Bassam Tariq: The beauty and diversity of Muslim life

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

I'm a blogger, a filmmaker and a butcher,

Ja sam bloger, filmaš i mesar,

and I'll explain how these identities come together.

i objasnit ću vam kako su povezani ovi identiteti.

It started four years ago,

Počelo je prije četiri godine,

when a friend and I opened our first Ramadan fast

kada smo prijatelj i ja započeli naš prvi post na Ramadan

at one of the busiest mosques in New York City.

u jednoj od najposjećenijih džamija u New York Cityu.

Crowds of men with beards and skullcaps were swarming the streets.

Mnoštvo ljudi s bradama i kapicama napunilo je ulice.

It was an FBI agent's wet dream. (Laughter)

To je bio najljepši san FBI agenta. (Smijeh)

But being a part of this community, we knew how welcoming this space was.

Ali pošto smo bili dijelom ove zajednice,

znali smo koliko je gostoljubiv ovaj prostor.

For years, I'd seen photos of this space being documented

Godinama sam gledao slike ovog prostora koje ga prikazuju

as a lifeless and cold monolith,

kao beživotni i hladni monolit,

much like the stereotypical image painted of the American Muslim experience.

baš kao i stereotipnu sliku američkog muslimanskog iskustva.

Frustrated by this myopic view,

Frustriran ovim pristranim pogledom,

my friend and I had this crazy idea:

moj prijatelj i ja imali smo ludu ideju:

Let's break our fast at a different mosque in a different state

Prekinimo svoj post u drugoj džamiji u drugoj državi

each night of Ramadan

svake noći Ramadana

and share those stories on a blog.

i podijelimo te priče na blogu.

We called it "30 Mosques in 30 Days,"

Nazvali smo to: "30 džamija u 30 dana,"

and we drove to all the 50 states

i vozili smo se u svih 50 država

and shared stories from over 100 vastly different Muslim communities,

i podijelili priče više od 100 vrlo različitih muslimanskih zajednica,

ranging from the Cambodian refugees in the L.A. projects

od Kambodžanskih izbjeglica u predgrađima Los Angelesa

to the black Sufis living in the woods of South Carolina.

do crnih Sufija koji žive u šumama Južne Karoline.

What emerged was a beautiful and complicated portrait of America.

Ono što je proizašlo iz toga je prekrasan i kompliciran portret Amerike.

The media coverage forced local journalists

Ova medijska pokrivenost natjerala je novinare

to revisit their Muslim communities,

da ponovno posjete svoje muslimanske zajednice,

but what was really exciting was seeing people from around the world

ali ono što je bilo stvarno uzbudljivo je vidjeti ljude širom svijeta

being inspired to take their own 30-mosque journey.

inspirirane da naprave svoje putovanje kroz 30 džamija.

There were even these two NFL athletes

Tu su bila čak i dva sportaša iz NFL-a

who took a sabbatical from the league to do so.

koji su uzeli slobodno u ligi kako bi to učinili.

And as 30 Mosques was blossoming around the world,

I kako je 30 džamija cvjetalo širom svijeta,

I was actually stuck in Pakistan working on a film.

ja sam zaglavio u Pakistanu radeći na filmu.

My codirector, Omar, and I were at a breaking point with many of our friends

Moj surežiser, Omar i ja bili smo na prijelomnoj točci s mnogo naših prijatelja

on how to position the film.

oko toga kako pozicionirati film.

The movie is called "These Birds Walk,"

Film se zove "Ove ptice šeću."

and it is about wayward street kids

i radi se o zastranjeloj uličnoj djeci

who are struggling to find some semblance of family.

koja se bore kako bi pronašla nešto slično obitelji.

We focus on the complexities of youth and family discord,

Usredotočujemo se na složenosti mladosti i obiteljske nesloge,

but our friends kept on nudging us to comment on drones and target killings

ali naši prijatelji gurali su nas da komentiramo dronove i ciljana ubijanja

to make the film "more relevant,"

kako bi film bio "relevantniji",

essentially reducing these people who have entrusted us with their stories

svodeći te ljude koji su nam povjerili svoje priče

into sociopolitical symbols.

u socio-političke simbole.

Of course, we didn't listen to them,

Naravno, nismo ih poslušali,

and instead, we championed the tender gestures of love

i umjesto toga, predstavljali smo nježne geste ljubavi

and headlong flashes of youth.

i bljeskove mladosti.

The agenda behind our cinematic immersion was only empathy,

Agenda iza našeg kinematografskog uključivanja bila je samo empatija,

an emotion that's largely deficient from films

emocija koja većinom nedostaje u filmovima

that come from our region of the world.

koji dolaze iz naše regije svijeta.

And as "These Birds Walk" played at film festivals and theaters internationally,

I kako se "Ove ptice šeću" prikazivao na međunarodnim filmskim festivalima,

I finally had my feet planted at home in New York,

napokon sam noge stavio na tlo doma u New Yorku,

and with all the extra time and still no real money,

i sa svim tim dodatnim vremenom i bez pravog novca,

my wife tasked me to cook more for us.

moja žena mi je dala zadatak da više kuham za nas.

And whenever I'd go to the local butcher to purchase some halal meat,

I kad god bih otišao do mesara kupiti halal meso,

something felt off.

nešto nije bilo kako treba.

For those that don't know, halal is a term used for meat

Za vas koji ne znate, halal je termin koji se koristi za meso

that is raised and slaughtered humanely following very strict Islamic guidelines.

koje je uzgojeno i zaklano humano slijedeći vrlo stroge islamske naputke.

Unfortunately, the majority of halal meat in America

Na nesreću, većina halal mesa u Americi

doesn't rise to the standard that my faith calls for.

nije na razini koju traži moja vjera.

The more I learned about these unethical practices,

Što sam više učio o tim neetičnim praksama,

the more violated I felt,

osjećam sam se više povrijeđeno,

particularly because businesses from my own community

posebno jer su trgovine iz moje vlastite zajednice

were the ones taking advantage of my orthodoxy.

bile te koje su iskorištavale moju vjeru.

So, with emotions running high, and absolutely no experience in butchery,

S uzburkanim emocijama, i bez ikakvog iskustva u mesarstvu,

some friends and I opened a meat store

neki prijatelji i ja otvorili smo mesnicu

in the heart of the East Village fashion district.

u srcu East Village modne četvrti.

(Smijeh)

(Laughter)

We call it Honest Chops,

Zovemo ju "Iskreni odresci",

and we're reclaiming halal by sourcing organic, humanely raised animals,

i obnavljamo halal koristeći organske, humano uzgojene životinje,

and by making it accessible and affordable to working-class families.

i čineći ih dostupnima i pristupačnima za obitelji iz radničke klase.

There's really nothing like it in America.

Ne postoji nešto slično u Americi.

The unbelievable part is actually that 90 percent of our in-store customers

Najnevjerojatnije je što 90 posto naših mušterija

are not even Muslim.

nisu Muslimani.

For many, it is their first time interacting with Islam

Za neke, to je prvi put da se susreću s Islamom

on such an intimate level.

na tako intimnoj razini.

So all these disparate projects -- (Laughter) --

Dakle, svi ovi različiti projekti -- (Smijeh) --

are the result of a restlessness.

rezultat su nemira.

They are a visceral response to the businesses and curators

To su organski odgovori na poslove i kuratore

who work hard to oversimplify my beliefs and my community,

koji se trude previše pojednostaviti moja uvjerenja i moju zajednicu,

and the only way to beat their machine is to play by different rules.

i jedini način da pobijedim njihov stroj je da igram po drugim pravilima.

We must fight with an inventive approach.

Moramo se boriti inventivnim pristupom.

With the trust, with the access, with the love that only we can bring,

S povjerenjem, pristupom, ljubavlju koju samo mi možemo donijeti

we must unapologetically reclaim our beliefs

moramo bez isprike povratiti naša uvjerenja

in every moving image, in every cut of meat,

u svakoj pokretnoj slici, u svakom komadu mesa,

because if we whitewash our stories for the sake of mass appeal,

jer ako ispiremo naše priče, radi masovnog sviđanja,

not only will we fail,

ne samo da nećemo uspjeti,

but we will be trumped by those with more money and more resources

nego ćemo biti pregaženi od strane onih s više novca i resursa

to tell our stories.

da ispričaju naše priče.

But the call for creative courage is not for novelty or relevance.

Ali poziv za kreativnu hrabrost nije zbog novosti ili važnosti.

It is simply because our communities are so damn unique and so damn beautiful.

To je jednostavno tako jer su naše zajednice

tako prokleto jedinstvene i prekrasne.

They demand us to find uncompromising ways to be acknowledged and respected.

Traže od nas da nađemo beskompromisne načine da nas prepoznaju i poštuju.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)