Blasting the US with punk Islam  Punks from the left and right
reject us, we're slammed for using Islamic ideas – but we don't
care, this tour's a labour of love     • Jump to comments ()
Basim Usmani of the Kominas Basim Usmani plays with the Kominas.
Photograph: Kim Badawi/Redux  After playing a gig in Toronto, we
were stopped at the Canadian border on our way back Stateside,
and questioned like this:  "What's your band called?"  "The
Kominas."  "Never heard of you."  And I smiled from ear to ear.
He just waved us through, which he certainly wouldn't have done
had he known about us. But we won't be so snug under the radar
forever.  We've travelled a lot. In America, where we're
currently touring, the only way to make a lasting impact is to
repeatedly gig across the length of the US and back again. Our
health, and our instruments' welfare, can fall by the wayside
when we're trying to make five dollar bills stretch across
states. It's interesting when your love can momentarily be a way
of life. We spend most