Al-Thawra ( ar, الثورة, meaning "The Revolution") is an

experimental metal Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, and experimental) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventional soun ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band with

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

s and

modes Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

that draw heavily on Middle Eastern influences. Band member Marwan Kemal describes a "third identity" between the "false dichotomy of East and West", pointing out that "in the Middle East, I'm still always 'the American kid'". Kemal grew up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

—the band's bassist Mario Salazar is Mexican, and Sahar Salameh joined the band as a vocalist when she was 16 years old. Kamel's father is Syrian, but his mother was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

—he says he is "more influenced by the mystical paths in Islam. Like Sufism." ''The Islamic Monthly'' describes the band as challenging "mainstream Arab and Muslim 'Americaness'" Their musical genre has various been described as

taqwacore Taqwacore is a subgenre of punk music dealing with Islam, its culture, and interpretation. Originally conceived in Michael Muhammad Knight's 2003 novel, '' The Taqwacores'', the name is a portmanteau of "hardcore" and the Arabic word "taqwa" (� ...

and raïcore. (Raïcore is a genre that blends traditional

Algerian Algerian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Algeria * Algerian people This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...

folk music with punk rock.)

References

External links

Photostory by Kim Badawi

Mid East Youth Article on Al-Thawra by Daniela Kantorova
*
''Rolling Stone'' magazine

BBC ''Newsnight''
Punk rock groups from Illinois Indie rock musical groups from Illinois Taqwacore Musical groups from Chicago American crust and d-beat groups de:Ath-Thaura {{US-punk-band-stub