‘Slumdog Millionaire’ won 8 Oscar nominations including Best Picture of the Year.
The fascinating story about AR Rahman is that he was not a born a Muslim, he was born in a Tamil Hindu family.
He is a progressive Muslim in my book, one who does not adopt a foreign culture in an attempt to fit in. One who pursues his passion, that of music, even if some Muslims frown on all forms of the performance arts.
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Rahman is a sufi, they're often progressive in my experience. I thought his speech was brilliant. He chose love, and look where he is.
Sufis are Muslims!
Sufis are Muslims! >>>>>
Most are yes. But there is one large order, based in India, who switches back and forth between having a Muslim shaykh and a Sikh shaykh. I have been aware of them for decades and have known people involved with them. And I have attended some of their public lectures. Back in the 80's when I went a few times with a friend, they were Sikhs and all the trappings were there for that religion. Now, I went to one of their shaykhs public talks and they are now Muslim. All the same lineage of gurus, I know who they are, it's not a different group. It's peculiar. But even though they are Muslims, it's more about their master (human) than about Islam specific references and practices. I suspect they do not do salat for some reason. Yet advertise themselves as a traditional Sufi order.
Then you have the good ole US of A where there are indeed Sufi orders that have little or no connection with Islam and are in a constant state of argument and justification using their own fluid definitions of Sufism that they claim predates Islam. There is another that started out as legitimate in India and is now, really, just a big hippie money making adventure that I call Sufi Club Med becaue of all the fee scales and "residence accomodations" they offer. I am sure they have a blast. Then there is an order, Iranian, very old, that I belonged to back in the early '80s that at the time was definitely Muslim with all the trimings. Now, they have purposely distanced themselves from Islam and their Iranian master has (rightfully) died in disgrace and coverup due to a twenty year sex scandal. So yeah ... some Sufis definitely are Muslim. But all of them are human. Yaaayyyy!
He partnered with Yusuf Islam, so I would consider him "mainstream" for whatever the phrase means to Muslims.
:D Yes, I know Sufis are Muslims -- though some "muslims," like those of the Taliban, don't consider Sufis to be proper Muslims. Kinda ironic. . Guess I wasn't clear. Let me restate it. He is a Sufi Muslim, and in my experience, most Sufi Muslims are progressive. In fact, every Sufgi I;ve met has been progressive, open-minded, open-hearted. Rahman certainly is.
just want to comment of your remark that he doesn't adopt foreign culture to fit in. This is true but it is also true that he is open to other cultures as can be seen in his music, in which he marries everything from reggae to rock to Indian music with magical results..
I have to say that the new global fusion in music is indeed magical. I resonate spiritually with a lot of it and it helps to losen the girders of cultural xenophobia, if you let it work on you. I can't remember the last musician, other than a certain Celtic singer, who didn't hale from that part of the world or the Middle East. MIDIval Punditz and Junoon! (and a lot others)
Good stuff! Though other writers are right; we need to be clear about progressive vs. moderate Muslims.
And we need to discuss the Muslim contributions and component of Bollywood sometime. Most of the writers and a lot of others have been Muslims, steeped in the literary tradition of South Asian Muslims. Kinda like Jews have been a mainstay of Hollywood.
As for Sufis in America, we have both sorts: the traditional Sufi orders (those based in Arabia, those based in the Turkish world, those based in Africa, and those from South Asia), as well as those who have taken Sufi metaphysics beyond just the Muslim context. It's not an either-or.