It was an evening of powerful Islamic devotional music. Music is one of the most powerful mediums of expression in the world. It is one of the most powerful forms of expression. Those who are blessed with the gift of making music, who have been blessed with the ability to sing and those who have developed this ability to make music; they have a great choice before them. Do they use their gift to express love, the most powerful emotion? Or do they use this gift to pursue money, wealth and power? For the World Muslim Choral Ensemble (WMCE) it is about the. The spiritual goal is one, but the paths are many.
Matthew 6:24 – “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Mammon is an Aramaic term meaning money or wealth)
Daily News attended both the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony/ concert/ launch of the World Muslim Choral Ensemble. The WMCE is the vision of Co- Founders Haadia Galely (Executive Director) and Professor Andre de Quadros (Artistic Director), vocal coach Manoj Sanjeewa and the members of the Muslim Choral Ensemble.
Both Haadia Galely and Professor Andre De Quadros have always believed that it is their calling to spread the message of peace and unity both nationally and globally. They have always felt that it is vital to recognize our similarities and embrace our differences.
The evening was a great one. Haadia Galely is second to none when it comes to organisation. Both she, Prof. Andre De Quadros and the members of the Muslim Choral Ensemble put together a superlative performance that the entire audience fully appreciated.
The applause at the end of the show was deafening. It was obvious that a lot of time and effort had gone into the performance. The singers were dressed in beautiful robes and the music was so appealing, delightful and pleasing. What was great about the event is that the World Muslim Choral Ensemble was supposed to take place before Covid-19 and Covid-19 interrupted it. Zoom and phone are never as good as being together in one auditorium.
Haadia Galely has the ability to make dreams a reality. “I need to thank Prof. Andre De Quadros, because without him, I would not have been able to come this far. I must acknowledge Soundarie David, who has been behind me and encouraging me. All of you being present here, makes me realize that we are doing something great and worthwhile. This means a lot for all of us. It is my fervent wish that you all will continue to be behind us, encourage us and give us all the moral support that we need,” said Haadia Galely.
At the closing ceremony/ launch/ concert of the WMCE, Professor Andre de Quadros (Artistic Director) stated that history was being made. It was the birth of a wonderful project. De Quadros stated that it (the project) rests on three pillars: The pillar of Justice, the pillar of Peace and the pillar of Islamic culture.
“The great Martin Luther King said that we need to have justice and peace. Without justice there is no peace without peace there is no justice. This world is now moving in a calamitous direction. A world that is full of hate, of violence, of discrimination, of war and of injustice. But we also live in a world where there is compassion, love, kindness, non-violence and peacebuilding. So the MCE wants to harness these values of love, kindness, forgiveness and compassion. There is no place in this world for anger, violence and hate. We want to harness the values that are constructive. Values that will create a world that we want for our children,” said Prof. De Quadros.
He also added that Muslim culture is rich and varied and that Islamic culture has spread right throughout the world. He spoke of the importance of having a representation of so many countries such as India, Iran, Pakistan and USA, at the launch of the WMCE. It is a bold and ambitious project. “We would like to take you on a spiritual journey. Islamic devotional music makes this spiritual journey possible,” said Prof. De Quadros.
Prof. De Quadros thanked the audience for taking this wonderful journey with them and making it so meaningful and memorable for everyone. Not everyone who made this project a success can be named in this article. But both the Professor and Galely wish to thank everyone from the bottom of their hearts. Everyone’s contribution is valued and cherished.
Last but not least, both Galely and Prof. De Quadros wished to thank the Patron, Hanif Yusoof. Without him the evening would not have been possible. We can build dreams and we can create bridges, but support is needed to make dreams a reality. This support will be something they will always treasure for the rest of their lives.
“The whole idea is to bring about peace through music. This is something I passionately believe in. I hope that WMCE is something that will keep growing and reach newer heights. Understanding between communities is so important and something I cherish. Today, Sri Lankans in this beautiful island of ours are struggling. We are all one family. And we need to unite with each other and get through these difficult times together,” said Mr. Hanif.
One main predominant theme of the evening, was standing in solidarity with each other. And that as a global community we need to concentrate on our similarities, rather than what makes us different. If you take Hitler, Hitler saw only the dissimilarities. And not the similarities. The idea that we need to live in a just world, and one that is not corrupt, was something that Prof. De Quadros and many members of the WMCE repeated throughout the evening.
“You in Sri Lanka are struggling with what peoples in different parts of this world are struggling with. We must say – no more injustice, no more corruption, no more inequity and inequality. We need to work together to build a society that is much better. We need to stand together. This ensemble stands for those values,” concluded Prof. De Quadros.
Pictures by Sudath Malaweera
Add new comment