Another day, another panic
According to The Times (via), young Muslims are becoming dangerous radicals because of… hip hop.
Intelligence agencies have identified music as a “tool for indoctrination”. The phenomenon began with an American group called Soldiers of Allah. The group has since disbanded but its music and lyrics remain popular on the internet. Other groups in Britain, France and the US have been identified as giving cause for concern. Many use the derogatory term “kufur” to describe non-Muslims.
Madeleine Gruen, an American intelligence analyst with nothing better to do, has suggested that the lyrics of British group, Blakstone might be a “gateway to extremist politics”. You can listen to a few of their songs here and make up your own mind - something which the vast majority of people are capable of doing.
In the 1980s it was heavy metal. Now it’s hip hop. It twenty years time, The Times will be trying to scare us all about something else again.
Friday 17 Nov 2006 | Paul | UK
Fail to see how this is about censorship, the article linked mentioned no call for a ban. Think of this music as similar to nazi rock. And yes, kufur is derogatory. I should rather call it censorship when people are not allowed to voice concern about hate propaganda.
The article looks - to me, at least - like an attempt to start an moral panic over Islamic hip-hop. The way these things tend to work is that the media starts talking about a perceived problem, and then suggesting that some form of entertainment or other is responsible. This leads, inevitably, to calls that “something must be done!”
And, as soon as people start saying “something must be done” then we do have a censorship issue.
“Kufur” is a derogatory term. But no-one is going to get involved in extremist politice just because they heard the word used on a record.
That’s a pretty hefty dose of slippery slope argumentation there. When the call for censorship comes, you can say ‘told you so’, but until then, I will exercise my free speech right to voice my concern about the message of religious isolation. Besides, calling for a caliphate among the drunken kuffar is extremist religious politics. But on that account, these lyrics are more a symptom than a cause - someone like Qaradawi has a lot more to answer for than these juveniles. I doubt you’d treat an article on nazi rock the same way.
“But on that account, these lyrics are more a symptom than a cause”
This is the point that I’m trying trying to make. To suggest that teenagers listened to a record and suddenly became radicals is silly, but it is very easy to blame the media when things look a bit dodgy. And whether you think that this is a slippery slope argument or not, there are precedents. Most recently, in the UK, with the proposals to make possession of “extreme porn” a criminal offence.
There is no definition of what “extreme porn” actually is and no evidence that it is dangerous. But after a Brighton schoolteacher was killed by her boyfriend, the government wants to be seen to be doing something, so they’re going to ban something.
I think it is both reasonable and necessary to raise concerns about - and to challenge - religious, and other, isolationism. But to try and pretend that this is the result of a few rappers is silly, misleading and ultimately counterproductive.
I heard some pretty cool jihadi songs,and Nazi marching tunes-and as believer in total freedom of speech think they should be on “Top of The Pops.”
Mind you, I can’t say I’m too impressed with the political ideas they put across.
Selam Aleikum
Newsnight did a similar piece on Islamic Hip Hop. Yes, It is about manufacturing a media panic, no augmentation!!! They don’t want the working-class, left or right, of any colour hearing the Islamic message!!! PROPAGANDA!!! As for religious, even political isolation its a bit more complex than a few lyrics you know anything Islam, Salafism it’s not a black and white area ask Al-caieda, why do think Abu Musab Al Zarqawi is dead lol ;;) I ‘think it is both reasonable and necessary to raise concerns about - and to challenge - religious, and other, isolationism. But to try and pretend that this is the result of a few rappers is silly, misleading and ultimately counterproductive’ and they know what their doing by bringing up the subject, giving it the air of publicity, problem, reaction, solution as Icke would say. Were just trying to sort out the mess created by the politicans, capitalists, scholars for dollars and the consumeristic, mindless sheeple 