Arabic version: قصص إسلامية تتصدر فعاليات باورهاوس باراماتا

According to ABC News, a new short-film series will bring stories behind significant Islamic objects held in Sydney’s suburbs to the opening festival for Powerhouse Parramatta on November 7. Western Sydney artist Khaled Sabsabi produced Moments in Waiting, which follows public call-outs over recent years and focuses on objects as well as the stories they contain.

One film features Sydney musician and engineer Tarik Hussein and his father-in-law, who make kanuns together. Hussein began playing the centuries-old Middle Eastern instrument in 2006, after discovering it at age 17. The kanun, regarded as a precursor to the piano, is played by plucking 78 strings while it rests across the player’s lap. Hussein said imported instruments from Türkiye could be old, rare and prone to damage or wear.

He and his father-in-law reverse-engineered Hussein’s favourite kanun after taking it apart, developing what Hussein described as an Australian version of the instrument. Hussein said they believe they are Australia’s only kanun makers, though the work is a labour of love rather than a commercial operation. Each instrument takes more than a year or two to make. He will perform with the Three Rivers Ensemble during the opening festival.

The series also includes an Ottoman Empire decree written in four languages, brought to Australia when its owner fled the early 1990s war in Bosnia. Another story concerns a Bonyrigg home in Sydney’s south-west that once served as a mosque and produced the Australian Muslim Times.

Sydney teacher Mohamad Ali’s collection of more than 100 calligraphic Koran manuscripts will also feature. Some date back 1,200 years, while the collection extends to the 8th century and spans Islamic empires and dynasties. Ali said he hoped the story would foster wider appreciation of Islam’s cultural impact in art and education. The Powerhouse Parramatta festival is set to span 179 events across four weekends in November.