A woman in an allegedly modern country has been charged with witchcraft.

Ha ha! We make fun of Saudi Arabia for stuff like this.

The charge of practicing witchcraft in Canada’s Criminal Code dates back to 1892 and was filed against 36-year-old Vishwantee Persaud in late November, the Toronto Star reported.

The woman allegedly gained the confidence of long-time criminal lawyer Noel Daley, who told the Law Times he gave the woman nearly $150,000 in salary as a legal assistant, for business ventures that never materialized and cancer treatments.

Persaud also faces two fraud charges in connection with some of those ventures, but the witchcraft charge stemmed from an incident in which she allegedly read Tarot cards for Daley and told him she was the embodiment of his dead sister, the report said.

Law Professor Alan Young at York University’s Osgoode Hall law school, told the Star the witchcraft charge doesn’t so much target witches, but those who fake mystical powers and prey on vulnerable people.

Dancing alone has always been a better party for me.  I think I may know why and how to keep it this way.

Luckily, I know that I must solidify my beliefs and keep them stemming from my own thought and experiences, and not that of what is placed upon me because I am a woman, or for that matter, what is expected of me by other people.

If one is going to dance to the beat of their own drum, which really is the way to live life, then they must have their ideas and beliefs of how to do that.  They must have their intentions and their motives at the forefront of their mind… So they must be mindful of their actions and thoughts. 

I have always had my ideas and my beliefs but they were so “outlandish” that I couldn’t internalize that which I desired, much less share them with the people close to me.  I will use the idea of “relationships” to explain because this has inspired my blog, which I have actually posted to another blog I write.  I think it is fitting for Romantic Vulgarity.

I believe the perfect relationship for me is an honored friendship without any fears imposed onto the other friend.  Intellectual stimulation is necessary for me to have a strong enough bond to attain enough of a connection with my partner to have great sex and a valued substance.  However strong a connection and deep a love, the commitment should never impede on the others’ freedoms.  If monogamy is agreed upon than that respect shall be given, unless I have already described my true ideal.  Above all else, to me freedom is the most important.  I learned by loving wrong that my heart and my spirit are mine alone.  It is my choice to share it with someone.  My heart may be broken (for now) but not my spirit.  I am willing to risk my heart breaking if this rare individual comes into my life.  My spirit could not be attracted to sickness so that may shed light on the sentence above.  This past experience of loving incorrectly I learned about the strength and weaknesses within myself, and the wrong and right way of loving.  It’s really just loving myself and opening that part of myself to someone I deem worthy and continuing on with my life as I wish along side being respectful and mindful of my partner. 

The drum beats with my heart and I dance when I hear it.  The goal is to dance my dance even through the times the entire village is dancing to a completely different chant of drums, and different rhythm. 

The most important lesson for me so far has been this.  To hear the beat of my heart through the drum that I play, and invite the Indians I choose to join in the pow-wow.  It is not about isolating myself from them because we’re different, but isolating the beat of my drum so that I can hear it and share it.  Sometimes even that isolation isn’t necessary, but when I can’t hear it due to the village sounds and outside music, I need to take a step back to dance alone. 

If I could find a fellow indian or indians to make an even better beat that would be awesome, and if not, I’m just as happy, and know my beat is all I need anyway.  I’m not looking, I’m just drumming away listening to the beat and finding out what rhythm I enjoy and dancing around to it all.

tabloid! speaks to Danish hip hop group Outlandish about the difficulties of maintaining friendships in the music business and how they’ve rekindled inspiration for their latest album Sound of a Rebel. The band also gives a sneak preview of their latest track Feels like saving the world.

*By Kelly Crane, Reporter and Jaye Lentin, Videographer & Published: 08:54 November 18, 2009 on Gulf News

Author: Christopher Moore

Title: A Dirty Job

Genre: Horror

Publication Date: 2006

Geographical Setting: San Francisco

Time Period: Present

Series: No

Plot Summary: Charlie Asher is a neurotic thrift store owner whose wife has just died after giving birth to their first child. Full of grief, he worries about how he’ll raise his daughter Sophie, even with the help of his sister Jane. But after a brief encounter with a mystery man in his wife’s hospital room, strange things start happening to Charlie. Unseen by any of his employees, items in his shop begin to glow a mysterious red. When Charlie sees a man at the ATM machine with a glowing red umbrella, he tries to ask him about it, but the man immediately gets hit by a bus, and the police and other observers act as if they can’t even see Charlie. People and pets starting dying all around him, and Charlie starts to see dark shadows and hear voices from the sewers. Convinced he has become the Grim Reaper, Charlie sets out to find the man from the hospital to get some answers. What he finds out will put him and his family in great danger, unless he can hold off the evil forces that are trying to take over the world. But first he has to figure out how.

Although it is a horror novel, with plenty of death and evil, this book manages to have a lighter tone thanks to the author’s use of humor and quirky characters. The main character—who refers to himself as a Beta Male because of his wimpiness—usually has no idea what he is doing or what he is up against, which puts him in plenty of outlandish situations and lets readers laugh at heavy subjects like death and dying. Secondary characters are colorful and mouthy; even the evil sewer harpies banter. The storyline moves quickly and holds your interest, with plenty of plot twists and turns, especially at the end.

Appeal Terms: humorous, neurotic, outlandish, mythical underworld, spiritual, strong language, sexual situations, witty, fast-paced, quirky characters, action-oriented, complex, violent, plot-centered, racy, contemporary, details in San Francisco, plot twists, urban, cynical, dark, lots of dialogue, battle scenes, epilogue, resolved ending

Subject Headings: San Francisco, California – Death and Dying –Secondhand Retail – Children – Gay and Lesbian – Dogs – Celtic Mythology – Luminatus – Police Detectives – Buddhism – Reincarnation

Three Terms that Best Describe this Book: satiric, unpredictable, surreal

Three Nonfiction Titles:

The Guises of the Morrigan: The Irish Goddess of Sex & Battle by David Rankine
- Learn more about The Morrigan, the starring villain of A Dirty Job.

Buddhism for Dummies by Jonathan Landow
- Learn more about Buddhism and its teachings about reincarnation.

Lonely Planet San Francisco by Alison Bing
- Learn more about San Francisco, where the novel was set.

Three Fiction Titles:

The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse by Robert Rankin
- Depicts an animated toyland of living dolls stalked by a serial killer

Blood Lite: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories presented by the Horror Writers Association edited by Kevin J. Anderson
- A collection of short horror fiction by such authors as Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Kelley Armstrong

A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- A diner in the middle of the desert is a portal to another dimension, and it’s up to a zombie and a werewolf to save the world.

Learning about Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) in Oklahoma City

By Samir Rafael Elneser

The Kaba

Hi, everyone. Yesterday, as I finished waking up from a long sleep, which was the best sleep I’ve had in a while, I thought to myself: “I haven’t been to Oklahoma City in a couple of weeks.” I live in Ardmore, a 1 hour and 40 minute trip away from the An-Nasr Mosque in Oklahoma City, and because of the distance and the consumption of gas that results from such a long trip, I don’t like taking the trip too often, and normally go about once a month. Plus, there was a period of several months where, because of car problems, I couldn’t make the trip at all. However, I love the Muslim community up there in OKC and I missed them, because the fellowship is so strong there and because they’re so numerous, I know that I can find people to pray all 5 prayers in the day there, plus have some fellowship afterwards with the brothers-in-faith that I’m close to without them rushing off to work or something. I decided to get on the Internet like I always do and especially check Facebook, because that’s where the brothers-in-faith in OKC like to communicate with each other. I come to find out from the imam, or head preacher, of the An-Nasr Mosque, Imad Enchassi, that he is having his usual Sunday class teaching about the stories of the Prophets (peace be upon them all) that are found in the Qur’an as well as in Bible. He was talking about the Prophet Joseph (peace be upon him) in this particular class, and I thought that was good, but what really intrigued me was the fact that the famous rock group U2 was also having a concert that night in OKC. Imad posted this message in his Facebook Wall: “Your choice: come to the class or go to U2 concert.” I was like: I live in Ardmore, and I normally don’t go to either one; if I go to OKC, I’ll go to the class, because of the knowledge that I will learn and internalize, which, God willing, will benefit me more than going to a U2 concert. I’m not criticizing U2, but I am stating that we have to keep our priorities in line with what’s really important. Besides, the environment at those kinds of concerts is not exactly the kind that encourages me to practice my faith, nor does it uplift me spiritually. I was debating whether to go to OKC or not, and when Imad said that, I was like: “What the heck? Why not? Let’s go to OKC.” I posted a response to Imad, saying: “Imad, you might get a surprise visit, God willing. Stay tuned.” Thank God that the weather was beautiful outside, so it made the decision that much easier. :) Anyway, I jumped in the car and took off to OKC. It helped that I had a couple of music CD’s that I could listen to while I was driving, so I decided to pop the first one in. It was a CD that I had compiled of my favorite Islamically-inspired Muslim singer, Sami Yusuf. I don’t mind going to the concerts of Islamically-inspired Muslim singers, because it is their music that uplifts me spiritually and strengthens my faith in God Almighty and His Final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad son of Abdullah (may God Almighty’s peace and blessings be upon him always). Anyway, once I got finished with Sami’s beautiful songs, I then grabbed the other CD, which contained songs by Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), Kareem Salama (the first-ever Muslim country music singer), folk singer Dawud Wharnsby, traditional nasheed singers Zain Bhikha and Mustaqiim Sahir, hip-hop/rap groups Native Deen and Outlandish, and a couple of songs by Cat Stevens during his non-Muslim days, “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken.” I listen to songs by non-Muslims as long as the lyrics conform to Islamic beliefs. Anyway, as I was pulling into the An-Nasr Mosque’s parking lot, Kareem Salama’s song “Chivalry’s Not Dead” was finishing. After it finished, I turned off the car and got out and headed into the mosque. Lo and behold! The first one I met when I entered the mosque was none other than Imad himself. Wow! Talk about great minds thinking alike! :) Anyway, Imad said as soon as he saw me: “I was thinking to myself: ‘I think Samir’s coming to OKC today.’” I was like: “You think?” LOL. :) Anyway, I prayed the Maghrib (Sunset) and ‘Isha (dusk) prayers combined when I entered the prayer hall, and I could combine the prayers since I was considered a traveler because I was far away from home, and then sat down as the class was starting. I was very humbled to see the faces of joy that the other brothers had when they saw me. I am very grateful to have such wonderful people to call as my brothers-in-faith. Anyway, as soon as I sat down, Imad said: “We are pleased to have Mr. Samir Rafael Elneser joining us from Ardmore for the class today.” I was like “Thanks, Imad,” smiling sheepishly. :) Anyway, the class got started, and Imad proceeded to talk about the Prophet Joseph (pbuh) and his ordeal while he was in prison to protect him from the Egyptian prime minister’s wife, who, along with the ladies at her side, wanted to commit adultery with him, and Joseph felt that the best way to protect himself from this temptation was to ask to go to prison. Just a side note here: Imad talked about the fact that the pharaohs didn’t rule Egypt during this time. He didn’t mention who did rule, but according to my understanding of history, and I could be wrong, but a Semitic people from the Arabian peninsula called the Hyksos ruled Egypt for about 200- 250 years, so it was probably them that Joseph (pbuh) dealt with. Anyway, while in prison, he taught the prison inmates about the Oneness of God Almighty, and therefore being so loved by the inmates that it was said that if an inmate got out of prison, he would deliberately go back to prison just so he could be with Joseph (pbuh) again and have fellowship with him. :) Anyway, there were two special prison inmates that would have their fate judged, one condemned to death and the other allowed to live and be free. Joseph (pbuh) came to know who the surviving one would be, which was the king’s butler, and proceeded to tell that butler something to the effect of: “When you go in front of the king next time, if you have time, put in a good word for me.” However, the butler forgot for a few years, once he was released from prison, to mention to the king about Joseph (pbuh). After a few years, one night the king had a dream. In that dream, he saw 7 fat cows and 7 skinny cows. He saw the 7 skinny cows eating the 7 fat cows. He also saw 7 green bales of hay, and 7 dry bales of wheat. Perplexed by this dream, he called his advisers to him and asked them what this dream meant. The advisers thought that the dream was a mixed-up mumbo-jumbo dream that made no sense. However, they qualified their belief by saying that they were not experts in interpreting dreams. This is when the butler stepped in, remembering his promise that he gave Joseph (pbuh) to put in a good word for him in front of the king, and he told the king that this man named Joseph (pbuh) who was in prison, knew how to interpret dreams and could be of help to the king. Some ministers said yes and some said no, but the king said “Tell this Joseph (pbuh) about my dream.” The butler forthwith went to Joseph (pbuh) in the prison and, embarrassed by the fact that he had forgotten till now to put in a good word before the king like Joseph asked, said to Joseph (pbuh): “O truthful one! The king has this dream, and he would like to know what it means.” Joseph (pbuh) obliged in interpreting the dream. He said: “The 7 fat cows signify 7 years of prosperity and abundant harvests of crops, and the skinny cows signify 7 years of drought that will follow the 7 years of prosperity. He advised the butler to advise the king to eat only of what is needed from the prosperous years and to save the rest, not even removing the bushels from the wheat. The skinny cows eating the fat cows meant that the Egyptian people will be eating during the years of drought what they saved up during the years of prosperity, which also is exactly what the green and dry bales of wheat meant. Joseph (pbuh) then told of an additional prophecy, saying: “When the 7 years of drought are over, the people will squeeze whatever they have left to survive.” The butler took Joseph’s (pbuh) words to the king, who, being pleased with what he heard, said “Bring Joseph (pbuh) to me.” With that, the class ended, to be continued next week, and I made the call for the ‘Isha prayer, and then we sat down and ate some briyani, which is good, as long as it’s not too hot.  Then I prayed ‘Isha with the community, even though I already prayed it before, because the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught us that when the time for the community to pray has come, even if you prayed before, everyone still has to pray. To me, that means basically to keep the community united and to make sure that people are not skipping the prayer on purpose while in the mosque. Anyway, once the prayer was over and after Imad related a quick saying from the Prophet (pbuh) pertaining to the Banu Nadir, one of the original Jewish tribes of Medina who were originally politically allied with the Prophet (pbuh), but relations had deteriorated so extensively between them that they eventually plotted to kill the Prophet (pbuh) and were expelled from Medina as a result, that was the end of my trip to OKC, and I left the mosque and headed home, listening to the music that I had listened to on the way to OKC. It was a wonderful experience, and to Imad and the other brothers-in-faith who were so kind, I say “God bless you and keep in His Protection always. Ameen (Amen).” Peace and take care.

Samir Rafael Elneser

Ardmore, Oklahoma, United States of America

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Synthpop is the subgenre of New Wave and Pop where the synthesizer is the dominant sound. Originated during the new wave – late 70s early 80s – and big time reemerged in the mid to late 2000s — which leads us to today’s show. We’re counting down the top 5 leading solo female singer/songwriter synthpop artists who use 80s-style synths and who embody a sort of futuristic, mythical, or generally outlandish fashion and performance style.

5. Alison Goldfrapp AKA Goldfrapp

4. Natasha Kahn AKA Bat for Lashes

3. Victoria Hesketh AKA Little Boots

2. Julie Budet AKA Yelle

1. Elly Jackson AKA La Roux

PS. Synthesizers are sexy.

Now it’s your turn! What female synthpop honies have you been geeking out to? Leave me your list as a comment below!!

Director
Martin Winther

Cast
Isam Bachiri

Cast
Isam Bachiri
Waqas Ali Qadri
Lenny Martinez
…

Cast
Isam Bachiri
Waqas Ali Qadri
Lenny Martinez
…

Co-director
Uffe Truust

Director
Jakob Printzlau

Para todos los hermanos musulmanes y a los que no lo son un saludo de paz desde ChicagoEste es dedicado a todos los Musulmanes que han sido victimas de abuso, racismo, y discriminacion.

A toda la gente que se ha sentido oprimida

Y a los que tienen sed de Justicia

Outlandish are a multi-award winning hip-hop group based in Denmark. Formed in 1997, they consist of Isam Bachiri (born in Denmark and of Moroccan background),Waqas Ali Qadri (born in Denmark and of Pakistani background), and Lenny Martinez (born in Honduras and is of Cuban and Honduran descent). All three members are devoutly religious, Isam and Waqas being Muslims, and Lenny being Catholic. The band members live in Brøndby Strand.

We’re currently indulging in as many concerts as we can, but let’s not forget about the band who opened my personal gig-season. Bonaparte was the first band I saw in Belgium after the festivalseason. It was colourful, outlanndish and entertaining to say the least. Here are some pictures. More pictures will follow soon.

Longos dias de passeios!

No domingo, aproveitando o rico dia de Primavera que esteve, passei a tarde no centro de Copenhaga. Um Espanhol, um Búlgaro e três Letãs foram a minha companhia para uma grande volta pelo centro da cidade. Além da parte comercial do centro (que é bastante grande), ainda fomos ao jardim botânico e vimos o maior teatro da Dinamarca.

Segunda feira foi dia de aulas (durante a manhã) e, de tarde, fomos ao Tivoli. O Tivoli é um parque temático (estilo Disney, embora muito mais pequeno) que fechou ao público no domingo (durante o Inverno está fechado, ao que parece) e que abriu segunda feira para um grande concerto organizado por uma rádio local. Incluído no preço do bilhete para o concerto, estavam todas as atracções (uma bela montanha russa, um daqueles elevadores que sobem e descem bastante rápido, entre outros), o que foi óptimo porque, em dias normais, teríamos de pagar 3x mais para poder experimentar tudo.

Assim, passámos a tarde toda a andar em montanhas russas e, a partir das 19h, lá estávamos nós em frente ao palco. Muitos cantores dinamarqueses, Outlandish, Aqua, Milow, Agnes, etc. foram alguns dos presentes, embora a melhor parte da noite estivesse reservada para David Guetta com a Kelly Rowland e o Chris Wilson ao vivo!

Valeu bem a pena as 4h que passámos de pé a ouvir música dinamarquesa e, por cerca de 20 euros, passámos um belo dia no parque.

Hoje a manhã é para as aulas, a tarde para estudar e à noite vou treinar a uma nova piscina. No fórum do clube já publicaram a lista dos marcadores e o meu nome aparece com 1 golo! :p

Qualquer semelhança entre as duas músicas, é pura coincidência.

Outlandish – I Only Ask Of God

Santamaria – Por um mundo melhor

Sono state rese pubbliche le nomination per il premio di “miglior artista” nelle varie “regioni” dove è presente una emittente dedicata di MTV. Questo in vista degli MTV Music Awards, il premio internazionale della musica europea organizzato dalla popolare emittente in programma il 5 novembre prossimo a Berlino. Da questi uscirà poi, come dai vincitori di ogni categoria “regionale” un vincitore assoluto.

Sotto, tutti i candidati.Qualche notazione. Per quanto concerne l’Italia non ci sono – per ora – artisti usciti da Amici, mentre c’è Giusy Ferreri di X Factor. Qualcosa vorrà dire, anche se probabilmente, per via della permanenza in classifica, ci aspettiamo fra gli album la presenza di “Stupida” della Amoroso o del lavoro di Marco Carta.

A conferma di quello che andiamo dicendo da tempo, anch quest’anno è ricco il parterre di artisti che hanno partecipato al’Eurofestival. Notiamo: Kenan Dugulu, Helena Paparizou, Marika, Lovebugs e l’immancabile Dima Bilan. La rassegna dunque funziona (Bilan è un ex vincitore, l’anno scorso si impose l’israeliana Shiri Maimon).

Non sono poi così tanti gli artisti da primato in classifica, per un premio che tende a valorizzare i sound particolare: si prospetta però una bella lotta in Germania, Spagna, Polonia e Regno Unito. Ci fa piacere vedere, per esempio, artisti come i greci Onirama, la lettone DJ Ella o gli ottimi polacchi Afromental.

BEST ITALIAN ACT:  1) “Giusy Ferreri, 2) J AX, 3)  Lost, 4) TizianoFerro, 5)  Zero Assoluto

BEST BALTIC ACT – 1) Chungin and The Cats of Destiny (Estonia), 2) DJ Ella (Lettonia), 3) Flamingo (Lituania), 4) Leon Somov & Jazzu (Lituania), 5) Popidiot (Estonia)

BEST UK & IRELAND ACT - 1) Florence & The Machine (Inghilterra), 2) La Roux (Inghilterra), 3) Pixie Lott (Inghilterra) 4) The Saturdays (Inghilterra) , 5) Tinchy Strider (Inghilterra).

BEST FRENCH ACT: 1) David Guetta 2) Olivia Ruiz, 3) Orehlsan, 4) Rohff 5) Sliimy

BEST ADRIA(TIC) ACT: 1) Darwood Dub (Serbia), 2) Dubioza Kolectiv (Bosnia Erzegovina) 3) The Elvis Jackson (Slovenia) 4) Lollobrigida (Croazia) 5) Superhiks (Macedonia)

BEST BELGIAN AND DUTCH ACT: 1) Alain Clark (Olanda) 2) The Black Box Revelation (Belgio) 3) Esmée Danters (Olanda) 4) Fedde Le Grand (Olanda) 5) Milow (Belgio)

BEST DANISH ACT: 1) Dunè 2 )The Jooks  3) L.O.C 4) Medina 5 Outlandish

BEST FINNISH ACT: 1) Apulanta 2) Cheek 3) Deep Insight 4) Happoradio 5) Disco Ensemble

BEST GERMAN ACT: 1) Peter Fox 2) Jan Delay 3) Silbermond 4) Sohne Mannheims 5) Sportfreund stiller

BEST GREEK ACT: 1) Elena Paparizou 2) Monika 3) Matisse 4 ) Onirama 5) Professional Sinnerz

BEST SPANISH ACT: 1) Fangoria 2) Macaco 3) Nena Daconte 4) Russian Red 5) We are standard

BEST HUNGARIAN ACT: 1) Esclin Syndo 2) The Idoru 3) The Kolin 4) The Moog 5) Zagar

BEST ISRAELI ACT:  1) Asaf Avidan & the Mojos 2)Assaf Amdursky3) Infected Mushroom 4) Ninet Tayeb 5) Terry Poison

BEST NORWEGIAN ACT: Donkeyboy, Maria Mena, Paperboys, Røyksopp, Yoga Fire

BEST POLISH ACT: Afromental, Ania Dąbrowska, Doda, Ewa Farna, Jamal

BEST PORTUGUESE ACT: Buraka Som Sistema, David Fonseca, Os Pontos Negros, X-Wife, Xutos e Pontapés

BEST ROMANIAN AND MOLDAVIAN ACT: David Deejay feat. Dony, Inna, Puya feat. George Hora, Smiley, Tom Boxer feat. Jay

BEST SWEDISH ACT: Adiam Dymott, 2) Agnes, 3) Darin, 4) Promoe 5) Mando Diao

BEST SWISS ACT: 1) Lovebugs 2) Phenomden 3) Ritschi 4) Seven 5) Stress

BEST TURKISH ACT: 1) Atiye Deniz 2) Bedük 3) Kenan Doğulu 4)  maNga, 5) Nil Karaibrahimgil

BEST RUSSIAN ACT: 1) Centr, 2) Dima Bilan 3) Kasta 4) Sergey Lazarev, 5) Timati

BEST UKRAINIAN ACT: 1) Antitila 2) Druga Rika  3) Green Grey 4) Kamon  5)  Lama

BEST ARABIAN ACT (sono gli artisti dei paesi del Bacino del Mediterraneo, associati agli awards europei pur non essendo del nostro continente):  1) Amr Mostafa (Egitto) 2) Darine Hadchiti (Libano) 3) Joe Askhar (Libano) 4) Ramy Sabry (Egitto) 5) Rashed Al-Majed (Araba Saudita)

  

Foto door Urbanmixer

  Als liefhebber van hun muziek en als student Sociale en Culturele Antropologie was ik op het concert. Via mijn vriendschap met Islamitische jongeren raakte ik bekend met de band Outlandish. Muziek is iets waar iedereen een gevoel bij heeft: om op te dansen, om steun bij te zoeken en groepen hebben hun eigen muziek stijl, inclusief kleding en dans. Als je kijkt naar onderzoek waarbij de Islam en muziek centraal staan vind je bijvoorbeeld Turkse pop, Marokkaanse shaabi of Koran recitaties. Niet de cultuur maar juist het gezamenlijke geloof bracht me tot het analyseren van muziek dat past in de branche van R&B, pop en hiphop muziek. Alleen wordt deze muziek ook gekenmerkt door een religieuze lading en woordgebruik.

 Outlandish en Sami Yusuf

Outlandish zingt onder andere over integratie, de situatie in Gaza en over de positie van vrouwen. Maar vooral over een positief  imago van de Islam. De liedjes gaan over het doen van het gebed (salat), op het rechte pad blijven en het versterken van het geloof.

Een andere artiest is Sami Yusuf, een Britse zanger oorspronkelijk uit Azerbeidzjan, die zich volledig richt op de Islam. Met zijn muziek wil hij jongeren trots laten zijn op hun identiteit en hun geloof. Zoals in My Ummah (de moslim gemeenschap): Let the Ummah rise again. Let’s become whole again. I swear with firm belief in our hearts. We can bring back the glory of our past. Beide artiesten zingen vooral in het Engels, maar ook in het Spaans, Arabisch en Deens.

Is muziek halal?

Halal betekent dat wat is toegestaan volgens het geloof. Het is vooral bekend door halal eten, maar heeft op meer zaken betrekking. Is muziek halal? Dit is lastig aangezien er geleerden zijn die zeggen dat het niet is toegestaan om naar bepaalde muziek te luisteren. Juist door dit gegeven kan er met een nieuwe blik naar jonge moslims gekeken worden. Jongeren gaan zich steeds meer verdiepen in hun geloof en maken eigen keuzes of  iets wel of niet is toegestaan. Dilek (24 jaar) zegt hierover: Wanneer je met de juiste intentie naar muziek luistert is daar niets mis mee. In het kader van mijn bacheloronderzoek stond de vraag centraal hoe jongeren inspiratie halen uit de muziek van deze artiesten in relatie tot de Islam.  

Het geloof wordt gezien als iets persoonlijks en heiligs. Veel moslim jongeren in Nederland zijn van Turkse of  Berber Marokkaanse afkomst. Zij kunnen geen Arabisch lezen en daarom ook niet de Koran. De Koran is weliswaar vertaald, maar jongeren zouden het heilige boek graag in het Arabisch willen lezen. Zij kunnen zich echter ook via andere wegen in hun geloof verdiepen: bijvoorbeeld via internet, boeken, of via muziek van bovengenoemde artiesten. Gadisha (22 jaar) vertelt: De boodschappen die zij zingen zijn inspirerend en passen in ons geloof.

 Religieuze inspiratie uit muziek

Via deze muziek kun je meer te weten komen over de betekenis van het geloof voor jongeren. Dilek verwoordt het als volgt: Het geeft je een gevoel, dat is onbeschrijfelijk. Ze vertellen over het geloof en daardoor voel je je ook dichter tot het geloof. Dit citaat laat zien dat deze artiesten een inspiratiebron zijn voor jongeren voor wie de Islam heel belangrijk is. Het helpt hen in de zoektocht naar de ware aard van het geloof en om trots te zijn op hun moslim identiteit. Dilek vertelt: door deze muziek word je er weer aan herinnerd om meer met je geloof bezig te zijn en word je gewezen op dingen die je soms vergeet en waar je geen aandacht aanschenkt. 

Anouk Minnes (23 jaar) is momenteel student van de Master opleiding Social and Cultural Anthropology aan de Vrije Universiteit. Zij is in 2008 afgestudeerd als Bachelor of Economics aan de Hogeschool INHOLLAND Diemen. Dit stukje is gebaseerd op haar premaster thesis van de opleiding Social and Cultural Anthropology.

video Sami Yusuf zie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU2Y45kr9t8

video Outlandish zie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdiN9_gE53I