Two-time Emmy award winning filmmaker Jennifer Maytorena Taylor visited campus Wednesday to screen her latest film, New Muslim Cool — a documentary that follows drug dealer turned Muslim rapper Hamza Pérez on his spiritual journey.
The Penn Asian-American Studies Program invited Pérez and Taylor to discuss the film and talk with students about Muslim life in America. The event was supported by the Greenfield Intercultural Center, Muslim Student Association and Latino Coalition.
“I wanted to avoid the stereotypical post 9/11 references and instead focus on a more relatable Muslim image,” Taylor said.
“One of the difficulties of making the film was breaking away from the preconceived notions of Islam and finding a new paradigm,” she added.
During the discussion, Taylor emphasized the distinction between culture and religion. She explained that with a religion as large as Islam, it is impossible to pinpoint just one culture or way of life.
Pérez, a Puerto Rican native of Brooklyn, grew up as “Jason” in a Christian family but says his conversion to Islam was the best decision of his life.
“Islam doesn’t wipe out your culture,” said Pérez. “I became more Puerto Rican when I became Muslim.”
One scene shows Pérez and his brother, Sulíman Pérez — also a convert to Islam— rapping on stage to a swaying audience of Islamic teens.
“We see radical images of Islam every day, but there is a dichotomy between what we see and what exists,” said Wharton senior Bob Ma, who attended Wednesday’s event.
Professor Fariha Kahn, associate director of the Asian-American Studies Program, added that the opportunities to learn about Islam are limited in high school curricula and thus many Americans look to the media as their only source of information.
Other students expressed the same frustration that Islam was largely misunderstood and said they hoped the film would open up a new dialogue about the religion.
Taylor said she has had a long-standing interest in the power of pop music and culture to create social change. Since the release of New Muslim Cool in April 2009, she has traveled around the world showing the film and holding discussions about Islam.
