The Taqwacores at Sundance

Designer Niilartey DeOsu was so inspired by the Taqwacore scene that he created an actual fashion line under his Seattle label Neodandi.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The 2003 book “The Taqwacores” portrayed an imagined world of living-on-the-edge Muslim punk rockers and influenced real-life South Asians to form their own bands, like the Kominas (pictured), who played at the Sundance Film Festival.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Doom crust rocker Mario Salazar of the band Al-Thawra spends time at a condo where Taqwacore bands were staying during the Sundance Film Festival.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Rockers Marwan Kamel, left, and Mario Salazar, right, of the band Al-Thawra, and Shahjehan Khan of the Kominas depart their condo for a gig in Park City.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The crowd applauds writer Michael Muhammad Knight, in hat, for writing the book “The Taqwacores,” which is widely credited for inspiring the unlikely marriage between punk and Islam.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Rachel Carter of Neodandi Designs shows off her original fashion during a Taqwacore concert in celebration of the premiere of the film “The Taqwacores.”  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Basim Usmani of the Kominas, foreground, dances in the mosh pit with fellow punkers while Al-Thawra perform.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Members of Taqwacore bands the Kominas, Al-Thawra and Filmstrip as well as various Taqx scenesters sleep in a large room they’ve been sharing in a condo during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. They’ve been on tour in several cities, and this was the last stop of the Taqwacore Mini Tour.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Actor Bobby Naderi enjoys the music of the Filmstrip, Al-Thawra and the Kominas, Taqx bands that performed at the Star Bar in celebration of the premiere of the Eyad Zahra film “The Taqwacores,” in competition at the Sundance Film Festival.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Director Eyad Zahra celebrates the premiere of his film “The Taqwacores” by listening to the live music of the Taqwacore bands: the Kominas, Al-Thawra and Film Strip, at the Sundance Film Festival.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Members of Taqwacore bands the Kominas, Al-Thawra and Filmstrip push their van out of the snow during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)