Howdy and Elhamdullilah
What some people consider to be the best music usually stems from the melody and the lyrics holding a strong, relatable meaning to a specific group of people. This can be compared to religion, and how some paths of faith hold a strong message that many people relate to. Intertwining popular culture and religion is a large phenomenon in today’s society; people sing in churches, large popular artists use religious analogies in their works, etc. and religion is used to appeal to those who listen to the music produced and relate to the content. Religion can be spoken in any language and practiced anywhere. One of the most interesting combinations of popular culture and religion is that of Islam and it’s interaction with music that comes from a more western birthplace (more specifically the United States).
In the western world, those who identify with the label of being an Arab or a Muslim are more often than not misrepresented by others who do not understand or fear what they do not know. A byproduct of this is Islamophobia, which “while built on Orientalism, involves a more direct mistrust and even hatred of Islam, typically focusing on ‘fundamentalist’ Islam as normative” (Klassen 136). This point of view has seeped through popular culture, giving many Muslims, especially more famous ones, a negatively connotative reputation.
Yet, in the music industry there have been feats of defying the stereotypes and misrepresentation of the Muslim in the Western world. A great example of this would be Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens; a well renowned singer in the western world who converted to Islam, and now produces songs, some of which are related to his faith. Another example would be Sami Yusuf, who sings religious Islamic songs in English, appealing to a demographic that shares the same faith but not the original mother tongue of the religion. Some artists take western songs and alter their lyrics to create Islamic covers of recognizable songs. Artist Raef takes western songs and ‘converts’ them into Islamic relatable versions. In this video he covers Chris Brown’s With You, and instead placing the emphasis on a girl, he places the emphasis on Allah.
Other notable western/ English speaking artists that are Muslim but do not specifically focus on religion in their work are: Joe Tex, Peter Murphy, John Whitehead, Everlast (Irish-American rapper), Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, John Coltrane, Outlandish, Native Deen, and Maher Zain. The infamous Michael Jackson was rumored to be Muslim as well, and produced song called ‘Give Thanks To Allah’ (seen below).
These artists all demonstrate the intersection between religion and popular culture by bringing Islam into the English music industry, through themselves and through their music. One artist who does so explicitly is American country music Muslim singer Kareem Salama. Defying the stereotype of the country singer as a redneck, full blooded American with a twinge in their voice, Kareem Salama produces country songs that are not overtly about Islam but portray the moral messages of the religion. He includes a lot of references to his religious and cultural background. In this he also defies the stereotype of the Muslim through “a singular, essentialist identity” (Klassen 135), by making his songs relatable to anybody. This link provides an audio file of Salama describing himself as a Muslim country singer:
Another link examining Kareem Salama’s influence is the following article on Mother Jones.com
In his song Generous Peace the first verse is almost word for word a translation of an Arabic Muslim poet, intertwining Islamic culture with country music. The video clip of this song even addresses Islamophobic tendencies to mock and degrade Islamic traditions. Though the song does not explicitly in its lyrics address Islam, the underlying notions of the song reflect Islamic moral messages.
The general anti-orientalist Islamophobic point of view of Muslim in the western world is that “Muslims and Arabs (and typically the two categories are collapsed together) are generally represented as backward, anti-American terrorists who will ultimately be overcome due to their own ineptitude and American skillful heroics” (Klassen 150). The American Muslim Cowboy shows us that the entwining of religion and popular culture can create a positive identification of the two together. Salama, as well as many other Muslim artists have allowed for a positive space within the music industry, conducive to an anti-judgmental segment within a potentially hostile environment. They allow for a counterbalance to the negative representation of Islam in the western world so aptly fueled by the imagery of terrorists and self-proclaimed Islamic jihadists as Muslims.
Works Cited
Klassen, Chris. “Religion and Popular Culture.” In Religion and Popular Culture: A Cultural Studies Appproach. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2014.
