Omar Waqar

For decades, rock-and-roll has been a staple on the American radio. But just as America evolves, so, too, does its music. Today, a California-born Muslim is reinterpreting rock-and-roll through both an American and an Islamic lens, combining the familiar sounds of American rock with traditional Islamic music and poetry. Yet he doesn't merely synthesize; his experiences as an American Muslim allow him to add a unique twist to his art.

In this third part of VOA's Muslims' America series, Imran Siddiqui explores the culture, values, and philosophy of Omar Waqar, an up-and-coming songwriter whose music creates an aural tapestry of rock-and-roll, qawalli, and his experiences as a young Muslim in America.

Growing up in the US, Waqar was drawn to the ideals of the punk rock movement. But as he got older, he began to notice similarities between these ideas and those of some traditional Muslim writers.

Rock-and-roll, qawalli, ghazal, and Sufism all helped to shape Waqar's identity. Now, they are all present in his music.

Waqar thinks cross-cultural understanding could be improved if Americans were exposed to Islamic authors and poets in schools. Students might see, just as he did, that many people share the same ideas across cultures.

As a Muslim in America, Waqar sometimes encounters ignorance and bigotry, but he hopes that his music might help to create a more positive image of Islam. “But really,” Waqar says, “I just want to do what feels good in my heart.”