Mehmet Sanlikol On The Diversity Of Islamic Culture

Sanlikol is a Boston-based, Turkish-born, American composer. Through his music, Sanlikol embodies the many cultural identities of Islam — identities he says that are now more than ever, being forgotten.

A few weeks ago, Sanlikol wrote us an email. In it, he expressed sadness, frustration, and even anger at both the rhetoric regarding Muslims in the U.S. and the well-intentioned but ultimately myopic defense of Muslims by the press. He told us why it's a problem and the stereotypes that still need debunking.

Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, part of ensemble Whatsnext?, faculty member at the New England Conservatory and Emerson College, and a fellow at Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies.