Posts under ‘Music’

The complicated relationship between music and Islam has been something which has interested Inside Islam from the very beginning. Even though religious chanting is allowed–even encouraged–in Islam, there is an ongoing debate whether other music is permitted. Some Muslim communities ban non-chanting music all together, while others allow it as long as it doesn’t contain [...]

I recently listened to a show from “To the Best of Our Knowledge,” a sister program to Inside Islam’s Here on Earth on Wisconsin Public Radio. The show titled “Reclaiming Islam” aired on June 12th, 2009, and featured a number of interesting guests: Reza Aslan, Tissa Hami, Christopher Caldwell, Youssou N’Dour & Chai Vasarhelyi, and [...]

The following video from NBC Nightly News features our guests from that radio show — author of The Taqwacores Michael Muhammad Knight and drummer for the Kominas Imran Malik. The video highlights other individuals and bands who are also struggling to articulate this new Muslim punk genre of music and what it means to a mainstream audience.

Identity and belonging are funny things. They never mean the same thing to everyone. Growing up as a Muslim American, I was exposed to a myriad of experiences, but I definitely cannot say I was exposed to every kind of Muslim or every interpretation of Islam. We are talking about over 1.3 billion people! What [...]

Earlier this year, I wrote a post about punk Islam in response to the LA Times’ “Islam, the Koran, and Lots of Questions.” Michael Muhammad Knight’s book about Muslim youth and the American punk music scene, The Taqwacores, as well as a band called The Kominas were mentioned in the last post. Today, I return [...]

An emerging trend is the appearance of films about Muslim hip-hop. Today on Inside Islam: Dialogues and Debates, we quickly outline three of them and include their trailers below.

A past program in the Inside Islam radio series “Reaching Out to the Muslim World” covered President Obama’s promise to alter the course of the Bush administration’s war on terror in his inaugural address. Informed Comment blogger and Middle East historian Juan Cole joins host Jean Feraca Wednesday at 3 pm on Here on Earth: [...]

Despite the debate over whether any type of music is permissible in Islam, different types of Islamic rap have popped up around the world.

What other projects could appeal to Muslim youth, prevent anti-West violence, and have measurable success?

Earlier this month, in a post about the “East Meets West Series” on To The Best of Our Knowledge, you may have heard an interview with rapper Lupe Fiasco in the segment “Encountering Islam.” The interview begins by introducing his album title “Food and Liquor” and pointing out that it relates to the concept of [...]

Real-life taqwacores are Muslim-American young adults that have decided to build a community that fits with their own experiences, values, and taste in music. They live a punk lifestyle and follow their own rules whether or not they are considered halal, or permissible, in Islam.

The Accolade, an all-female Saudi rock band has received big-time media attention, including an interview with NPR and a feature in The New York Times. Despite the fact that the band cannot play in public because of their gender, Dina, Dareen, Lamia, and Amjad have developed a large virtual following on Facebook and MySpace.

Listen to “Al America” and leave a comment below if you wish. Share your thoughts and don’t hesitate to mention another show idea or email it to us.

Popular music suggests that a lot of Muslim youth are choosing an alternative to political activism, living their daily lives apart from ethnic and religious conflict with politics in the West.

…State Department and Hip Hop diplomacy on NPR Background on cultural diplomacy from “How Eminem can Save the Middle East” Global Voices: Jillian York highlights reactions to the film in “Morocco: Local Hip Hop Goes Global” Leave your own insight or thoughts about hip hop diplomacy in the comment section below.

Dan, producer from Here on Earth, shares heavy metal music from Muslim bands around the world. Leave your music suggestions in the comment section.

Chat online, leave comments and listen to a public radio show on Heavy Metal Islam, the first show a series called Inside Islam.

Join Mark LeVine on Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders on September 25, 2008. He will discuss his travels and work in the Middle East. Links to more of Mark LeVine’s interviews, materials and reviews of Heavy Metal Islam.

Heavy Metal in Baghdad trailer and links to Acrassicauda’s music, blog and MySpace page.

Post articles, music, songs, news, opinions and video about music and Islam here. Popular comments from the open thread may be used on air.