Madonna, Iggy Pop, the Sexual Revolution and Islam

“Just look at these young people. They are burning up with passion. They have such a lust for life, and yet they are so inhibited. People in the Middle East are poets, writing poetry from morning to night, and what do they write poetry about? About desire. The little boy in the street does it, and so do the construction worker and the academic. They are all writing poetry about the same subject, the subject that is suppressed more than anything else.” Der Spiegel has a fascinating interview with German-Turkish writer Seyran Ates, who apparently listens to Madonna and Iggy Pop (maybe she was at last year’s Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony?) and whose new book, Islam Needs a Sexual Revolution, comes out in Germany this week.