Thousands of people descended on Chicago's Marquette Park last week to attend the Takin' It to the Streets Urban International Festival. Organized by the Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN), this year's festival attracted Muslims and non-Muslims from every corner of America. Hip-hop artist Mos Def headlined a list of local and international musicians who entertained crowds of up to 40,000. First held in 1997 and celebrated biannually, the Takin' It to the Streets festival continues to grow in size and scope. Organizers said they needed an extra year to plan this festival, the largest in its history. Ahlam Said, IMAN's communications manager, said the event included musicians from other countries for the first time, which led to the expansion of the festival from a weekend to nearly a week. “Because the Muslim community here in Chicago is so diverse, we are always forced to take into account the international issues around us in our community from different parts of the world, so we are always trying to draw connections between what is going on locally to what is going on globally,” Said said. This year's international lineup included Orchestre Chabab Al Andalous from Morocco, Omar Faruk Tekbilek and his ensemble from Turkey, and the band Tinariwen from Mali. IMAN chose the international artists in part for the ways in which, like American hip-hop, they use music as a means of political and social expression. “These groups that we've picked have either been people that we feel strongly about in terms of their connections to larger social issues that they are facing, as well as connections that we have with different artists in our network who feel strongly about these people and feel that they have a powerful story,” Said said. Takin' It to the Streets is more than just entertainment; it is engaging the community to spread goodwill and to address social concerns through music. Said said the festival aims to express compassion, mercy and solidarity. “We are trying to bring these principles to the public in a way that is understandable, and I think that music is a way to do that because people can relate to it,” she said. IMAN partnered with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Millennium Park (which hosted events during the week) to hold events funded by the Chicago Community Trust. For past Takin' It to the Streets festivals, as well as this one, the main event was held in Marquette Park in Chicago's South Side. In 1966, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. led a march into the park, lending it a special status. Lynn Salahi, a student in Chicago who attended the festival, saw meaning in the location. “I think that the organization chose a venue that has such a rich history and is something related to social justice,” Salahi said. Salahi, who recently moved to Chicago from California, said she learned from other area Muslims that attending the festival is “the thing to do.” Six areas around the park featured entertainment, family activities and panel discussions. American-Muslim scholars took the stage to discuss issues of concern not only to Muslims, but to the entire community. Imam Zaid Shakir of the Zaytuna Institute participated in a panel titled “Healin' the Hood: Liquor Stores, Economic Development & Racial Reconciliation.” Imam Suhaid Webb, a hafiz and lecturer on Islamic issues, talked about “Faith and Action: What Ties Us to the Cause.” Other discussions focused on African-American concerns and immigration issues. Big Samir, a hip-hop artist based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, performed at the event. Even if he had not performed, he said, he planned to attend the event. What impressed him about the festival, in addition to the management and variety of performers, is the spirit he felt. “The energy that IMAN and all the artists bring made it such a positive experience,” Big Samir said. He added that he enjoyed seeing neighborhood residents attending the festival. “Sometimes you can find violence at hip-hop concerts, but not here. Even the police were sitting around reading the programs and schedules.” This article is contributed by America.gov __
