They're regulars on MTV. Fans accost them in shopping malls. Their debut album smashed into the top 10.
But Debu is hardly your typical American pop export.
PHOTO: AP
The band's 17 members are all Muslims, and their songs of peace and love are making a big splash in Indonesia -- the world's most populous Islamic country -- where religious extremism, terrorism and anti-American sentiment are on the rise.
"We are doing it for Allah," said Washington native Najib Ali, the band's drummer, manager and Web site designer. "The music is just a vehicle to convey an important message, namely that in Islam everyone is protected and there is peace."
Debu's sound is a heady mix of Middle Eastern strings, thumping drums, flutes, violins, a harp and other Indonesian instruments picked up during the band's travels through this vast archipelago with 210 million people, about 90 percent of them Muslims.
The band is made up of 10 women and seven men. Most of them join in the singing, belting out the lyrics in a mixture of Indonesian, Arabic and English.
Fifteen of the group's members are US citizens, hailing from various parts of the country. They formed the band four years ago after visiting Indonesia along with their spiritual guru, Syekh Fattaah. Other members now include a Swede and an Indonesian.
Although they've never released a record outside Indonesia, Debu hopes to find a following among America's growing Muslim community.
"Our music is without limits -- it moves," said lead singer Kumay Mustafa. "What we try to do is make a combination of different sounds to make something universal."
The band's popularity in Indonesia underscores a growing Muslim revival in this country, where the practice and observance of Islam have long been generally less rigid than in Middle Eastern countries.
Muslims, especially young urban ones, are becoming more pious and orthodox. Islamic-style clothing -- once rarely seen on the street or in the media -- is gaining more popularity.
Made up of four families of mixed ethnic backgrounds, Debu live in three large houses in a suburb of South Jakarta, at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac lined with banana trees. The band's stay in Indonesia is sponsored by a large Islamic foundation.
Rehearsals, held in one of the houses, are a family affair, with children banging on drums, shaking tambourines or dancing around the studio.
Debu's musicians are Sufis -- members of a mystical branch of Islam that emphasizes the allegorical nature of the Koran. Its followers strive for a direct, personal experience of God through meditation and self-discipline, normally under the guidance of a teacher.
Unlike most mainstream Muslims, many Sufis believe music and dance can be used as tools to get closer to God, and as ways of spiritual cleansing.
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan late last year, a video clip of the band's latest single was repeatedly played on MTV Indonesia, the cable network's local unit.
Its debut album, Drunk with Love, has sold more than 50,000 copies, enough to break into Indonesia's top 10, according to its record label.
"They are so different from anything else I have seen," said one fan, Ali Mohammed, after a recent show at a five-star hotel in Jakarta. "Until now, we did not know there were American Muslims. It's an honor to have them there."
For other fans, the secret of the band's success is more familiar.
"The lead singer is so attractive," said one giggling female fan at the show.
END OF AN ERA: The vote brings the curtain down on 20 years of socialist rule, which began in 2005 when Evo Morales, an indigenous coca farmer, was elected president A center-right senator and a right-wing former president are to advance to a run-off for Bolivia’s presidency after the first round of elections on Sunday, marking the end of two decades of leftist rule, preliminary official results showed. Bolivian Senator Rodrigo Paz was the surprise front-runner, with 32.15 percent of the vote cast in an election dominated by a deep economic crisis, results published by the electoral commission showed. He was followed by former Bolivian president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second with 26.87 percent, according to results based on 92 percent of votes cast. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, who had been tipped
ELECTION DISTRACTION? When attention shifted away from the fight against the militants to politics, losses and setbacks in the battlefield increased, an analyst said Recent clashes in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region are alarming experts, exposing cracks in the country’s federal system and creating an opening for militant group al-Shabaab to gain ground. Following years of conflict, Somalia is a loose federation of five semi-autonomous member states — Puntland, Jubaland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle and South West — that maintain often fractious relations with the central government in the capital, Mogadishu. However, ahead of elections next year, Somalia has sought to assert control over its member states, which security analysts said has created gaps for al-Shabaab infiltration. Last week, two Somalian soldiers were killed in clashes between pro-government forces and
Ten cheetah cubs held in captivity since birth and destined for international wildlife trade markets have been rescued in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. They were all in stable condition despite all of them having been undernourished and limping due to being tied in captivity for months, said Laurie Marker, founder of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, which is caring for the cubs. One eight-month-old cub was unable to walk after been tied up for six months, while a five-month-old was “very malnourished [a bag of bones], with sores all over her body and full of botfly maggots which are under the
BRUSHED OFF: An ambassador to Australia previously said that Beijing does not see a reason to apologize for its naval exercises and military maneuvers in international areas China set off alarm bells in New Zealand when it dispatched powerful warships on unprecedented missions in the South Pacific without explanation, military documents showed. Beijing has spent years expanding its reach in the southern Pacific Ocean, courting island nations with new hospitals, freshly paved roads and generous offers of climate aid. However, these diplomatic efforts have increasingly been accompanied by more overt displays of military power. Three Chinese warships sailed the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand in February, the first time such a task group had been sighted in those waters. “We have never seen vessels with this capability
RSS