New York Sufi Music Festival

July 20-22, 2010

SCHEDULE | BACKGROUND |
SUPPORTERS

On Tuesday, July 20, 2010, His Excellency Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon and Pakistani Peace Builders Initiative will host the 1st New York Sufi Music Festival. The Mohatta Palace Museum has played the key curatorial role in gathering this unprecedented selection of Sufi musicians from throughout Pakistan for this historic celebration. The New York Sufi Festival is presented in association with Asia Society and Rubin Museum.

An all-star group of musicians from Pakistan's key provinces perform for three hours, including:

• Pakistan's living legend Abida Parveen
• Akhtar Chanal Zehri from Balochistan
• Soung Faqirs from the Sachal Sarmast Shrine in Sindh
• Rafaqat Ali Khan, representing the Shaam Chaurasi Gharana in Punjab
• Mekaal Hasan Band, Pakistan's most critically acclaimed contemporary band
• Zeb and Haniya, of the famed Coke Studio*
• Abid Hussain and Abdul Rasheed, dhol virtuosos
• Muhammad Ahmed, matka (clay pot) percussionist
• Muhammad Talib and Riaz Hussain, damboori virtuosos
• Sachoo Khan, Sarangi/Surinda virtuoso
• Ghous Bux, Flute/Alghoza virtuoso
• Tari Khan, Tabla virtuoso

Concert I
New York Sufi Music Festival hosted by Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon and Pakistani Peace Builders

Union Square Park (north end, opposite Barnes & Noble)
East 17th Street (btwn. Park Avenue South and Broadway) 
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 (rain or shine)
5:00 - 8:00 pm

Free admission.

Concert II
Zeb and Haniya, Mekaal Hasan Band, and more

Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th Street
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
5:00 - 7:00 pm

Free admission.

Concert III
Voice of the Sufi: A Musical Journey from Pakistan

Featuring living treasure Abida Parveen, Akhtar Channel Zehri from Baluchistan, and Soung Faqirs from Sindh
(program subject to change)

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue at 70th Street)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
7:30 - 9:00 pm

Free admission. Asia Society Members only.

Background
The recent tragic bombing of the sacred Sufi shrine of Data Durbar in Lahore, Pakistan on July 1, 2010, and the attempted bombing of Times Square in May, have underscored how important it is to present the values of the majority of Pakistanis, Sufi values of tolerance, understanding, and respect for humankind. 

Spearheaded in the US by His Excellency Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, the New York Sufi Festival will celebrate the common bonds and shared values of peace and solidarity that the vast majority of Pakistanis have traditionally affirmed, and continue to reaffirm today.

The Pakistani Peace Builders NY Sufi Music Festival is an independent cultural diplomacy campaign to reaffirm the true values—humanistic values of tolerance and peace—of Pakistan's majority while, celebrating Pakistan's rich cultural heritage through the universal language of music. In light of this July's attacks on tribal elders in Mohmand, Data Gunj's Sufi shrine in Lahore and the Times Square bombing attempt in May, PPB stands in solidarity with New Yorkers and the world against violence perpetuated in the name of Muslims and Islam.

Contact
Pakistani Peace Builders, 212-252-2613

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135577646460879&ref=ts

Lead Sponsors
Pakistan International Airways and the Roosevelt Hotel

Fiscal Sponsor
Muslim Consultative Networks (MCN)

Outreach Partners
American Pakistan Foundation, CAMP (Council for the Advancement of American Muslim Professionals), COPO (Council of Peoples Organization), Breakthrough for Human Rights Culture, PAKPAC (Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee), DIL-NY, LRBT, YourDIL-NY, OPEN-NY, Pakistan League of America, Pakistan League of USA

Proximity-Based Mobile Social App Partner
www.face2face.ws—download the app and use it to find your friends at the PPB Festival.