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Salman Ahmad had a conventional childhood in the Pakistani city of Lahore, with a comfortable home and private education. But everything changed when his family moved to America - and he went to a Led Zeppelin concert.

The minute Salman Ahmad saw Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page performing "Kashmir", he decided that was for him. He saved up for a guitar, and taught himself, by listening over and over again to rock heroes like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.

But his family had other ideas, and at the age of 17, he found himself back in Pakistan, studying to be a doctor.

He completed his medical studies, partly in order to reassure the family of Samira, his bride-to-be. But he never lost his passion, junoon in Urdu, for music.

When he eventually founded his own band, he called it Junoon, and created a sound which mixed rock and roll with qawwali, the Sufi devotional music of South Asia.

Salman Ahmad has never been afraid of controversy. Junoon was banned in Pakistan because of the song Ehtesaab (Accountability) and an accompanying video lampooning corrupt politicians.

He tells Outlook's Matthew Bannister about his mission to use music to spread a message of peace, tolerance and justice.

Salman Ahmad's autobiography, Rock and Roll Jihad, is published by Simon and Schuster.