When Religion meets Music: Muslim Pop & Hassidic Reggae

This coming week we will be looking at Religion and Music, specifically how contemporary Jewish and Muslim artists are using music to communicate ideas about religious community and identity. This week's reading, "A New Research Agenda: Exploring Transglobal Hip Hop Umma" by H. Samy Alim, focuses on how popular music is being used to bring cohesion cohesion across cultures to Muslims around the world. We will be looking at artist such as Sami Yusuf and the Danish Band Outlandish and how they try to communicate issue of faith cross culturally through their music. We will also be looking at the music of Matisyahu and how he communicates Orthodox Judaism through Reggae. Check out the following videos:

Sami Yusuf, is a rising star of contemporary Arabic Nasheed (traditional) music. His song Hasbi Rabbi is sung in English, Hindi, Turkish & Arabic and the video takes him to different parts of the world to engage with the Muslim Ummah (community) in those places.


Outlandish, a Muslim Danish Trio mixes hip hop, folk, soul and pop to create music focusing on themes of racism, social justice and religion. as seen in their video " I Only Ask of God"



Matisyahu infusion of Reggae & Hip Hop seeks to communicate his Jewish faith to a global audience as well, check out his hit song "Jerusalem".



For more information on Contemporary Muslim & Jewish music check out Muslim Hip-Hop and Jews Rock.

Islam and the Internet

In week seven we will be discussing Islamic use and perception of the Internet. Back in 2002 NPR did an interesting series where it explored the interspection between Islam, Faith and Technology and this provides a good introduction to how Islam has been presented online as well as how Muslim have enaged with internet technolgy.

As we have previously discussed, the internet has the potential to transform perceptions of religious authority online. This is especially true in relation to precept ions of who are the official interpreters of Islam in an age when the internet form the backbone of much popular religious discourse. This is an issue we will discuss in light of Anderson's article “The Internet and Islam’s New Interpreters”. We will also look at examples of how Islam has imported various religious rituals and practices online through Bunt's chapter "Rip, Burn & Pray: Islamic Expression Online". For more examples of the presence of Islam online check out Bunt's blog Virtually Islamic. While you read these article try to reflect on how the response to the Internet is similar and/or different to their response to other forms of media discussed in the class. What unique challenges and possibilities does the internet pose? How might the internet influence global perceptions of Islam?

Religion and New Media

In week six we will be looking at how religious groups approach new media. Think back to the example we talked about the first week, the Amish response to the telephone. This case study demonstrated that rather than reject new media all together, many religious groups instead resist those aspect of the technology that run counter to their religious values. This often leads them to reconstruct their use or language related to that form of media. So in the assigned reading think critically and reflect how Jews and Muslims resist, reconstruct and talk about new media.

We will be exploring a study I conducted related to religious responses to the Internet, and what they have to tell us about how new media impacts religious communities view of traditional religious authority. In Who's got the power Religious authority and the Internet, I draw on interviews conducted with Jewish students from the University of Haifa and Muslim students at Al Qasami Academy in Israel on their views about the internet. Based on the data shared in the article what issues of religion and belief influence their views about new media technology? How do these differ between the Jewish and Muslim student?

Islam and Images

In class this week we will be discussing two articles related to Islam's perception of images within the media. Being the season of Ramadan we will first look at Armburst's article “The Riddle of Ramadan: Media, Consumer Culture and the ‘Christmasization’ of a Muslim Holiday”. Here we see concerns about the commercialization of Islam and debates about advertising images during Ramadan. What does this article tell us about Muslim views of images and the media? Other helpful articles on this topic include "Ramadan Advertising in Egypt" which appeared in the Journal of Media & Religion.

Also for more information on Ramadan check out the following link or here for a virtual Haji experience. Also for another example of a Ramdan Advertising see this youtube video.

We will also be discussing the controversy surrounding decision of a newspaper to publish a Cartoon of Prophet Mohammad Cartoons, published in Denmark in 2005. This even received much media attention both overseas and in the USA. Jensen played a significant role during the crisis in interpreting the controversy for the press and acting as a liaison with the Danish Muslim community. He unpacks some of the core issues surrounding the situation and international response in "The Cartoon Crisis Revisited: A Danish Perspective”. What does this article argue was at the heart of the controversy? What does this article say about the Muslim community's view of the media related to this event?

For more information on the Cartoon crisis check out this report by the USC Center on Public Democracy.

Islam 101

In week 4 we will be introduced to the Islamic Faith with the help of Asmahan Sallah, so come ready with your questions. Also be ready discuss the assigned reading by Dale Eickleman & Jon Anderson “Redefining Muslim Publics”.

In order to help prepare I also encourage you to check out the following web sites related to Islam: Islam Online , Researcher Gary Bunt's Virtually Islamic blog and website and IslamiCity.com.

And for information on Islam in Aggieland check out the Muslim Student Association and the Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station.