ABOUT

History & Philosophy

The frames of reference for the philosophies, thoughts and ideas of Imran are both the East and the West. His frames of reference are the sub-continent of India and Pakistan in the East, and the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Britain in the West.

Born in Pakistan to an Indian father and a Pakistani mother, he grew up in the United States of America from age three. Growing up, learning, and experiencing America, he also continued to experience the history, traditions, culture, language, socio economic realities and ethical parameters of the sub-continent of India and Pakistan.

In addition to being exposed to the educated and knowledgeable after-dinner discussions by the relatives and family friends who kept visiting for extended stays, Imran also kept going back to Pakistan every summer. His experience in Pakistan was designed for him to learn the culture and understand greater historical and philosophical ideals from unique people in interesting places.

Though he grew up in the United States and had amazing opportunities to meet with mainstream Western leaders and intellectuals, he was virtually never away from the past and present tales and thoughts of India and Pakistan. Historical philosophies extolled in the household were greats like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams were heroes, but so were Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad for his father, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Allama Mohammed Iqbal for his mother.

Education

Prince Imran attended the University of Southern California, where he worked through several programs. His experience at USC included the USC Cinema School, USC Creative Writing Program and the USC Marshall School of Business. During his tenure at USC, he received the Krueger Endowed Scholarship for Outstanding Performance.

Music

While Prince Imran’s musical interests and success have spanned several bands and projects, he is most renown as a lyricist, producer, and writer. His most notable project is his genre-bending Sufi Rock band, Sonic Ashtanga.

Currently a huge sensation in Asia, Sufi Rock is a new genre in music emerging which combines mystical eastern music and western iconic rock sounds with Imran Raza at the forefront of the movement. His popularity gained momentum and spread across the Asian continent when Sonic Ashtanga’s singles “Fly with Us,” “The Bombs of Dhamma,” “Be Like the Onion”, and most notably, “Hammarah Ghar” (Our Home) all played hourly on MTV Asia music stations with “Hammarah Ghar” condemning the Taliban and gaining the support of the Pakistani government.

Collectively, Prince Imran’s projects have won three Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA). The first was for the single “Be Like the Onion” in the World category with his band Sonic Ashtanga; the second, for the single “Warm Soft Winter Moon”, which won the Dub Step Award; and thirdly, the Planet & Environment Recognition Award with Sirens of Dionysus. Another single, “Get in the Game” from Sirens of Dionysus was nominated in the Alternative Rock category.

Sonic Ashtanga has collaborated with the following: Music Director, Three Time Grammy, Three Time HMMA Winning Producer Anton Pukshansky (Santana’s Supernatural, Nas, KRS One, Korn, Ozomatli, et. al.), Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Robby Krieger (The Doors), David Bowie (Ziggy Stardust), Pat Boone, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Slash (Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver), Matt Sorum (The Cult, Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver, Deadland Ritual), Matt Malley (Counting Crowes), Ruyter Suys (Elle Magazine’s “Twelve Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time” List), Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction, Alanis Morissette, Joe Cocker, Shakira, Slash, Avril Lavigne, Cher, Celine Dion), Gilby Clarke (Guns N Roses, Rockstar Supernova, Nancy Sinatra, Heart), Glen Sobel (Alice Cooper, Motley Crue, Hollywood Vampires, Richie Sambora, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, Jim Carrey, Rob Halford, Weird Al Yankovik), Sanam Marvi (Coke Studio, Newsweek’s “Women Who Shake Pakistan” List), Stephen Day, Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot, Alice Cooper, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ted Nugent, Greg Allman), Faraz Anwar (Mizraab, Noori), James Lugo (Dokken, Nickelodean, Rock of Ages), Jiro (Ozamatli), Mekhaal Hassan Band, Rahat Ali Khan, Wadji (Raeth), Faizi (Strings, Junoon), The Siren (MTV’s “Top Five Buzzworthy” List), Lanny Cordola (Beach Boys, House of Lords).

Activism

In 2007, Sonic Ashtanga released a song, “Fly with Us”; in it, Imran sings,

“Where does it say Moses says to kill?
Where does it say Jesus says to kill?
Where doers it say Allah said to kill?”

These lyrics caused a Fatwa to be issued against Imran, and even caused one Mullah to hold a press conference in Pakistan to explain exactly where it says in the Koran to kill. Another Mullah issued a Fatwa against Prince Imran for blasphemy, with orders to capture and kill him. After performing “Fly with Us” a cappella during a visit to Kashmir after the massive earthquake that devastated the region on October 8th, 2005 at the invitation of the Pakistan Army and the United Nations, Prince Imran was abducted at gunpoint off the street and tossed into a van along with his bodyguard.

He was told he could have the last meal of his choice, and that it would be made for him prior to his execution. He was being executed, he was told, because of his work against Allah and the Muslim religion, and they repeatedly referenced his song, “Fly with Us.” The abductors were Jamat-ul-Dawa, and they believed Imran to be an Italian Prince.

Fortunately, Prince Imran’s bloodline saved him and his bodyguard from execution. Once his abductors checked his pedigree through their own verified modality, they let him eat the last meal before releasing him and his guard at the outer perimeter of the Pakistan Army encampment, stationed near the Line of Control between Pakistan and India occupied Kashmir. Later, Imran was extended a “fool proof” security detail by the Government of Pakistan comprised of elite Army Rangers and Anti-Terror Division Police whom protected Prince Imran around the clock. By 2007, Imran wrote the poem “Circle Made of Guns”, which speaks to the longing for a safe World.

Hammarah Ghar

In early November, Prince Imran traveled to Karachi to record and produce what has become Sonic Ashtanga’s anti-extremist anthem, Hammarah Ghar (Our Home). The Pakistan ISI approved a conflict zone camera crew to enter into refugee camps to document the immediate appeal the song was having amongst the refugees.

Upon completion of the song in mid November of 2009, it was broadcast throughout Pakistan on civilian radio stations, as well as the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan through sympathetic contacts within the Pakistan Army’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). As the camera crew collected footage, Geo Television, Pakistan’s largest television network, edited this with performance footage of Prince Imran, Wajji of the Sufi-Pop super-group Raeth, and renown Sufi flutist Rahat Ali Khan. This video would go on to experience hourly play on MTV Pakistan and Geo Channels well into the summer of 2011.

On December 16, 2015 the video was re-released in honor of the children slain in the Army Public School (APS) massacre of December 16, 2014. The video and song have now ignited a media phenomenon, being covered not only in the entertainment sections, but rather as a hard news story. This development has meant that it has been covered on most Pakistani news outlets.

The song Hammarah Ghar has become the anti-Islamist anthem of Pakistan. Indeed, on April 30th, 2017, Pakistan’s Ambassador presented Imran with the Safir-i-Pakistan (Ambassador of Pakistan) award in recognition of the impact of Hammarah Ghar, the song.

Other Activism-Based Initiatives

Imran’s in-depth investigation as part of a yet-to- be-released documentary titled the “Karachi Kids,” led him to meet two American born kids of parents of Pakistani origin who were getting an ‘education’ in a Pakistani madrassa. Instead of the boys getting the peaceful Islamic education people were led to believe, they were actually getting radicalized. Prince Imran created a documentary showing the steady progression of the radical mindset the two American-born kids were unwittingly learning.

He then pursued additional support, ultimately getting a US Congressman involved in negotiating with the President of Pakistan to arrange the release of these and other American boys from relevant radicalizing madrassas. Prince Imran paid for the airfare and other transportation costs for the boys to be brought back to the United States.

The discovery of the two potentially highly dangerous terrorists caused a stir in the Homeland Security circles, especially so in the media. Virtually every major US television network, and several of the most listened to radio talk show hosts, interviewed Prince Imran.

Faith

As a part of the comprehensive education and exposure that Imran’s parents visualized for him, they ensured that he was exposed to the whole spectrum of the Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

As planned, he was sent to Bethany Christian School in Whittier, California for his Middle School, where he graduated as a Valedictorian. Participating in Christmas festivities, a young Prince Imran was exposed to the story of Lord Jesus Christ by learning about all aspects of the Easter-related events, including the Resurrection.

For exposure to Islamic Studies, he got Islamic religious and historical perspective at the weekend courses given by moderate scholars teaching under the guidance of Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi, a PhD from Harvard. Dr. Siddiqi was later invited by President George Bush to lead the National Interfaith Prayer, along with a Jewish Rabbi and a Christian Priest.

Prince Imran’s parents appreciate and respect the spiritual Sufi traditions of the singing of hymns in the enthralling and enchanting ‘Qawali’ (devotional songs by a small band of specialist singers called ‘Qawal’) sessions, which at times are enriched with the inspired whirling or non-whirling ecstatic dancing by those who get into a state of ‘vajd’ (enthralled ecstasy), enthusiastically performed in the Sufi traditions of Rumi and other saints. Every summer, Prince Imran would travel with his mom and siblings to Pakistan. There, in addition to getting yearly reorientation in the culture of the land, Prince Imran also experienced the ‘Qawali’ sessions at the ‘Astana’ of Baba Zahin Shah Taji, arguably the most eminent Sufi saint of his era.

‘Astana’ is the sacred enclave where the ‘saint’ has his seat of authority and conducts prayers, benedictions and ‘Qawali’ sessions. In the outer fringe of the enclave are the ‘shrines’ (sacred graves) of the ‘saints’ who preceded the current ‘saint’. The devotees continually lay wreaths or rose petals on those graves covered with heavily embroidered grave covers, usually in rich green, red or yellowish colors. As Prince Imran’s mother and grandmother were prominent citizens of the city, and especially devoted to Baba Zahin Shah Taji, the family got special attention from the ‘Baba Sahib’.

For getting an understanding of the Jewish faith, Prince Imran attended and participated in all the Jewish religious holidays and prayers at the home of Mr. Joe Gould and Mrs. Dorothy Gould, who were the host family to Imran’s dad Karim Raza attending USC on a US State Department Scholarship. At the Gould’s, Prince Imran got great exposure to the Judaic faith, the sufferings of the Jews, and their brilliant resilience.

From childhood onwards, Prince Imran had learned about the pacifism of the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions of India from his father who had grown up in India. His father had received his initial education there and admired the Indian culture, traditions and the enchanting ‘bhajans’ (musical hymns). He also learned from his father about Sikhism’s First Guru Nanak Sahib’s teachings, which were a fusion of the best precepts of Hinduism and Islam. Absorbing all of the above and pursuing his love for music, Prince Imran got drawn more and more towards Sufism. This is reflected in the type of music and entertainment he is drawn to creating.