Former IRON MAIDEN Singer DI'ANNO Talks About Being A Muslim

David Lee Wilson of Egypt Today recently conducted an interview with former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Egypt Today: The U.K. is having a bit of its own paranoia at the moment as well.

Paul Di'Anno: "Yes. Let me tell you, it has been crazy. I was away in Denmark the other day and everything was just kicking off with the embassy over these stupid cartoons. I think that it is all down to freedom of speech, really. They [fundamentalists] are condemning the Danish, but then are supporting these suicide bombers who say that they are going to blow up everybody that disagrees with them, and it is just nuts. I mean, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it seems what the Danish people did. OK, it was quite disgraceful, but that is the freedom of the press, isn't it? If you piss people off, you suffer the consequences in some way, but not by blowing someone up! They are all mad and I can't deal with it. No one seems to be capable of sitting down and talking."

Egypt Today: As a Muslim, were you offended by the cartoons?

Paul Di'Anno: "Yeah, very much so, but as I said, everyone has the freedom of choice to say what they want. It was bloody stupid, for sure. It was just somebody trying to be clever and they later realized that they did something really stupid. I don't think that an embassy should be burnt down for it though. There were other people in those embassies, not the cartoonists. Innocent people are getting hurt and there is no need for that."

Egypt Today: Do you feel that this kind of reaction feeds into the general fear of Muslims in the West?

Paul Di'Anno: "Yeah. I mean years ago the crusaders did some terrible things to Muslims, so it has been going on back and forth for centuries. There has got to be a better way, a way where everyone can sit down and talk, but everyone seems to be so jumpy that when one says something, then another says something else, and it all falls to pieces. It's mad and I am just trying to keep my head down and keep working on this children's foundation and on my own kids; that is all I want to do."

Egypt Today: How did you come to embrace the teaching of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)?

Paul Di'Anno: "I turned to Islam 15 years ago. My ex-wife was a Muslim, and she said to me, 'Don't say anything, just read this,' and I read the Qur'an and some other literature. I had always believed in God, but because you say that you are a Muslim, people in the West think that you are running around with a machine gun. Most Muslims are very peaceful people. I have always believed that if you believe in God and you get down on your knees to pray to God, then you should pray directly to God, you don't have to go around the 'Holy Mother' and everybody else to get there. It just made more sense to me. I also cut out doing drugs. I firmly believe that God has kept on letting me do what I am doing because he thinks that I am finally writing about issues that matter. I may be kidding myself, but that is what I believe."

Egypt Today: Do you try and spread the teachings of Islam to non-Muslims?

Paul Di'Anno: "Of course. My Qur'an goes everywhere with me. For those who are interested I have little pamphlets that I bring out with me. There is no mosque here in Salisbury, which is a shame because there are a few hundred of us here. They do have a Muslim foundation, though, and we meet and pray there often."

Egypt Today: Is it difficult to be a Muslim and live in the U.K. or Brazil?

Paul Di'Anno: "No. I am really not in one place for too long though, am I? [laughs] When I do get a lot of time off, I usually go straight back to Brazil and I am a total recluse with my kids. I don't do anything or go out anymore. I don't drink or anything, so the craziest thing that I do these days is sit around with the kids and watch TV. I am really boring now. [laughs]"

Read the entire interview at www.egypttoday.com.

(Thanks: Torgrim Øyre / Hole in the Sky)