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The Dawn, Pakistan
March 15 2015
The ticket: Flying high
Madeeha Syed
First there was the animated series Burqa Avenger, a Pakistani school
teacher by day and superhero by night who fights crime with Takht
Kabbadi -- a special martial art that uses books and pens. There was
also The 99, originally a Kuwaiti animated series based on 'Muslim
values and culture' and featuring children and adults from around the
world who have in their possession ninety-nine magical Noor Stones
(Ahjar Al Noor or the Stones of Light) and gain magical powers from
them.
Where Burqa Avenger is an on-going series, The 99 wrapped up its
adventures in September 2013. Let's also not forget Kamala Khan aka Ms
Marvel, the latest super hero introduced by the comics giant Marvel
Comics in 2014, she is a Pakistani American teenager based in New
Jersey that fights baddies with her ability to shape shift. This was
also the first time a Muslim character has headlined a Marvel comic
book.
The latest Muslim superhero to come to our attention is Buraq, a
product of Split Moon Arts and created by two brothers who are techies
in their own right, US-based Adil and Kamil Imtiaz. The
animator/artist behind Buraq is the very talented Rafik Gevorgyan, who
is based out of Armenia. The animated series is named after the
legendary horse Al-Buraq that carried the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be
upon him) from Mecca to Jerusalem and back during the night of the
Mi'raj.
Buraq, the new superhero on the block is suave, smart and ... Muslim
Images on Sunday spoke to Adil Imtiaz (who has voiced the English
version of the promo) over Skype in Shahzad 'Shahi' Hasan's studio in
Karachi. Shahi, as he is popularly known, one of the founder members
of the Vital Signs and one of Pakistan's most well-known music
producers, has worked his magic on the soundtrack of Buraq. Former
fellow band member and now televangelist Junaid Jamshed has given his
voice to the Urdu version of the promo that was released online
recently.
How it all started
"We started the graphic novel in 2011," said Adil Imtiaz, "the
feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People from all over the world
-Malaysia, Indonesia, the Middle East, Pakistan, and India and even in
the West, especially Muslims -- were happy."
They didn't think about converting this into an animated series until
2013. "We met up with a really bright group of people, including
Shahi, whom everyone knows," he added. Thus a promo of what the series
would look like was born. The duo are now looking for partners willing
to fund this project further, although work on it is currently
underway regardless.
The backstory
Buraq is Yousuf Abdullah, a young man in his early 30s, born and
raised in the United States. "He's a son to an immigrant father, a
born Muslim, and a mother who accepted Islam so his parents come from
different backgrounds," related Adil. Being caught between two worlds,
he predictably has issues with fitting in while growing up.
"Unfortunately, his parents become victims of a hate crime," added
Adil. "That's when his life takes a turn and he discovers his
spiritual side."
Taking back the narrative
"What we're trying to do is show someone who is not only a superhero
but also someone who happens to be a practising Muslim. When I say
practising Muslim, he's not going out on the streets giving sermons or
preaching. He's just a regular guy who prays and reads the Quran as a
normal part of life."
The narrative of Islam seems to have been hijacked by violent
extremists or militant organizations, are they trying to reclaim that?
"Absolutely," responded Adil, "That's one of our driving goals: to
show our youth that Islam is not about extremism, it's not about who's
right and or trying to prove who's wrong. It's about following the
middle path which Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) showed us. You
have to have a very healthy balance in life."
Not just for the boys
Men don't have all the fun in this animated series. Women will find
characters to identify with and for little girls to as well. Buraq's
plainclothes partner is Imaan, Nova City's district attorney. "She's a
very strong character and a confident lady," said Adil, "She's going
to be a big part of the series."
Having this character represent Muslim women is important to Buraq's
creators as people often fail to make the distinction between culture
and religion. "All these misconceptions about women being oppressed in
Islam, I mean, there is a big difference between cultural oppression
and Islam," said Adil. "There's no room for oppression in Islam. Of
course we have men who oppress women in the name of culture etc, but
it has nothing to do with Islam."
Promoting inter-faith harmony
If you thought that the animated series would target only Muslim
communities around the world, think again. Buraq doesn't work alone.
He gets plenty of help from a group of people called the Truth
Seekers. "This is a group of individuals from different backgrounds,"
said Adil. "There are Jews, Christians etc and their goal is to join
forces with Buraq and stand for justice and against other agendas that
are being pushed to promote hatred." Is promoting inter-faith harmony
a big part of the series? "That is one of our goals," responded Adil.
"The way Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his companions lived
in Madina is a testament to how we're supposed to live in a
multicultural society and have tolerance and patience. That's how
Islam spread. There was no one who was sent to Indonesia and yet
Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world."
Old-school family entertainment
According to Adil, Buraq is going to provide entertainment for your
family the 'old' way. "We're trying to provide an alternative for our
youth," he said. "I know people are obsessed with Shah Rukh Khan,
Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and all the Khans and then you have all these
superhero movies, which we enjoy too by the way. But what we're trying
to do is give them something else: wholesome fun where there's no
vulgarity, no sexual themes, no hidden messages. Anyone would feel
comfortable watching it. You can leave your kids alone in a room and
they can watch it.
"We're trying to provide that alternative and at the same time we're
trying to inspire people to come back to their roots."
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 15th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/news/1169066/the-ticket-flying-high
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
March 15 2015
The ticket: Flying high
Madeeha Syed
First there was the animated series Burqa Avenger, a Pakistani school
teacher by day and superhero by night who fights crime with Takht
Kabbadi -- a special martial art that uses books and pens. There was
also The 99, originally a Kuwaiti animated series based on 'Muslim
values and culture' and featuring children and adults from around the
world who have in their possession ninety-nine magical Noor Stones
(Ahjar Al Noor or the Stones of Light) and gain magical powers from
them.
Where Burqa Avenger is an on-going series, The 99 wrapped up its
adventures in September 2013. Let's also not forget Kamala Khan aka Ms
Marvel, the latest super hero introduced by the comics giant Marvel
Comics in 2014, she is a Pakistani American teenager based in New
Jersey that fights baddies with her ability to shape shift. This was
also the first time a Muslim character has headlined a Marvel comic
book.
The latest Muslim superhero to come to our attention is Buraq, a
product of Split Moon Arts and created by two brothers who are techies
in their own right, US-based Adil and Kamil Imtiaz. The
animator/artist behind Buraq is the very talented Rafik Gevorgyan, who
is based out of Armenia. The animated series is named after the
legendary horse Al-Buraq that carried the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be
upon him) from Mecca to Jerusalem and back during the night of the
Mi'raj.
Buraq, the new superhero on the block is suave, smart and ... Muslim
Images on Sunday spoke to Adil Imtiaz (who has voiced the English
version of the promo) over Skype in Shahzad 'Shahi' Hasan's studio in
Karachi. Shahi, as he is popularly known, one of the founder members
of the Vital Signs and one of Pakistan's most well-known music
producers, has worked his magic on the soundtrack of Buraq. Former
fellow band member and now televangelist Junaid Jamshed has given his
voice to the Urdu version of the promo that was released online
recently.
How it all started
"We started the graphic novel in 2011," said Adil Imtiaz, "the
feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People from all over the world
-Malaysia, Indonesia, the Middle East, Pakistan, and India and even in
the West, especially Muslims -- were happy."
They didn't think about converting this into an animated series until
2013. "We met up with a really bright group of people, including
Shahi, whom everyone knows," he added. Thus a promo of what the series
would look like was born. The duo are now looking for partners willing
to fund this project further, although work on it is currently
underway regardless.
The backstory
Buraq is Yousuf Abdullah, a young man in his early 30s, born and
raised in the United States. "He's a son to an immigrant father, a
born Muslim, and a mother who accepted Islam so his parents come from
different backgrounds," related Adil. Being caught between two worlds,
he predictably has issues with fitting in while growing up.
"Unfortunately, his parents become victims of a hate crime," added
Adil. "That's when his life takes a turn and he discovers his
spiritual side."
Taking back the narrative
"What we're trying to do is show someone who is not only a superhero
but also someone who happens to be a practising Muslim. When I say
practising Muslim, he's not going out on the streets giving sermons or
preaching. He's just a regular guy who prays and reads the Quran as a
normal part of life."
The narrative of Islam seems to have been hijacked by violent
extremists or militant organizations, are they trying to reclaim that?
"Absolutely," responded Adil, "That's one of our driving goals: to
show our youth that Islam is not about extremism, it's not about who's
right and or trying to prove who's wrong. It's about following the
middle path which Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) showed us. You
have to have a very healthy balance in life."
Not just for the boys
Men don't have all the fun in this animated series. Women will find
characters to identify with and for little girls to as well. Buraq's
plainclothes partner is Imaan, Nova City's district attorney. "She's a
very strong character and a confident lady," said Adil, "She's going
to be a big part of the series."
Having this character represent Muslim women is important to Buraq's
creators as people often fail to make the distinction between culture
and religion. "All these misconceptions about women being oppressed in
Islam, I mean, there is a big difference between cultural oppression
and Islam," said Adil. "There's no room for oppression in Islam. Of
course we have men who oppress women in the name of culture etc, but
it has nothing to do with Islam."
Promoting inter-faith harmony
If you thought that the animated series would target only Muslim
communities around the world, think again. Buraq doesn't work alone.
He gets plenty of help from a group of people called the Truth
Seekers. "This is a group of individuals from different backgrounds,"
said Adil. "There are Jews, Christians etc and their goal is to join
forces with Buraq and stand for justice and against other agendas that
are being pushed to promote hatred." Is promoting inter-faith harmony
a big part of the series? "That is one of our goals," responded Adil.
"The way Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his companions lived
in Madina is a testament to how we're supposed to live in a
multicultural society and have tolerance and patience. That's how
Islam spread. There was no one who was sent to Indonesia and yet
Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world."
Old-school family entertainment
According to Adil, Buraq is going to provide entertainment for your
family the 'old' way. "We're trying to provide an alternative for our
youth," he said. "I know people are obsessed with Shah Rukh Khan,
Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and all the Khans and then you have all these
superhero movies, which we enjoy too by the way. But what we're trying
to do is give them something else: wholesome fun where there's no
vulgarity, no sexual themes, no hidden messages. Anyone would feel
comfortable watching it. You can leave your kids alone in a room and
they can watch it.
"We're trying to provide that alternative and at the same time we're
trying to inspire people to come back to their roots."
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 15th, 2015
http://www.dawn.com/news/1169066/the-ticket-flying-high
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress