MANCHESTER INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL BLOG:
Days 5 & 6: Qari Syed Sadaqat Ali
People were crying in the audience; the Imam swayed, shaking his head in disbelief; and the Muslims that had crowded in make-shift semi-circles round Qari gradually responded to what became every line of the Qu’ran with rippling “..Mohammed..”s and “insha’Allah”s, with chants finally erupting throughout the room at the peak of the performance. It was an intense affair, and I didn’t even understand what was being said.
This was a recital of the Qu’ran followed by Sufi poetry from one of the leading reciters in the Islamic world, being a pupil of the man that defines performative Qu’ran reciting, the Egyptian Abdul Basit ‘Abd us-Samad. Moreover, he is the first person to record the recital of the entire Qu’ran with visual accompaniment and make it publicly available. His voice coated in delay, and reverberating round the room, his singing took on a total feel, and it truly seemed as though he was possessed by devine insight. It also meant that any grunt or between-lines throat clearing was given the same cascading effect, which was pretty funny (though obviously of little relevance to the performance.)
However, the event seemed to be opportunistically used to demonstrate the enduring power of the Qu’ran, and to almost attempt to convert, or ‘educate’ the audience. The Imam seemed quite aggressive in this respect, dismissing scientific revelations as emblematic of a greater, atheist/agnostic understanding of life for having been taught about in the Qu’ran for “1,400 years”. Where the Sikhs had been reiterating their intension to “lower the fences” that divide all of us, and between religions; to talk as equals; for the wider audience to “just have some spiritual fun” (obviously the performance took on deeper spiritual meaning for those playing it and comprehending its lyrics), the approach taken at this event was more religiously assertive. This is not to make any generalisation about the approaches of different religions, merely the events in question.
Perhaps this difference in approach is symptomatic of the youth of the Sacred Sites programme. It is the first festival at which this has been attempted, and thus a pan-religious attitude to how these shows are conducted, or an over-arching set of goals for these performances has not been clarified. Regardless, both performances I saw were illuminating insights into the respective religions. Roll on Sacred Sites.
