Secret Trial Five is a Canadian five-piece political

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band formed in 2006 in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Origins

Sena Hussain formed Secret Trial Five with four friends following 9/11, when she became interested in making music with political messages.A Muslim Meld of Punk and Piety
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The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', December 28, 2007. Accessed January 8, 2007. Secret Trial Five takes its name from a group of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s suspected of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

currently held without charge in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

.On Tour with the Taqwacores
''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

'', October 2, 2007. Accessed January 8, 2007.

History

In fall 2007, Secret Trial Five toured the United States with Vote Hezbollah, The Kominas, Al-Thawra, and Diacritical on the ''Taqwatour''. Early in September, Secret Trial Five were prevented from finishing their set at a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

show hosted by the Islamic Society of North America; some news agencies have reported that it was because the ISNA did not approve of women singing in public, while others have reported that the audience began quickly leaving during the band's first song.

Taqwacore controversy

Though initially identifying with taqwacore and participating in Omar Majeed's ''Taqwacore'' documentary, the band later rejected affiliation with the scene, announcing "We're not taqwacore!" on their website, due to their preference for political ideologies focusing on communities with which they more closely identify.

Music

Among the group's most referenced songs are "Hey Hey Guantanamo Bay" and "Emo-Hurram", the latter a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on the first month of the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar (), also known in English as the Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to determine the proper days of Islamic holidays and rituals, such as the Ramad ...

.The Guide's Annual Awards
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', December 15, 2007. Accessed January 8, 2008. Other notable songs include Middle Eastern Zombies, We're Not Taqwacore, and Colonizer, a parody of

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

' Womanizer. The band has vocalized their support for the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...

movement and has been censored on numerous occasions. The group names taqwacore band The Kominas as one of its chief influences.Islamic Street Preachers
''

'', April 28, 2007. Accessed January 8, 2008. Hussain, the lead singer, is openly gay.

Members

* Sena Hussain – Vocals * Nat Ess – Guitar * Sidra Mahmood – Guitar * Gabi Rodriguez – Bass * Karim Elawar – Drums

References

External links

Secret Trial Five
at MySpace (defunct page)
Secret Trial Five
at Facebook (last updated 2016)
Secret Trial Five
at Reverbnation (one song available)
Sena Hussain materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Trial Five All-female punk bands Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Vancouver Canadian punk rock groups Taqwacore 2006 establishments in British Columbia