The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 17

AA4 An eclectic group of people sat on floor cushions in a Los Feliz home earlier this month for a concert to mark famed sitar player Ravi 90th birthday. In the same room where Shankar played in the 1960s sat atheists and believers, guests who were raised Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and evangelical Christian. They came together at the home of longtime friend Jan Steward to hear Paul Los Angeles-based virtuoso sitar player who, in the last adapted various world music styles to church worship. striving to connect everything I do with something that reflects a devotion to Livingstone said. me, music is Livingstone, 39, is the resident musician at Throop Church, a Unitarian Univer- salist congregation in Pasadena.

He also teaches and plays at Holy Nativity Episcopal Churchin Westchester. During Easter celebrations, he performed at the East West Community Church, an all-Indian congregation in Anaheim. find his bringing together of Eastern practices with Christianity very said Grace Hill- Speed, who attends services at Throop Church. brings an awareness of the diversity of spiritual The sitar, forged from two gourds, evolved from an ancient instrument used for Indian devotional music. At the Los Feliz performance, Livingstone coaxed sounds out of the 21-stringed instrument that at times veered toward banjo bluegrass as well as electronic synthesizer.

Improvisational pieces that opened in delicate, classical Indian tradition swelled to exultant solos not unlike those found in jazz and rock. Livingstone met Shankar 15 years ago and has studied and performed with him. During the performance, wife, Leticia, and daughter Veronica, 14, each played tanpura, an upright, fretless stringed instrument that often accompanies sitar, creating a wall- to-wall sound of background droning. He was also joined by friend and colleague Swapan Chaudhuri, whose fingers flew over the tabla, a bass and treble drum percussion set. Chaudhuri, who is regarded as one of the top tabla musicians, told the gathering that many Indians had said Shankar and fellow crossover musician Ali Akbar Khanwere wasting their time teaching classical Indian music to Westerners, who would not be able to access the emotion for an art that sprang from Eastern spiritual practice.

The result of Shankar and pioneering efforts, however, is Livingstone, Chaudhuri said, a Western musician who plays classical sitar like a native. itself is a language. It is a religion. And you need a Chaudhuri said. bless Livingstone, who lives in Highland Park, was born in Beirut to missionary parents.

He was raised in Philadelphia and California and became interested in Indian music when he first heard a sitar recording at age 12. loved the Beatles so I put on a Ravi Shankar album my parents he remembers. the first time in my life I had a transcendent experience. I became completely immersed in the sound. I had the feeling of being under a waterfall of music that was flowing over At 15, he spent a year of high school in northern India where he studied Indian religion and philosophy as well as sitar and tabla, the basis of Hindustani music.

More recently, Livingstone has taught at the California Institute of the Arts and the SangeetSchool of World Music in Pasadena and Los Angeles, which he founded. Last year he lectured in the departments of music and religion at Yale University. His own ensemble group is called Arohi, the Hindi word for a metaphor for music bringing you close to Livingstone said. Livingstone said he feels most comfortable outside mainstream Western churches, but he is firmly grounded in his Christian heritage. Spiritually, he describes himself as aYesu Bhakta, a devotee of Jesus main This last year, he has performed and taught sitar at Holy Nativity in Westchester and is now teaching devotional chanting in that congregation, which has embraced Zen Buddhist traditions at its World Christian Meditation Center.

At Throop Church, Livingstone incorporates Middle Eastern, African and Latin music, reggae, blues and jazz in addition to the traditional hymnbook. He leads a class on interfaith chanting before the service and often plays sitar during silent meditation at the end. much all I want to do with my life is bring people closer to God through he said. It seems to be working, as the number of people showing up for Sunday services is rising, according to several Throop members. has certain talents I seen heard a lot of Indian music and said GaziKhan, a financial consultant whose family moved to California from Pakistan 30 years ago, when he was 17.

Khan, aMuslim, has started attending Sunday services at Throop because Livingstone is there. The church embraces all faiths in the search for spiritual many participants do not identify as Christian. Although classical Indian music has roots in Vedic period, it was adopted by Muslim kings in the 16th century and was practiced by Sufis, Muslim mystics. Livingstone said this music constitutes the longest creative collaboration between Hindus and Muslims. Still, what attracts Khan is not the history but the experience.

feel he said of music. somehow makes the Indian music into a Western style. a bridge. I like his music, so I go to Photographs by Irfan Khan Los Angeles Times RESIDENT MUSICIAN: Sitar virtuoso Paul Livingstone plays at Throop Church, a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Pasadena. BELIEFS Finding spiritual unity in sitar Melding Christianity and Eastern tradition, L.A.

musician draws a diverse audience. Nomi Morris AT WORK: Livingstone, who has performed with Ravi Shankar, has found fans in atheists and believers of numerous faiths. me, music is he says. Around that time, the Muslim Public Affairs Council released a study about counter-terrorism efforts that outlined five theories on why Muslims become radicalized. And more recently, the Muslim American Society launched the Straight Path Campaign, an initiative aimed at providing Muslim youthswith an alternative to radicalization.

The first goal for the campaign has been to hold more than 100 town hall meetings across the country to discuss why the message of violent radicalization resonates with some and what Muslims can do about it. know why all these groups were suddenly releasing scathing reports about homegrown said Reem Salahi, a civil rights attorney based in Santa Monica. really just bothered me; why are we so eager to jump on the Younger community members said Muslim leadership has sold them out by giving weight to broad generalizations about Muslims and terrorism. They have also objected to the use of the word which generally refers to those who are sympathetic to terrorists or have terrorist ties. There is concern, they said, that the word is being used so broadly that it could be pegged to anyone with unpopular views.

we hear people say Muslim youth are becoming go, said Omar Zarka, a UCLA engineering graduate student, turning to his left and right as if looking for extremists. see any of it.Whatever, Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, there have been relatively few occurrences of radicalization and violent extremismamong U.S. Muslims, in part because the community is self- policing and publicly denounces such acts, according to a Duke University study released earlier this year. The study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, found 139 incidents over an eight-year period of U.S.

Muslims committing acts of terrorism-related violence or being prosecuted for violent terrorism-related offenses. It concluded that terrorism is a serious, but limited The study and ongoing debate among Muslims has raised the question of whether homegrown terrorism is a real issue. It also highlights a rare divide in a community that typically operates in a top-down manner. Over the last several months, the Muslim organizations have coordinated meetings at their headquarters, mosques and student groups. The discussions have led to more understanding on both sides, including an acknowledgment of the difficult position the national organizations find themselves in: stuck between calls for action and demands for a more measured response.

Although the leaders say they understand the concerns of younger members, they insist the issue is not one they can ignore for both practical and public relations purposes. we address it and speak about it and add fuel to the fire of those who want to make this a big issue? Even addressing a false frame or an exaggerated frame adds to the perpetuation of that said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Los Angeles chapter of CAIR. like Nixon coming out on TV and saying not a Like its sister chapters nationwide, CAIR-LA held a meeting at its Anaheim office to discuss what is myth and what is reality when discussing radicalization. At the Islamic Center of Southern California, administrators planned a seminar for parents about the signs of youth radicalization, but later after complaints tempered the message and changed the format to a discussion. In February, Suhaib Webb, a Northern California imam studying in Egypt, organized an online gathering among representatives from across the country.

Even from Egypt, Webb was hearing polarized opinions on the issue and wanted to provide a neutral forum. David Schanzer, who headed the Duke study, said that although the issue of Muslim radicalization has been overhyped by the media and government, it is not an issue Muslims can afford to ignore. The only way to sway public opinion about Muslims is to have community leaders publicly address the concerns, said Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center of Terrorism and Homeland Security. Hossam AlJabri, executive director of the Muslim American Society, acknowledged that organizations like his are walking a fine line with the issue but said he could not wait until it becomes a major crisis. recognize that this is an exaggerated problem right he said.

it could become a real raja.abdulrahim Groups face opposition as they take on extremism Muslims, from LOS ANGELES COUNTY Two men shot during traffic stop Authorities are investigating a deputy-involved shooting in Willowbrook on Sunday that left two men wounded. The shooting took place about 12:45 a.m. in the 11700 block of Willowbrook Avenue during a traffic stop, according to the Los Angeles County Department. As the deputy approached the vehicle with four people inside, a passenger in the left rear seat pointed a handgun at him, according to the department. for his life, the deputy fired two rounds from his duty weapon at the according to a department statement.

The suspect and a passenger in the right rear seat were hit. Aloaded handgun was found at the scene, the department said. The men, who had not been identified, were taken into custody and treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a hospital. Investigations will be conducted by the homicide and internal affairs bureaus as well as the Los Angeles County district office. Knoll LOS ANGELES 2 killed, 3 hurt when SUV rolls Two people were killed and three others injured Sunday after they were ejected when their SUV flipped over.

The three surviving passengers were takento Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in serious condition, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott. All of the passengers were in their 20s. The cause of the accident, which occurred about 6:30 p.m. on La Cienega Boulevard near Rodeo Road, is under investigation, Scott said. Faturechi CARSON Man arrested in fatal hit-and-run A40-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a hit-and-run in Carson that left a male bicyclist dead, authorities said.

William Keith Square was arrested Saturday night and charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, said Los Angeles County Sgt. Walid Ashrafnia. The victimwas riding his bike north on Santa Fe Avenue near 218th Place about 9 p.m. when he was struck by a dark-colored SUV that fled the scene, Ashrafnia said. Abystander wrote down the license plate number, and authorities arrested Square at his home in Long Beach.

The victim was taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where he died. Knoll CALIFORNIA BRIEFING latimes.com Sitar sounds Go online to watch a video of renowned L.A.-based musician Paul Livingstone playing the sitar..