ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bassam Tariq - Creative spirit
Bassam Tariq delights in making eclectic career choices. A blogger, a filmmaker, and a butcher's shop owner, the common theme linking everything together is his boundless celebration of humanity.

Why you should listen

"Our purpose is simple: we are here to change the world’s relationship to their food." TED Fellow Bassam Tariq does not have small dreams; every project he undertakes is a big plan to make real change. Hence the butcher's shop he helped to open in Manhattan's East Village is organic, halal, and specifically designed to encourage healthier eating habits and happier families.

In 2011, Bassam and his friend Aman Ali resolved to spend each night of Ramadan in a different mosque in 30 states around the United States -- and write about the experience. The result, 30 Mosques in 30 States, was a celebration of the stunning diversity of the Muslim experience in America, and a celebration of individual stories worth telling. Similarly, his documentary, These Birds Walk, is a portrayal of real life for street kids in Karachi, Pakistan.

More profile about the speaker
Bassam Tariq | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2014

Bassam Tariq: The beauty and diversity of Muslim life

Bassam Tariq: A beleza e a diversidade da vida muçulmana

Filmed:
1,436,069 views

Bassam Tariq é um blogueiro, um cineasta e um açougueiro halal. Mas um fio unifica seu trabalho: sua alegria na diversidade, a humanidade das nossas experiências individuais. Nesta palestra charmosa, ele compartilha clips do seu filme "These Birds Walk" e imagens do seu tour de "30 mesquitas in 30 dias", e nos faz refletir sobre a bela complexidade que há dentro de todos nós.
- Creative spirit
Bassam Tariq delights in making eclectic career choices. A blogger, a filmmaker, and a butcher's shop owner, the common theme linking everything together is his boundless celebration of humanity. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
I'm a blogger, a filmmaker and a butcher,
0
667
3199
Eu sou blogueiro, cineasta e açougueiro,
00:15
and I'll explain how
these identities come together.
1
3866
3202
e vou explicar como
estas identidades se completam.
00:19
It started four years ago,
2
7068
1696
Tudo começou 4 anos atrás,
quando eu e meu amigo começamos
a jejuar durante o Ramadã
00:20
when a friend and I opened
our first Ramadan fast
3
8764
2656
00:23
at one of the busiest mosques
in New York City.
4
11420
2625
na mesquita mais frequentada
da cidade de Nova York.
Centenas de homens barbados
e solideis lotavam as ruas.
00:26
Crowds of men with beards and skullcaps
were swarming the streets.
5
14045
3898
00:29
It was an FBI agent's wet dream.
(Laughter)
6
17943
3605
Era o sonho erótico dos agentes do FBI.
(Risos)
00:33
But being a part of this community,
we knew how welcoming this space was.
7
21548
3498
Mas como éramos parte desta comunidade
sabíamos como este espaço era acolhedor.
00:37
For years, I'd seen photos
of this space being documented
8
25046
3317
Durante anos eu vi fotos
deste espaço sendo documentado
00:40
as a lifeless and cold monolith,
9
28363
2107
como um monolítico inerte e frio,
00:42
much like the stereotypical image
painted of the American Muslim experience.
10
30470
3711
tal como a imagem estereotipada
da experiência muçulmana nos EUA.
00:46
Frustrated by this myopic view,
11
34181
2293
Frustrado com esta visão míope,
00:48
my friend and I had this crazy idea:
12
36474
2402
meu amigo e eu tivemos essa ideia louca:
Vamos quebrar o jejum numa
mesquita diferente, num estado diferente
00:50
Let's break our fast
at a different mosque in a different state
13
38876
3001
00:53
each night of Ramadan
14
41877
1425
cada noite do Ramadã
00:55
and share those stories on a blog.
15
43302
2152
e compartilhar essas histórias num blogue.
00:57
We called it "30 Mosques in 30 Days,"
16
45454
2280
Chamamos o blogue de:
"30 Mesquitas em 30 Dias",
00:59
and we drove to all the 50 states
17
47734
1806
e viajamos pelos 50 estados
01:01
and shared stories from over 100
vastly different Muslim communities,
18
49540
3365
e partilhamos histórias de mais de 100
comunidades muçulmanas,
01:04
ranging from the Cambodian refugees
in the L.A. projects
19
52905
3329
desde os refugiados do Cambodia
em projetos em Los Angeles
01:08
to the black Sufis living
in the woods of South Carolina.
20
56234
3192
aos Sufis negros que moram
nas florestas da Carolina do Sul.
01:11
What emerged was a beautiful
and complicated portrait of America.
21
59426
3369
O que surgiu foi um lindo e complexo
retrato dos Estados Unidos.
01:14
The media coverage
forced local journalists
22
62795
2025
A mídia forçou os jornalistas locais
01:16
to revisit their Muslim communities,
23
64820
1737
a revisitarem as comunidades muçulmanas.
01:18
but what was really exciting
was seeing people from around the world
24
66557
3620
Mas, realmente incrível,
foi ver gente do mundo todo
01:22
being inspired to take
their own 30-mosque journey.
25
70177
3007
inspirada em fazer sua própria
jornadas de "30 mesquitas".
Até dois atletas
da Liga Nacional de Futebol
01:25
There were even these two NFL athletes
26
73184
1817
01:27
who took a sabbatical
from the league to do so.
27
75001
2276
tiraram licença da liga
para participarem.
01:29
And as 30 Mosques
was blossoming around the world,
28
77277
3337
Enquanto o "30 mesquitas"
estava acontecendo no mundo todo,
01:32
I was actually stuck in Pakistan
working on a film.
29
80614
2659
eu estava fazendo um filme no Paquistão.
01:35
My codirector, Omar, and I were at
a breaking point with many of our friends
30
83273
3621
O meu codiretor Omar e eu estávamos
num ponto crucial com nossos amigos
01:38
on how to position the film.
31
86894
1665
sobre o posicionamento do filme.
01:40
The movie is called "These Birds Walk,"
32
88559
2087
O nome do filme é
"These Birds Walk",
01:42
and it is about wayward street kids
33
90646
1760
e é sobre meninos rebeldes de rua
01:44
who are struggling to find
some semblance of family.
34
92406
2836
que lutam para encontrar
algo semelhante à família.
01:47
We focus on the complexities
of youth and family discord,
35
95242
3468
Nós focamos nas complexidades
da juventude e discórdias de famílias,
01:50
but our friends kept on nudging us
to comment on drones and target killings
36
98710
3785
mas nossos amigos insistiam
que mostrássemos drones
e alvos de assassinatos
01:54
to make the film "more relevant,"
37
102495
2809
para o filme ser "mais relevante",
01:57
essentially reducing these people
who have entrusted us with their stories
38
105304
3506
basicamente reduzindo essas pessoas
que nos confiaram suas histórias
02:00
into sociopolitical symbols.
39
108810
1967
a símbolos sociopolíticos.
02:02
Of course, we didn't listen to them,
40
110777
1776
Claro, não concordamos com eles,
02:04
and instead, we championed
the tender gestures of love
41
112553
3420
e, em vez disso,
propusemos os gestos do amor
02:07
and headlong flashes of youth.
42
115973
2322
e as manifestações impulsivas dos jovens.
A intenção por trás de nossa
imersão cinematográfica era a empatia,
02:10
The agenda behind our cinematic
immersion was only empathy,
43
118295
3079
02:13
an emotion that's largely
deficient from films
44
121374
2584
uma emoção que quase
não aparece nos filmes
02:15
that come from our region of the world.
45
123958
3275
oriundos da nossa região do mundo.
02:19
And as "These Birds Walk" played at film
festivals and theaters internationally,
46
127233
4220
E, como "These Birds Walk" foi exibido
em festivais e cinemas internacionais,
02:23
I finally had my feet
planted at home in New York,
47
131460
2483
eu estava finalmente em casa,
em Nova York,
02:25
and with all the extra time
and still no real money,
48
133943
3562
e com todo o tempo extra,
e nenhum dinheiro de verdade,
02:29
my wife tasked me to cook more for us.
49
137505
3685
minha esposa me mandou
cozinhar mais para nós.
02:33
And whenever I'd go to the local butcher
to purchase some halal meat,
50
141190
3387
E sempre que eu ia ao açougueiro local
para comprar carne halal,
02:36
something felt off.
51
144577
1369
algo me fazia sentir mal.
02:37
For those that don't know,
halal is a term used for meat
52
145946
3367
Para os que não sabem,
halal é um termo usado para carne
02:41
that is raised and slaughtered humanely
following very strict Islamic guidelines.
53
149313
4542
criada e abatida humanamente,
seguindo regras Islâmicas muito rígidas.
02:45
Unfortunately, the majority
of halal meat in America
54
153855
3354
Infelizmente, a maior parte
da carne halal nos Estados Unidos
02:49
doesn't rise to the standard
that my faith calls for.
55
157209
2942
não segue as regras que a minha fé ensina.
02:52
The more I learned
about these unethical practices,
56
160151
2701
Quanto mais eu aprendia
sobre essas práticas antiéticas,
02:54
the more violated I felt,
57
162852
2048
mais violado eu me sentia,
02:56
particularly because businesses
from my own community
58
164900
3192
especialmente porque as lojas
da minha própria comunidade
03:00
were the ones taking advantage
of my orthodoxy.
59
168092
3119
eram as que se aproveitavam
da minha ortodoxia.
03:03
So, with emotions running high,
and absolutely no experience in butchery,
60
171211
4014
Então, com as emoções em alta,
e nenhuma experiência de açougue,
03:07
some friends and I opened a meat store
61
175225
2249
eu e uns amigos abrimos um açougue
03:09
in the heart of the
East Village fashion district.
62
177474
2560
no coração do distrito da moda
de East Village.
03:12
(Laughter)
63
180034
1360
(Risos)
03:13
We call it Honest Chops,
64
181394
1840
Nós a chamamos de "Bistecas Honestas"
03:15
and we're reclaiming halal by sourcing
organic, humanely raised animals,
65
183234
3713
e resgatamos o halal usando fontes
orgânicas, animais criados humanamente,
03:18
and by making it accessible and affordable
to working-class families.
66
186947
3721
e oferecendo preços acessíveis
às famílias das classes trabalhadoras.
03:22
There's really nothing like it in America.
67
190668
2149
Não há nada semelhante a isto nos EUA.
03:24
The unbelievable part is actually
that 90 percent of our in-store customers
68
192817
4122
O inacreditável é que, na realidade,
90% dos nossos fregueses
03:28
are not even Muslim.
69
196939
1540
não são nem muçulmanos.
03:30
For many, it is their first time
interacting with Islam
70
198479
2727
Para muitos, é a primeira vez
que interagem com o Islão
03:33
on such an intimate level.
71
201206
2395
em nível tão íntimo.
03:35
So all these disparate projects --
(Laughter) --
72
203601
4746
Então, todos estes projetos diversos
(Risos)
03:40
are the result of a restlessness.
73
208347
2175
são o resultado de uma inquietação.
03:42
They are a visceral response
to the businesses and curators
74
210522
3584
São uma resposta profunda
aos negociantes e curadores
que trabalham muito para simplificar
demais minhas crenças e minha comunidade,
03:46
who work hard to oversimplify
my beliefs and my community,
75
214106
3519
03:49
and the only way to beat their machine
is to play by different rules.
76
217625
4162
e, a única forma de vencer essa máquina
é jogar usando regras diferentes.
03:53
We must fight with an inventive approach.
77
221790
2186
Temos que lutar usando
uma abordagem criativa.
03:55
With the trust, with the access,
with the love that only we can bring,
78
223976
4330
Com a confiança, com o acesso,
com o amor que só nós podemos trazer,
04:00
we must unapologetically
reclaim our beliefs
79
228317
2460
temos que assumidamente
reivindicar nossas crenças
04:02
in every moving image,
in every cut of meat,
80
230777
2642
em cada imagem,
em cada corte de carne,
04:05
because if we whitewash our stories
for the sake of mass appeal,
81
233419
4146
porque se dissimulamos nossas
histórias por querer apelar às massas,
04:09
not only will we fail,
82
237565
1509
não só vamos falhar,
04:11
but we will be trumped by those
with more money and more resources
83
239074
3327
mas seremos ofuscados por
aqueles com mais dinheiro e recursos
04:14
to tell our stories.
84
242401
1810
para contar nossas histórias.
04:16
But the call for creative courage
is not for novelty or relevance.
85
244211
4703
Mas o chamado para a coragem criativa
não é pela novidade ou relevância.
04:20
It is simply because our communities
are so damn unique and so damn beautiful.
86
248914
4853
É só porque nossas comunidades
são tão únicas e tão lindas.
04:25
They demand us to find uncompromising ways
to be acknowledged and respected.
87
253767
6073
Elas demandam que encontremos formas
firmes de sermos aceitos e respeitados.
04:32
Thank you.
88
260603
1755
Obrigado
04:34
(Applause)
89
262358
2624
(Aplausos)
Translated by Nadja Nathan
Reviewed by Andrea Mussap

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Bassam Tariq - Creative spirit
Bassam Tariq delights in making eclectic career choices. A blogger, a filmmaker, and a butcher's shop owner, the common theme linking everything together is his boundless celebration of humanity.

Why you should listen

"Our purpose is simple: we are here to change the world’s relationship to their food." TED Fellow Bassam Tariq does not have small dreams; every project he undertakes is a big plan to make real change. Hence the butcher's shop he helped to open in Manhattan's East Village is organic, halal, and specifically designed to encourage healthier eating habits and happier families.

In 2011, Bassam and his friend Aman Ali resolved to spend each night of Ramadan in a different mosque in 30 states around the United States -- and write about the experience. The result, 30 Mosques in 30 States, was a celebration of the stunning diversity of the Muslim experience in America, and a celebration of individual stories worth telling. Similarly, his documentary, These Birds Walk, is a portrayal of real life for street kids in Karachi, Pakistan.

More profile about the speaker
Bassam Tariq | Speaker | TED.com