My Name is Ba-nor from the Puerto Rican Hip Hop group M-Team also known as Hamza Perez from the award winning PBS film (New Muslim Cool). Our group M-Team consists of My Brother (Zhivago) and I and our Style is like Public Enemy/Hector Lavoe seasoned with the Golden era of Hip Hop’s Lyricism (90’s).  The PBS documentary shows some of my spiritual growth as I work with Drug dealers, Gang members, Christians and Jews.

Through out the last four years of my life I have dug deeper into the Character of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and the teachings of Islam’s spiritual component known as Tasawuf (Sufism).

What I have learned is if we analyze creation and different life forms we will find a sense of unity amongst God’s creation.

If you look in the sky you will see birds maneuvering with unity. If you look in the ground you will see ants working with unity. If you look in the Ocean you will see fish in schools of unity. The only creation that breaks these laws of Unity is us the human being.

We become divided by Race, Colors, Politics, Religions and Gangs.

In the past four years I have decided to do something that the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) did which was to reach out to people of other faiths and religions.  In the past Muslims have lived side by side with Jews and Christians with out the major conflicts that we may find today in the Middle East.

In Spain it was the Jews that would open the gates at night for the Muslims to conquer different regions because they knew they would have more rights under Muslim rule then the Spanish governors.

So my Goal is through Hip Hop, Art and Film to bring this movement that will revive a form of unity amongst different races and classes. I want to bring arts from the Streets of Palestine, Jerusalem, Brooklyn and Harlem to express our selves and to build a new generation that will break chains of ignorance. I will end it with this quote from the Quran (O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).

Ba-Nor aka Hamza Perez

M-Team