Bassam Tariq: The beauty and diversity of Muslim life

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Anja Saric

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

Ja sam bloger, filmadžija i mesar,

and I'll explain how these identities come together.

a objasniću vam i kako se sjedinjuju ti identiteti.

It started four years ago,

Počelo je pre četiri godine,

when a friend and I opened our first Ramadan fast

kada sam sa prijateljem započeo svoj prvi post za Ramazan

at one of the busiest mosques in New York City.

u jednoj od najprometnijih džamija u Njujorku.

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

Hrpe muškaraca sa bradama i kapicama na glavi prepravile su ulice.

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

Bio je to vlažni san svakog agenta FBI. (Smeh)

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

Ali pošto smo deo te zajednice, znali smo koliko je gostoljubivo to mesto.

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

Godinama sam gledao kako ovaj prostor na fotografijama prikazuju

as a lifeless and cold monolith,

kao beživotan, hladni monolit,

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

poput stereotipične slike doživljaja američkih muslimana.

Frustrated by this myopic view,

Frustrirani ovom kratkovidom vizijom,

my friend and I had this crazy idea:

moj prijatelj i ja došli smo na ludu ideju:

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

hajde da prekršimo post u drugačijoj džamiji u raznim državama

each night of Ramadan

svake noći Ramazana

and share those stories on a blog.

i da podelimo te priče na blogu.

We called it "30 Mosques in 30 Days,"

To smo nazvali "30 džamija za 30 dana"

and we drove to all the 50 states

i vozili smo kroz svih 50 država i delili priče

and shared stories from over 100 vastly different Muslim communities,

iz preko 100 izuzetno različitih muslimanskih zajednica,

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

od izbeglica iz Kambodže u getu Los Anđelesa

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.

Nastao je predivan i komplikovan portret Amerike.

The media coverage forced local journalists

Izveštavanje medija nateralo je lokalne novinare

to revisit their Muslim communities,

da ponovo posete svoje muslimanske zajednice,

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

ali bilo je zaista zanimljivo gledati ljude širom sveta

kako su nadahnuti i da sami krenu na svoje putovanje od 30 džamija.

being inspired to take their own 30-mosque journey.

There were even these two NFL athletes

Čak su bila i dvojica sportista iz NFL-a

who took a sabbatical from the league to do so.

koji su napravili pauzu u ligi da bi uradili ovo.

And as 30 Mosques was blossoming around the world,

I kako je 30 džamija cvetalo širom sveta,

I was actually stuck in Pakistan working on a film.

ja sam zapravo bio zaglavljen u Pakistanu gde sam radio na filmu.

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

Moj saradnik režiser Omar i ja bili smo na prelomnoj tački sa dosta prijatelja

on how to position the film.

u vezi sa tim kako postaviti film.

The movie is called "These Birds Walk,"

Film se zove "Ove ptice hodaju",

and it is about wayward street kids

i radi se o deci sa ulice koja su zalutala

who are struggling to find some semblance of family.

i koja se bore da pronađu nešto što liči na porodicu.

We focus on the complexities of youth and family discord,

Fokusiramo se na složenost mladog doba i porodičnog nesklada,

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

ali naši prijatelji su nas gurkali da komentarišemo dronove i ubistva

to make the film "more relevant,"

kako bi film bio "relevantniji"

essentially reducing these people who have entrusted us with their stories

i tako bi zapravo sveli ove ljude koji su nam poverili svoje priče

into sociopolitical symbols.

na sociopolitičke simbole.

Of course, we didn't listen to them,

Naravno, nismo ih poslušali

and instead, we championed the tender gestures of love

i umesto toga savladali smo nežne znakove ljubavi

and headlong flashes of youth.

i nestalne treptaje mladosti.

The agenda behind our cinematic immersion was only empathy,

Jedini cilj iza naše filmske avanture bila je empatija,

an emotion that's largely deficient from films

osećanje koje prilično nedostaje filmovima

that come from our region of the world.

iz našeg dela sveta.

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

Dok su se "Ptice koje hodaju" prikazivale na filmskim festivalima širom sveta,

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

konačno sam se vratio svom domu u Njujork,

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

i sa svim slobodnim vremenom i još uvek bez novca,

my wife tasked me to cook more for us.

supruga me je zamolila da više kuvam za nas.

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

I kad god bih otišao do lokalnog mesara da kupim nešto halal mesa,

something felt off.

nešto nije bilo u redu.

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

Za one koji ne znaju, halal je izraz koji se koristi za meso

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

koje je uzgajano i zaklano humano, uz praćenje strogih muslimanskih smernica.

Unfortunately, the majority of halal meat in America

Nažalost, većina halal mesa u Americi

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

nije po standardu koji zahteva moja vera.

The more I learned about these unethical practices,

Što sam više učio o ovim neetičkim običajima,

the more violated I felt,

osećao sam se sve zlostavljenije,

particularly because businesses from my own community

naročito zato što su firme iz moje zajednice bile one

were the ones taking advantage of my orthodoxy.

koje su iskorišćavale moju veru.

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

I tako, uz uzburkane emocije i bez ikakvog iskustva u mesarstvu,

some friends and I opened a meat store

uz neke prijatelje otvorio sam mesaru

in the heart of the East Village fashion district.

u samom srcu modnog distrikta Ist Vilidž.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

We call it Honest Chops,

Zovemo je "Honest Chops",

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

i vraćamo halal tako što pronalazimo organske životinje koje su humano uzgajane

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

i tako što to meso činimo pristupačnim i jeftinim za porodice iz radne klase.

There's really nothing like it in America.

Zaista ne postoji tako nešto u Americi.

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

Neverovatno je to da zapravo 90% naših mušterija iz prodavnice

are not even Muslim.

uopšte nisu muslimani.

For many, it is their first time interacting with Islam

Za mnoge je to prvi put da dolaze u kontakt s islamom

on such an intimate level.

na tako intimnom nivou.

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

Svi ovi nepovezani projekti - (Smeh) -

are the result of a restlessness.

posledica su nemira.

They are a visceral response to the businesses and curators

Oni su iskonski odgovor firmama i vođama

who work hard to oversimplify my beliefs and my community,

koji naporno rade na tome da pojednostave moja verovanja i moju zajednicu,

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

i jedini način da pobedim njihovu mašinu je da igram po drugačijim pravilima.

We must fight with an inventive approach.

Moramo se boriti uz inventivan pristup.

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

Uz poverenje, pristup, ljubav koju samo mi možemo pružiti,

we must unapologetically reclaim our beliefs

moramo bez pardona povratiti svoja verovanja

in every moving image, in every cut of meat,

u svakoj pokretnoj slici, svakom komadu mesa,

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

jer ako razblažimo svoje priče zbog privlačnosti masama,

not only will we fail,

ne samo da nećemo uspeti,

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

već će nas poraziti oni sa više novca i više resursa

to tell our stories.

za pričanje naših priča.

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

Ali poziv na kreativnu hrabrost nije zbog novine ili bitnosti.

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

To je prosto zato što su naše zajednice toliko jedinstvene i tako prelepe.

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

One od nas zahtevaju beskompromisna rešenja da budemo priznati i poštovani.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)