Ramadan Is Here -- Hip hop group releases latest video

Native Deen / Flickr

This article is part one in a series of two.

Coinciding with the beginning of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, Native Deen, a DC-area hip hop group, released their latest video to their new song “Ramadan Is Here.”

Native Deen’s three African-American Muslim band members, Joshua Salaam, Abdul-Malik Ahmad and Naeem Muhammad, formed the group in 2000.  Since then, they have used their music to encourage Muslims to be devout but at the same time try to address issues they may face, such as peer pressure and ridicule, while doing their part to spread the true spirit of the month of Ramadan.

“We try to provide a fun, enjoyable music alternative to Muslims who wish to be true to their American identity, but want to follow the tenets of their religion,” said Ahmad. “In the video, we travel around the world meeting Muslims of different ethnicities and enjoy the unity and sense of brotherhood that Ramadan brings. In the end, however, we all come together to an American mosque based in Sterling, VA, to showcase the new Muslim American culture that is emerging rapidly.”

The mosque featured in the video is the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, or ADAMS Center.  Two weeks before the video was shot, Native Deen sent invitations to community members to join as extras in the filming.  At the time, Ahmad was also the subject of a beautifully inspiring  Religion & Ethics Newsweekly piece on Ramadan scheduled to air on Sunday, August 30^th.  So with a crowd of a hundred extras or so, plus a reporter and crew from PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on hand, filming for "Ramadan is Here" took place on Monday, August 17^th at the mosque. 

The group, which has been ranked as one of the Top 5 bands locally in its genre on MySpace, has inspired millions of people of all ages and ethnicities from around the world. Native Deen has toured more than 60 cities in America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, promoting Islam and positive interfaith relations, and has performed with such legends as Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens).  The new single will be on their upcoming third album, after their first two well-received albums "Deen You Know" and "Not Afraid to Stand Alone."

For more info: 

www.nativedeen.com

To check when and where the Religion & Ethics Newsweekly story will air in your area, click here.

More articles about the DC area Muslim community by DC Muslim Examiner Priscilla Martinez can be found here.

"Ramadan Is Here" video: