In Denmark I Was Born
by Charlie Webster, Center for European Studies
This song is performed by the Danish hip-hop group Outlandish. Isam Bachiri, shown in this video as the lead singer, was born in Denmark and is of Moroccan background. The text is a poem, written by the great Danish author Hans Christian Andersen: “Danmark, mit fædreland”, meaning “Denmark, my fatherland.” The group does not perform the poem as an 19th-century hymn, but rather in a modern hip-hop style.
This video shows a blending of cultures. There are scenes of familiar streets and landmarks in Copenhagen, juxtaposed with symbols of immigrant culture and Islam. Outlandish uses a text familiar to all Danes, performed in a novel way, to convey a clear message: I was also born in Denmark, and I also love my Fatherland.
My Unborn Brother
by Charlie Webster, Center for European Studies
This song, “Min ofödde bror” (my unborn brother) is in a reggae style and shows the differences between Sweden and Iran. The lead singer (Navid Modiri) sings about his unborn brother, who is still living in Tehran.
Despite its upbeat sound, the song discusses serious issues, including war. As the refrain states: “When you hear this sound [simulated bombing and gunfire], it is time to move somewhere else.” The singer is able to enjoy his life in Sweden, whereas his unborn brother has more to worry about.
The video also contains symbolism: the eating of a sausage. Sausages are a very typical Scandinavian street food, but because they contain pork, they are not permitted by Islamic dietary rules. This is a demonstration of assimilation into the Swedish culture; the singer is a Swede and no longer an Iranian like his unborn brother.
About Islam and Music
by Richard Miller, Center for East Asian Studies
There are many possible definitions of music. Some are very broad ("sound organized through time"), others very narrow ("a pleasing arrangement of tones, rhythms, and harmonies"); some are very personal ("it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing"), and some are defined in opposition to other definitions (especially definitions of "noise"). In the Islamic world, certain practices that might sound like music to an outsider are definitely not considered music. The most important of these practices are:
- Adhan, the call to prayer made by the muezzin five times a day (examples)
- Tajwid, the recitation of the Quran (example 1, example 2, example 3)
Although Islamic authorities (scholars and religious leaders) disagree on whether Islam forbids, tolerates, or encourages music, they all agree that these two practices are not music. There are, however, musical genres that explicitly identify themselves as Islamic. For example, in Indonesia and Malaysia, the popular music called Qasidah (or Qasidah Moderen), combines popular music instrumentation such as electric guitar, electric bass, violin, and flute with lyrics that promote moral behavior through commentary and advice drawn from the Quran. One of the more popular groups is the all-female group Nasida Ria from Semarang, Indonesia:
This song, Perdamaian ("Reconciliation") observes that
Many people love peace, but there is a multitude of wars / confused, confused, my thoughts become confused / Alas, children of humanity / who want peace and tranquility / but if the cost to make weapons / is in the millions / many of the buildings you create / will then be destroyed / confused, confused, my thoughts become confused....
For many Muslims, however, the piety of the lyrics is strongly opposed by the fact that the performers are all young women who, in spite of wearing clothes that completely cover their hair and body, wear western-style makeup and put themselves on display. Very conservative branches of Islam, which forbid women from revealing their faces to unrelated males and require a (related) male escort accompany any woman who goes out in public, consider this music and these performers "un-Islamic."
Another well-known use of music in Islam is that of the derwish of the Sufi orders, famous in the West as "the whirling dervishes." In Sufi thought, music is integral to the process of dikr ("remembrance"), a kind of prayer or meditation upon Allah that may also involve dance: (example)
Sufi thought also permeates the related South Asian genre of qawwali, which is musically linked to other Hindustani musical forms better known in the West (primarily the instrumental music played on sitar, sarod, sarangi, and tabla) but which, like Qasidah, employs lyrics with specifically Islamic import (example). Many of the songs sung in Qawwalli are poems in the form called ghazal, not all of which were originally meant to be sung.