When he was 17, Michael Knight left his mother's home in Rochester to study Islam at a Pakistani madrassa. It was his first act of rebellion - against his abusive, schizophrenic, white-supremacist father. Years later, burned out on the demands of religious dogma, Mike rebelled once more - by penning a Muslim Punk manifesto called The Taqwacores. His work of fiction struck a chord with young Muslims around the world and before long, real-life Taqwacore bands were creating a scene. This film follows Michael and his band of Muslim punks as they journey across the U.S. and Pakistan, transforming their worlds, their religion and themselves through the spirit of Taqwacore.



The film follows the first legendary TaqwaTour in 2007 with The Kominas, Al-Thawra, Vote Hezbollah, Secret Trial Five, Diacritical and Boxcutter Surprize that ended at the Islamic Society of North America annual convention where the Taqx got the cops called on them. Then it follows Michael Muhammad Knight, Basim & Shahj to Pakistan where they learn a thing or two about the realities of making music in an Islamic country.

Check out The Kominas on myspace.