|
AKU-ISMC students perform at the V&A festival of light
 |
| AKU-ISMC MA student Chorshanbe Goibnazarov explains the Navroz tradition to the audience (Photo by Rozina Mohammad) |
On the 24th and 25th of November, four AKU-ISMC MA students performed as part of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Festival of Light, an intercultural festival which explored the cultural and spiritual significance of light across a range of world cultures.
The student’s performances drew from a variety of Muslim cultures and were warmly received by a large audience ranging from adults to school children. The performances included a Sufi song, a dance from Tajikistan, a children’s story and the recitation and explanation of a verse from the Qur’an.
Explaining his impressions of their performance, MA student Malik Ajani said, “It was truly an honour to be invited to present something from Muslim cultures at the V&A. I think that much of the beauty of Muslim societies is in their daily lives: their arts, their music, their cuisine, their dancing and so on … I hope through our performances we were able to give our audience a taste of the wealth of beauty that remains to be discovered by many.”
 |
| Zahra Kazani reads an extract from the wonderful lamp, by Idreas Shah |
The first performance was a recitation of an Ayat from the Qur’an related to light, Sura Nur, and a presentation of its meaning by Belkais Rouched. Following this, Malik Ajani sang Nur Vela Nur Piyo by Pir Sadardin, a 14th century spiritual leader and founder of the Khoja community.
Zahra Kazani read an extract of a story from the collection of Idries Shah, The wonderful lamp. The wonderful lamp is a children’s story about a poor young boy who was able to acquire a special lamp, destroy an evil wizard, and marry a princess. The story was very well received by the younger members of the audience.
Chorshanbe Goibnazarov explained the importance of the spring festival of Navroz and enacted one of the rituals that takes place in Tajikistan at this time - where children go from house to house asking for gifts. Following this, Chorshanbe performed an animated celebratory Navroz dance, to the delight of the audience.
Throughout the year, AKU-ISMC’s MA students are involved in a number of cultural, social and educational events which supplement their classroom learning. Events such as the V&A Festival of Light enable students to learn more about their own and other cultures, while further contributing to the general awareness about the rich heritage of Muslims.
External Links
|
