Omar Pitras Waqar

Omar Pitras Waqar (born December 8, 1980) is an American musician and songwriter based in Washington, D.C. Active since 2000, he blends punk-rock instrumentation with South Asian musical and devotional influences. Ethnomusicological analysis has identified elements of ghazal and qawwali in his work. He founded the bands Diacritical and Sarmust. He also performed experimental electronic music under the name EvilArtForm. Mainstream press and academic studies link him to the Muslim punk movement known as Taqwacore. His perspectives have been characterized as anarcho-Sufi. Career Diacritical Waqar co-founded Diacritical in Washington, D.C. in 2005 and performed as the group’s guitarist and vocalist. Contemporary coverage described the band’s sound as hardcore punk incorporating South Asian instruments like tabla and sitar. In 2007, Diacritical took part in the multi-city Taqwa Tour, which also featured the Kominas and other acts associated with the Taqwacore movement. During these performances, reports noted that Waqar leads the audience in a chant of “Stop the hate”, these are lyrics from the anti-racist Diacritical song Ignorance. Sarmust After Diacritical disbanded, Waqar formed Sar