Secret Trial Five is a Canadian five-piece political punk rock 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 most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

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
'' The Globe and Mail'', December 28, 2007. Accessed January 8, 2007. Secret Trial Five takes its name from a group of Muslims suspected of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

currently held without charge in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

.On Tour with the Taqwacores
'' BBC'', 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 Al-Thawra ( ar, الثورة, meaning "The Revolution") is an experimental metal punk band with rhythms and modes that draw heavily on Middle Eastern influences. Band member Marwan Kemal describes a "third identity" between the "false dichotomy ...

, and Diacritical on the ''Taqwatour''. Early in September, Secret Trial Five were prevented from finishing their set at a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

show hosted by the

Islamic Society of North America The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) is a nonprofit organization based in Plainfield, Indiana. It provides a number of programs and services to the Muslim community and broader society. ISNA holds an annual convention which is generally re ...

; 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 Taqwacore is a subgenre of punk music dealing with Islam, its culture, and interpretation. Originally conceived in Michael Muhammad Knight's 2003 novel, ''The Taqwacores'', the name is a portmanteau of "hardcore" and the Arabic word "taqwa" (ت� ...

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 on the first month of the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 ...

.The Guide's Annual Awards
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', 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 is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

Womanizer Womanizer may refer to: * "Womanizer" (term), a promiscuous heterosexual man * "Womanizer" (song), a 2008 song by Britney Spears * "Womanizer", a 1977 song by Blood, Sweat & Tears from ''Brand New Day'' * ''Womanizer'', a 2004 album by Absolute ...

. The band has vocalized their support for the

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a 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 obligations ...

movement and has been censored on numerous occasions. The group names

band

The Kominas The Kominas are a punk rock band formed in 2005 by two Pakistani-Americans from Worcester, Massachusetts. In over ten years, the band has experienced a number of line-up changes and self-released albums. Musical style Their dance-oriented so ...

as one of its chief influences.Islamic Street Preachers
''

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

openly gay Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

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