Book Author Talks About Islamism And Heavy Metal
August 4, 2008WashingtonPost.com has published a guest blog from Mark LeVine, Professor of Middle Eastern history, culture and Islamic Studies at UC Irvine and author, most recently, of "Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam" (Three Rivers Press/Random House). An excerpt follows.
"Heavy metal has had a more powerful and controversial appeal than perhaps any other element of Western culture that has taken hold in the Muslim world. It might seem strange that a genre of music long associated with sex, drugs and even Satan worship should be popular in Muslim countries. But heavy metal can't be reduced to the "hair" or "glam" metal epitomized by one-time MTV staple bands such as MÖTLEY CRÜE or QUIET RIOT. Instead, the much harsher sound of death, doom and other forms of extreme metal are winning a growing following across the Muslim world.
"This is partly because the subjects these and other extreme metal bands deal with — death without meaning, the futility of violence, the corruption of power — correspond well to the issues confronting hundreds of millions of young Muslims today, the majority of whom live under authoritarian governments in societies torn by inequality, underdevelopment and various types of violent conflict."
Read the entire blog at WashingtonPost.com.
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