Muhammad Mujahid Syed Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — “Islam is one of the most popular religions in America. It's one of the fastest growing religions among the local community. “My radio programs were very popular among the Asian community. Many famous poets from the Indian subcontinent and local poets from America and Canada have participated in my radio programs,” said Indian-American radio host and Urdu poet Noor Amrohvi. Amrohvi was born in Amroha, India in 1973 in a business family. He received his education in Aligarh, and obtained his masters in economics and Urdu literature from Bombay University. During his stint in Mumbai, he tried to forge a career in economics alongside literature. However, in search of better prospects Amrohvi went to Dubai, and from there he migrated to the United States; he now lives in Dallas, Texas. Amrohvi, a self-made man, is also a Hafiz. Hali, Allama Iqbal, Mahirul Qadiri, Iqbal Azim and Mufti Naseem Fareedi are his role models in Naat (eulogistic) poetry. Among contemporary Naat poets, Amrohvi is a fan of late Hanif Akhgar Malihabadi, Hamid Amrohvi in Chicago and Khalid Irfan in New York. He has successfully conducted “Natia Mushairahs (poetry symposiums)” in North America. Along with his literary friends, Amrohvi launched a poetic movement, and received tremendous support and encouragement from friends and other poets and literary figures of the subcontinent. His two-hour program FM Radio, on which he presented literary and religious content, on Saturday and Sunday received immense success. These programs were lauded by listeners and participants who also got to voice their opinions live during shows. Earlier other radio hosts' programs were limited to recitation of Qur'an, Naat, or religious speeches, but Amrohvi introduced a host of new ideas, such as conducting discussions on religious of literary topics. Amrohvi publishes Naat of various poets and articles regarding them in his Al-Noor International. His idea to hold Naatia Mushairah, Mushairah and Kavi Sammelan and publication of the magazine was welcomed and supported by poets and literary figures. During his recent visit to the Kingdom, Amrohvi interacted with Jeddah poets and was impressed with their standard. He was all praise for the audience too who not only listened to Urdu poetry but encouraged the poets for innovative ideas. Amrohvi is married and has two children.
