Salman Ahmad is very likely the only rock star alive who is also a medical doctor by training. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, he gained the distinction of becoming a frequent talking head on international news programs like CNN and the BBC, which were curious to know what life was like as both a practicing Muslim and a professional guitar-slinger living in one of the most dangerous cities on earth -- Karachi, Pakistan. If Ahmad’s name doesn’t ring a bell, that’s a sure sign you’re not a teen-age girl living in Asia. His band, Junoon -- the name means “passion” in Urdu -- is one of the most celebrated and fawned-over rock groups on the continent, despite the fact that many of its songs consist of ancient Sufi poetry put to music. The New York Times once called Junoon “Asia’s answer to Santana,” but I like VH1’s interpretation better. During that channel’s Susan Sarandon-hosted documentary about the band, called Islamabad Rock City, Junoon is referred to as “the U2 of Pakistan.”

“No, no, no,” Ahmad told me recently, when I asked if he thought there were any veracity to those claims. “That’s just so presumptuous, man!” Ahmad was in town for barely 24 hours recently; he flew in on a Saturday from Oslo, where he had received an award from the Norwegian government for his role in promoting the India-Pakistan peace process, and by Sunday evening he was on his way to London to meet with the producer of his new documentary film, due to be completed in February, about Muslims living in the United States. His rare appearance in Pittsburgh was just as productive: The Muslim Physicians Society of Greater Pittsburgh had hired Junoon as its end-of-the-evening entertainment during a dinner conference at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Before the band had a chance to take the stage, however, a woman bearing a stately Asian accent stood behind a podium and asked for cash donations, which she explained would be sent to hunger-relief organizations in Pakistan. Thousands of dollars were raised in less than 15 minutes.

You wouldn’t know it from reviewing his track record since Sept. 11, but when he first formed Junoon, Ahmad had no designs to save the world. But once the media caught wind of the band, Ahmad saw his mission inadvertently begin to alter. Junoon was even invited to play the U.N. General Assembly Hall; Kofi Annan was among the audience. “But it’s not like 9/11 changed us,” Ahmad explained. “We’d been fighting [Muslim] extremism and bigotry and fanaticism prior to [9/11] within Pakistan. What 9/11 did was that all of a sudden, all Muslims were being looked upon as terrorists. And I was like, ‘Hang on! Wait a minute!’”

Ahmad likes to joke that since Sept. 11, Junoon’s status as a band has been hijacked by the media. “But that focuses people to the music,” he told me, good-naturedly. “I would love for people to just listen to our stuff with an open mind. If you listen to the music, it’s much more articulate than the musician is, you know?”