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How Heavy Metal Is Working Its Way Into Islam : NPR
Talk of the Nation, July 10, 2008 · Music like heavy metal, punk, hip-hop and reggae — often voices of protest — are typically considered immoral in the Muslim world. But this music may also turn out to be the soundtrack of a revolution unfolding across that world, according to one author. Mark LeVine, an author, musician and professor of Middle Eastern history, talks about the young generation of heavy metal fans in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Excerpt: ‘Heavy Metal Islam’

by Mark LeVine

The first time I heard the words “heavy metal” and “Islam” in the same sentence, I was confused, to say the least. It was around 5:00 p.m. on a hot July day in the city of Fes, Morocco in 2002. I was at the bar of the five-star Palais Jamai Hotel with a group of friends having a drink—and only one drink, considering they were about twenty-five dollars apiece—to celebrate a birthday. Out of nowhere the person sitting across from me described a punk performance he had seen not long before we met, in the city of Rabat.

“There are Muslim punks? In Morocco?” I asked him.

The idea of a young Moroccan with a mohawk and a Scottish kilt almost caused me to spill my drink.

“Of course,” he replied. “And the metal scene here is good too.” That the possibility of a Muslim heavy-metal scene came as a total surprise to me only underscored how much I still had to learn about Morocco, and the Muslim world more broadly, even after a dozen years studying, traveling, and living in it. If there could be such a thing as a Heavy Metal Islam, I thought, then perhaps the future was far brighter than most observers of the Muslim world imagined less than a year after September 11, 2001.

I shouldn’t have been surprised at the notion of Muslim metalheads or punkers. Muslim history is full of characters and movements that seemed far out of the mainstream in their day, but that nevertheless helped bring about farreaching changes in their societies. As I nursed my drink, I contemplated the various musical, cultural, and political permutations that could be produced by combining Islam and hard rock. I began to wonder: What could Muslim metal artists and their fans teach us about the state of Islam today?

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Wilders lacht om claim imam
Paul Jansen

Den Haag -  Haatimam Fawaz Jneid wil geld zien van Geert Wilders. De radicale Haagse islamprediker eist ruim een halve ton vergoeding omdat hij in de film Fitna onterecht in verband zou worden gebracht met extremisme en terrorisme.

Dat blijkt uit een brief van de advocaat van de imam, die Wilders deze week heeft ontvangen. In de brief wordt een smartengeld geëist van 55.000 euro wegens het aantasten van ‘de goede naam en eer’ van Fawaz. Ook is de foto van de imam volgens zijn raadsman zonder toestemming gebruikt in de anti-Koranfilm van de PVV-leider.

Wilders piekert er niet over te betalen. “Hij krijgt nog geen 55 eurocent.” De politicus verbaast zich erover dat de imam nu pas met zijn eis op de proppen komt. “De film is al drie maanden geleden verschenen.” De advocaat van Fawaz was gisteren niet bereikbaar voor commentaar. Fawaz is imam bij de omstreden salafistische As-Soennahmoskee en berucht vanwege zijn opruiende uitspraken. Zo uitte hij dreigende taal aan het adres van Theo van Gogh, een paar weken voordat de filmmaker werd vermoord.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali deed na soortgelijke verwensingen aan haar adres aangifte van bedreiging. Onlangs pleitte staatssecretaris Aboutaleb (Sociale Zaken) nog voor het ontslag van Fawaz nadat deze een fatwa had uitgesproken over de Amsterdamse PvdA-stadsdeelvoorzitter Marcouch.

Ook heeft Fawaz de jihad tegen Nederlandse troepen in Afghanistan verdedigd. Het OM kwam tot de slotsom dat Fitna geen strafbare feiten bevat.

Tags: fitna

Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

The arrest of a controversial Dutch cartoonist has set off a wave of protests. The case is raising questions for a changing Europe about free speech, religion and art.

By ANDREW HIGGINS

Amsterdam

On a sunny May morning, six plainclothes police officers, two uniformed policemen and a trio of functionaries from the state prosecutor’s office closed in on a small apartment in Amsterdam. Their quarry: a skinny Dutch cartoonist with a rude sense of humor. Informed that he was suspected of sketching offensive drawings of Muslims and other minorities, the Dutchman surrendered without a struggle.

“I never expected the Spanish Inquisition,” recalls the cartoonist, who goes by the nom de plume Gregorius Nekschot, quoting the British comedy team Monty Python. A fan of ribald gags, he’s a caustic foe of religion, particularly Islam. The Quran, crucifixion, sexual organs and goats are among his favorite motifs.

Mr. Nekschot, whose cartoons had appeared mainly on his own Web site, spent the night in a jail cell. Police grabbed his computer, a hard drive and sketch pads. He’s been summoned for further questioning later this month by prosecutors. He hasn’t been charged with a crime, but the prosecutor’s office says he’s been under investigation for three years on suspicion that he violated a Dutch law that forbids discrimination on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation. Continue Reading »