He is a musician, author, medical school graduate, philanthropist, and a jihadi. Salman Ahmad is an institution in his own right. Starting off in 1990, as a musician and founder of Junoon (“South Asia’s biggest rock band”), Ahmad has since continued to hum the same tune of peace, love, and Islamic mysticism. But most recently, his efforts are more concentrated towards restoring Pakistan’s image and the state of its people.

Ahmad’s successful rock band Junoon, meaning "obsession" in Urdu, created a huge buzz in the early 1990’s in Pakistan, winning a large fan base. The band’s unique fusion of Sufism and Rock music won the adoration of music lovers across the world, ultimately creating a totally new and distinguishable genre of music: Sufi Rock.

Sufism is the mystical sect of Islam that aims to connect with God by detaching oneself completely from the physical world. In an interview for Nazar, an online magazine focusing on the South Asian community by The University of Texas, Ahmad talks about the connection between Sufism and music:

“(Sufi music) is a foundation to build things on and then, obviously, so many influences, you know – Jazz, Classical Rock, Bollywood,” he said. “It’s an ocean of vivid colors – sound colors…”

The band had a successful run throughout the 90’s, with many of its songs adopted as anthems by Pakistani youth. The band also had its share of controversies when it took a jab at government officials by creating politically charged songs.

Although the band officially disbanded in 2005, after two of the three band members left , Ahmad is still making waves under the Junoon label. Now residing in New York, he is busy performing all over the world and teaching an Islamic Music, Poetry and Culture of South Asia course at Queens College.

In 2005, Ahmad also stared in a BBC documentary film It’s My Country Too: Muslim Americans. This film focused on the lives of Muslims from different walks of life all across America. It is available to watch on Youtube, and its script can be found here.

From being selected by the United Nations as a goodwill ambassador for HIV/AIDS in Pakistan and performing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, to doing cross-cultural collaborations with the likes of Melissa Etheridge, Bono, Yale Strom, and more recently, the legendary Peter Gabriel, Salman Ahmad has been a musical crusader of peace and unity around the world.

Singing songs of love and harmony, he has found himself at odds with such global forces as the Taliban. Ahmad has used the power of music to spread a message of universal brotherhood and peace that is at odds with the Taliban’s extremist presentation of Islam. His efforts exemplify the true essence of Jihad: to struggle in the path of God and improve oneself, not the “holy war” waged by the Taliban in the name of Islam.

In the same interview with Nazar, he describes why he believes that the “Taliban hate music” (the Taliban believe that music is forbidden is Islam):

“Because they realize the power of Sufi music. It frees the soul, it frees the mind and there is no fear. When the lights are all turned on, you can’t be scared of anything,” he said.

Ahmad even took his argument all the way to Peshawar, a city in the northwestern region of Pakistan bordering with Afghanistan, to talk to the local government that had denounced all forms of arts in the region.

“I spoke with politicians as well as a radical Mullah known as ‘Mullah Electricity,’ who tries to convince me to give up music but doesn’t see the contradiction in his own argument when he starts singing devotional Islamic songs to me on camera, perfectly in key,” Ahmad said in an interview.

His inspiring journey from a Led-Zeppelin-loving-college-kid to the pioneer of Sufi Rock music, and now, ambassador of peace, is relayed in detail in Ahmad’s autobiography, Rock & Roll Jihad, complete with back cover notes by Deepak Chopra. In his review, Chopra praises the book as “the fascinating story of the evolution of a new kind of planetary citizen.” And a planetary citizen he is. In the wake of the recent deadly floods in Pakistan, Ahmad composed and recorded a song Open Your Eyes with Gabriel to raise funds for the flood victims. But his humanitarian efforts are not limited to Pakistan alone. He is also a part of David Lynch’s Foundation Music. According to pledgemusic.com: “DLF Music brings together the world’s top and emerging recording artists to support the good works of the Davis Lynch Foundation’s stress-reducing, meditation-based educational programs.” The program has partnered with some of the best artists in the world, such as Maroon 5 and Neon Tress.

From his music to his extraordinary endeavors, Salman Ahmad has taken up the mantle of a defender of humanity and peace around the world.