A Song for Daniel Pearl

The murder of Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002 by Jihadi extremists shocked the world. It was horrifying that a journalist intent on getting to the truth and in no way party to any violence, could have met his end in such a way.

A couple of years after Daniel’s death, his father Judea heard a piece of mine “Sirocco” and asked me if I would write a piece in Daniel’s honour.

I was very moved by Judea’s attitude to the tragedy, in that he intended to use his son’s death as a rallying call for decency, dialogue and understanding between people of all faiths.
Judea and Ruth Pearl started the Daniel Pearl Foundation “to promote cross-cultural understanding through journalism, music, and innovative communications”.

My subsequent piece “Elegy for Daniel Pearl” was a tribute to both Daniel and his parents Judea and Ruth.

Jamal who was making a documentary about Daniel. I played Ahmed the Elegy and then ended up writing the whole film score. I have included on this disc some of the original recordings used in the film.

This film, “The Journalist and the Jihadi” was released on HBO in 2006 and is a powerful and moving tribute to Daniel. It was recently nominated for two Emmys in the USA.

For a Muslim to make a moving and passionate film about a Jewish writer who was married to a Buddhist, with music by a Christian, represents, for me, everything that the Daniel Pearl Foundation is about.

Daniel Pearl was not only a journalist but a classical and bluegrass violinist.