Knowledge and Arts Tour 2009

Spray paint, skate parks, baggy jeans and Zoo York caps aren’t usually what comes to mind when most people think of the word “Islam.” But that’s exactly what was on display at the Islam-inspired event Khalisah and Nour found themselves at two Sundays ago. Girls in all colors of headscarves covered every surface around them with paint, skaters skidded to a stop to join in, even a few kids scrawled their names on the boards set out for the participants. At the center of all the commotion, a big bearded man draped in Timberland apparel from head to toe worked steadily on a wall in front of him. Slowly, an image started materializing through the paint: an explosion of cement and light surrounding the calming blue-shaded word “Truth.”

This was the first day of the Knowledge and Arts Tour 2009 (K&A). A local group of grassroots activists called the Young Muslims Project (YMP) had organized the tour, which lasted from July 5th to July 15th, to serve their community. All in their twenties, these young organizers had three objectives behind bringing this tour to life: 1) Inspiring Malaysian Muslim youth to have confidence in their religion and identity, 2) Connecting Malaysian Muslim youth to scholars, role models, and artists who’ve played exemplary roles in their respective communities, and 3) Educating Malaysian Muslim youth so that they have the tools to address the multitude of challenges the future has in store for them.

The YMP planned to accomplish all this by combing traditional, lecture-based talks with film screenings, mural paintings and meetings with local graffiti artists – an approach they hoped would appeal to the youth in their community.

Judging from the enthusiastic turnout on the first day, it looked like the YMP hit on the right formula. The audience was captivated by Suhaib Webb, the dynamic American imam who can speak about the latest Batman film in one sentence and 11th century Muslim scholar al-Ghazali in the next. Later, Mohammed Ali, the English graffiti artist described above, took the floor and gave a short talk about the history of graffiti in cultures around the world – including Islamic cultures. Then the audience moved out to the neighboring skate park to take part in their own graffiti art (on plywood boards provided by the YMP of course, not on the actual neighborhood itself). Nour rolled up her sleeves and got down to some art while Khalisah leaned back and took in the fumes, watching the people milling around with spray cans. Amin, the founder of the YMP, found the slightly dazed Khalisah and sat down with her to discuss art, culture, and how the light-headed feeling from the spray paint is probably the death of several brain cells.

Over the next ten days, the YMP hosted over ten events that focused on the themes of being young, Muslim and modern. The talks took place at venues all over Kuala Lumpur, from university lecture halls to art galleries. And at every event, people of all shapes, sizes and colors came to participate. Although the events were geared specifically towards issues relating to Muslim youth, it seems that they resonated with people far outside that demographic. There were non-Muslims, new converts to Islam, elderly grandparents, toddlers, and foreigners – not to mention all of the varied races and ethnicities that make up Malaysian identity. At these talks, you could see Islam at its best: open, dynamic, caring, and accepting. A nice contrast from the Islam usually shown in the news and mainstream media.

The K&A, ultimately, was a week-long success and the YMP has done what many small faith-based organizations often fall short of doing: They’ve made religion cool. And not “cool” in a way that requires the endorsement of a rap star to nod and say “don’t do drugs yo,” but cool in that Malaysian youth can attend these talks and activities as a part of the lives they lead. They aren’t invited to sit in a mosque and be lectured on how their lifestyles are going against the grain of Islam, but rather they make plans to go do some graffiti and learn an interesting thing or two on Islamic calligraphy. The older youth have a place to meet others their age while tackling the question of being a Muslim in university and how this might set them apart from other students.

In a world where it is increasingly difficult to address values with youth (without coming across as stuffy and old) as well as identify oneself in a multi-religious and multi-cultural society, the YMP has provided a much-needed space for discussion. Psychologists and child-experts point to ADHD pills or juvenile correctional facilities to help urban youth, but what the YMP has shown is that sometimes, all they need is an interesting speaker to listen to, a sympathetic ear to speak to, and a group of friends to mess around with at the local skate park.

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To learn more about the Young Muslims Project and the speakers, check out the following links:
http://young-muslims-project.blogspot.com/
http://www.suhaibwebb.com
http://www.aerosolarabic.com

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The Mamak Chronicles documents the Malaysian summer of Nour Merza and Khalisah Stevens. With the convenient excuse of an internship, these two half Americans find their way into the heart of Kuala Lumpur, where, in between haggling over souvenirs and missing buses, they sustain themselves by frequenting the food stalls that line the streets of the city. It is in these Mamaks that they discover the lifeblood of all that is Malaysian.