat falling down the stairs make that much noise?”

“Ahh. You see… at the time, I happened to be in it!”

The gregarious tales of the legendary Nasruddin Hodga have engaged and amused people for centuries. Beneath the mystical slapstick and mischievous satire, however, bubbles timeless wisdom. I’ve often chuckled at this short story without giving it much thought. But just what is Nasruddin telling us? What is all the noise and commotion? What does the coat represent?

A couple weeks ago, The Leaf Network co-hosted American playwright, author and commentator Wajahat Ali and renaissance man, actor, musician and activist Riz ‘MC’ Ahmed (star of Four Lions and upcoming Hollywood film adaptation of the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist) for a provocative and interactive exploration of the power of storytelling.

The second event of our Staging the Ummah series, a collaborative effort between The Leaf Network and Radical Middle Way, began with live unplugged storytelling, with the audience enjoying comic, theatrical, poetic and occasionally sombre offerings. For the second half of the evening, we moved on to an intimate discussion with Wajahat, Riz and the audience in our absolutely packed-out venue — we’ll have the video up on YouTube soon.

Wajahat spoke about empowering Muslim writers, producers and others working in the arts, imploring Muslims to be the protagonists of their own stories; to write more instead of just being written about. He shared his personal struggles of seeking validation within his own community and made some jovial comments about moving career aspirations of the Muslim community beyond the usual suspects (such as medicine, engineering or accounting).

Riz highlighted the challenges of imbuing emerging artists with the confidence and determination to succeed. He spoke of working towards a normalisation of Muslims within television and cinema – both in front of and behind the camera – when someone being a Muslim would be simply coincidental rather than overtly defining.

What followed in the conversation with the audience was a deep sense of frustration with how Muslims are depicted in film and the media in general. “It’s one thing having Muslims portrayed as dangerous foreign terrorists, but it’s another when Muslims themselves take on these roles… It’s counterproductive,” one person remarked.

Another member of the audience spoke about the lack of women playing positive roles, and the real difficulty of Muslim women breaking through multiple layers of the proverbial glass ceiling, first and foremost within their own communities and later within the arts industry itself.

We noted how the “otherisation” of Muslims in film perpetuates the false notion that Muslims are foreign, disloyal or a burden to society. Furthermore, it tells Muslims that they are not welcome and permits a culture of prejudice, flaming the fires of anti-Muslim sentiment already rampant through society.

A brilliant article entitled “Hollywood Loses the Plot” by Professor Hamid Dabashi on the Al-Jazeera website takes this further, as he considers the dangerous political ramifications of the culture industry, particularly the role of Hollywood.

What was interesting for me was the sense of healing that took place simply by providing that safe, alternative space to candidly explore and share reflections on the state of ‘Muslim art’. Much of the framing of this conversation was inspired by the likes of Usama Canon, whose pioneering work with the Ta’leef Collective in California has brought to life the power of the third space. It was as if the questions from the audience, particularly those involved in the creative industry, unearthed the bruises they had taken as the Muslim narrative itself had been battered on the big screen.

I then recalled Nassrudin’s coat. The story suddenly made sense.

Muslim Art & Its Role

It would seem the Muslim community at large has, for so long and for so many different reasons (some almost justifiably so), disregarded the critical importance and power of the arts. Just like Nassrudin’s coat, we carelessly throw our ‘art’ down the stairs without much thought — even if it is by our inaction alone.

Our concept of art is cheap and unsophisticated. We’d rather not pay for it, let alone value its production or nurture emerging artistic or create talent. ‘Islamic’ art is reduced to beautiful Arabic inscriptions made out of plastic and run off a production line in China.

This is where Muslim community institutions, movers and ‘Sheikh-ers’ can play a critical role. The Muslim narrative is battered, bruised and lies there almost lifeless at the bottom of the stairs, sometimes humiliated, and exposed for all to see.

The truth is that we’re all guilty of this. I recall spending some time driving Isam Bachiri, lead singer of the Danish band Outlandish, around London a few years ago. As we spoke casually, he sifted through my CD collection and with tongue-in-cheek grace, he asked, “What’s this, bro?” He was holding up a pirated CD of his latest album, with the words “Outlandish – new stuff” scrawled on the bottom. You can imagine how embarrassed I was, so I’m glad he laughed it off, but I see now how damaging this behaviour is.

[box_light]Nietzsche wrote, “We have art so that we may not perish by the truth.”[/box_light]

Art is so powerful because it is able to articulate something deep inside of us, concealed truths, better than we could ever express ourselves. It is beauty and majesty manifested. It shapes the way we think, sense and perceive the world. It is all around us. In becoming producers of art, and not just being consumers, we can learn more about ourselves and our stories. We can be honest about our past, realistic about our present and hopeful about our future trajectory.

“Copy a Hollywood film and call it our own” raps Pakistani-Danish Waqas Qadiri, another of the Outlandish trio. Waqas here sheds light on the culture of imitation and plagiarism that is ironically rife in much of the creative industry; Muslim creativity sadly falls prey to this time and time again. This is evident beyond the arts and culture world, and is even present in our religious programming and teaching.

There is a great brilliance in authentic expression; during our event, Wajahat powerfully remarked that in being true to your story you allow others to feel safe to authentically express their stories too. In the words of Marianne Williamson, “…as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same” — but I digress.

Muslim Treatment of Muslim Artists

Time and time again, we fail, as a community, to nurture our artists. We reduce them to merely entertainment addendums. Singer songwriter Dawud Wharsnby Ali tackles this beautifully: “I’d like to think there’s more to be than just a human MP3. More to see and more to do than offer up a song or two.” Canadian duo, The Sound of Reason, lament on another reality that faces so many Muslim artists, as they open a track on their new album with the words: “I’m so down and tired, I wonder if it’s worth our time. It’s kinda hard to get by getting paid in smiles…” Thankfully they go on to sing about why their art is so important to them. As a community, we owe it to ourselves to serve our artists better.

Where is that spirit that inspired Rumi, who, even seven hundred years after his passing, remains America’s bestselling poet? Where are the minds that made the majestic Alhambra Europe’s greatest tourist attraction? In every capital city you will find museums in which ‘Islamic Art’ enjoys a high status, yet almost all of it is historical. The beauty and transcendence that we have given the world through our art remains one of Islam’s greatest legacies, but can we harness this spirit to make our art a living legacy for all to experience and enjoy?

So what now? What needs to be done? Well, there is good news: there’s something you and only you can do, and so I hope you’ll indulge me. American curator Thelma Golden asks us in a TED talk entitled “How Art gives Shape to Cultural Change” to:

“…think about artists not just as content providers, though they can be brilliant at that, but as real catalysts… not always just simply about the aesthetic innovation that their minds imagine, that their visions create and put out there in the world, but more, perhaps, importantly, through the excitement of the community that they create as important voices that would allow us right now to understand our situation, as well as in the future.”

Luqman Ali, playwright, poet and founding artistic director of the UK-based Khayaal Theatre Group, delved into the subject in an address to Muslim leaders at a Forum in Italy in late 2012.

[quote]He said, “The greatest asset we must liquefy to forge engagement with the world today is in our art. It is this soft and subtle power that is the perfect antidote to all the hard and cold power we see on our televisions and in our politics. It may be subtle, but it is powerful. Communicating through the prism of art and culture is higher than any other discourse; when you speak to people through a discourse of dogma you automatically create a dichotomy; us and them. When you communicate through story you transcend this dichotomy, your audience has no choice but to live some aspect of your story. The Arabic word ‘Qasa’ for story means to follow in the one’s footsteps, so to engage in story is to invite people to experience your very footsteps… We have plenty of people spewing dogma unless we balance this equation we will find ourselves continually complaining about stories that our antagonistic to the spirit of our faith… We must empower and support our artists; believe me, this is what the world is waiting for.”[/quote]

His words ring true in so many ways. Just a couple weeks ago, it was announced that Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) will be making key contributions to the soundtrack of the forthcoming biopic starring Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, the founder of technology giant Apple.

Muhammad Ali, after giving a lecture at Harvard University one evening, was famously asked to give an impromptu poem. He paused for a second and then replied, “Me. We.” A simple but profound sentiment: the individual is inextricably tied to the wider community, and when the ’we’ is suffering, it’s time for all the ‘me’s to step up. The Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, likened his community to a body — when one part aches, the whole body aches. There is a great wisdom in this. The question is, what can we do?

Support Lena Khan & Ridwan Adhami

I’d like to put forward two brilliant projects that are seeking support from the wider community. Your support may be minimal but you could really make a massive difference. Truly, every little helps, and I’d like you to consider these two initiatives as communal projects for the benefit of all.

First is Lena Khan’s film “The Tiger Hunter.” Set in the 1970s, this story features a clever young man who comes to America on a quest for success and love in a hilarious story of ambition, failure and misfit friends. Lena has spent almost a decade working tirelessly on this film, and after raising several hundreds of thousands of dollars, she needs your support to cover that final stretch. Your investment is crucial and her Kickstarter page allows you to see exactly how your pledge will be used to turn this unique film into a reality. Please visit her site and make a contribution: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/879784241/the-tiger-hunter-a-feature-film Little or large, you can be a part of the Tiger Hunter story that is, God willing, coming to a cinema near you soon.

The second project is Ridwan Adhami’s “366* Photos a Day Limited Edition Art Book.” In an artistic struggle spanning a whole year, photographer and creative director Ridwan, who works under the name ‘RidzDesign’, took one photo every day during 2012. He now wants to create a coffee table art book to share the images and stories. I’ve been following Ridwan online since he began the project at the beginning of 2012; it really gave me a newfound appreciation for the intricacy and beauty of photography.

Ridwan is not trying to make money. He simply wants to share his art, and I really hope you can help turn that dream into a reality. Just $40 gets you this hardcover 12×9-inch-high quality case-bound colour print book. There are just hours left to support the project and get your hands on this one-of-a-kind unique initiative. Don’t delay, pledge today! Here’s the site: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ridzdesign/ridzdesign-366-a-photo-a-day-2012-limited-editionFor those who can give more, Ridwan has put up some great incentives. Check out and share the page, and most importantly, buy the book!

Just like Lena and Ridwan, there are so many artists around the world striving to remedy the state of Muslim art. They are essentially picking up the dusty, tattered coat and marching on with pride. Muslim artists both local and international, need your support. It may start with a ‘Like’ on Facebook, a re-tweet, a Kickstarter pledge (seriously, support Lena and Ridwan now!) and a song download, but if we are to truly realise the potential we have as a dynamic global community raised to serve the world, then each and every one of us must critically engage with, in some way or form, the wondrous world of art.

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This article is written by Dr Bilal Hassam and is a repost from the original “Nasruddin’s Coat, thoughts on ‘Muslim Art’ and why you should support Lena Khan and Ridwan Adhami” from GoatmilkBlog.com that appeared on 8th February 2013.