This book examines religious practices of the Muslim youth movement in Indonesia called Punk Muslim. The movement endeavors to integrate two distinct cultures namely punk and Islam. This group performs not only hard music of a type that is forbidden in Islam but also religious activities in everyday life. By employing classical ethnography methods, this book describes the dual identity of Punk Muslim which contradicts one an other that is Islam as established norms and punk as anti-establishment behavior and the way they negotiate Islam with punk culture to gain acceptance from both Muslim and Punk communities. --

The United States, the United Nations, and NATO are being PUNK'D and PLUNDERED in Pakistan in the Pakistani government sponsored, I.S.I. funded, STAGED Civil War of 2009. This Jihad civil war is being run as a business proposition to PLUNDER the United States and the Western world to support the Jihad Islamic World War. Billions of dollars from the U.S., U.N., and NATO are being redirected from humanitarian aid for the impoverished population by the I.S.I. (Pakistan's CIA) - to fight India in Kashmir, to arm their military to later fight India, and just redirected to employees of the government for their own personal enrichment. Billions of U.S. tax dollars have already been redirected from Afghanistan as PLUNDER for the Jihad waging I.W.W. - the Islamic World War.

In a world where the term Islam is ever-increasingly an inaccurate and insensitive synonym for terrorism, it is unsurprising that many Muslim youth in the West struggle for a viable sense of identity. This book takes up the hotly-debated issue of Muslim youth identity in western countries from the standpoint of popular culture. It proposes that in the context of Islamophobia and pervasive moral panic, young Muslims frame up their identity in relation to external conditions that only see ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims, on both sides of the ideological fence between Islam and the West. Indeed, by attempting to break down the ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ Muslim dichotomy that largely derives from western media reports, as well as political commentary, Muslim Youth in the Diaspora: Challenging Extremism through Popular Culture will enlighten the reader. It illuminates the way in which diasporic Muslim youth engage with, and are affected by, the radical Islamist meta-narrative. It examines their popular culture and online activity, their gendered sense of self, and much more. This original book will be of interest to students and scholars interested in the fields of sociology, cultural studies and social anthropology. It offers a particular focus on Islam for research in youth studies, youth culture, political radicalisation and religious identity. It will also be relevant to the sector of youth and social work, where practitioners seek to build cultural bridges with a new generation.

Fiction by writers of Muslim background forms one of the most diverse, vibrant and high-profile corpora of work being produced today - from the trail-blazing writing of Salman Rushdie and Hanif Kureishi, which challenged political and racial orthodoxies in the 1980s, to that of a new generation including Mohsin Hamid, Nadeem Aslam and Kamila Shamsie. This collection reflects the variety of those fictions. Experts in English, South Asian, and postcolonial literatures address the nature of Muslim identity: its response to political realignments since the 1980s, its tensions between religious and secular models of citizenship, and its manifestation of these tensions as conflict between generations. In considering the perceptions of Muslims, contributors also explore the roles of immigration, class, gender, and national identity, as well as the impact of 9/11. This volume includes essays on contemporary fiction by writers of Muslim origin and non-Muslims writing about Muslims. It aims to push beyond the habitual populist 'framing' of Muslims as strangers or interlopers whose ways and beliefs are at odds with those of modernity, exposing the hide-bound, conservative assumptions that underpin such perspectives. While returning to themes that are of particular significance to diasporic Muslim cultures, such as secularism, modernity, multiculturalism and citizenship, the essays reveal that 'Muslim writing' grapples with the same big questions as serve to exercise all writers and intellectuals at the present time: How does one reconcile the impulses of the individual with the requirements of community? How can one 'belong' in the modern world? What is the role of art in making sense of chaotic contemporary experience?

An introduction to the ways in which ordinary Muslim Americans practice their faith. Muslims have always been part of the United States, but very little is known about how Muslim Americans practice their religion. How do they pray? What’s it like to go on pilgrimage to Mecca? What rituals accompany the birth of a child, a wedding, or the death of a loved one? What holidays do Muslims celebrate and what charities do they support? How do they learn about the Qur’an? The Practice of Islam in America introduces readers to the way Islam is lived in the United States, offering vivid portraits of Muslim American life passages, ethical actions, religious holidays, prayer, pilgrimage, and other religious activities. It takes readers into homes, religious congregations, schools, workplaces, cemeteries, restaurants—and all the way to Mecca—to understand the diverse religious practices of Muslim Americans. Going beyond a theoretical discussion of what Muslims are supposed to do, this volume focuses on what they actually do. As the volume reveals, their religious practices are shaped by their racial and ethnic identity, their gender and sexual orientation, and their sectarian identity, among other social factors. Readers gain practical information about Islamic religion while also coming to understand how the day-to-day realities of American life shape Muslim American practice.

With new topics and contributions, this updated second edition discusses the history and contemporary presence of Islam in Europe and America. The book debates the relevance and multi-faceted participation of Muslims in the dynamics of Western societies, challenging the changing perception on both sides. Collating over 30 chapters, written by experts from around the world, the volume presents a wide range of perspectives. Case studies from the Muslim presence in the Iberian Peninsula between the Middle Ages and the modern age set off the Handbook, along with an outline of Muslims in America up to the twentieth century. The second part covers concepts around new conditions in terms of consolidating identities, the emergence of new Muslim actors, the appearance of institutions and institutional attitudes, the effects of Islamic presence on the arts and landscapes of the West, and the relational dynamics like ethics and gender. Exploring the influence of Islam, particularly its impact on society, culture and politics, this interdisciplinary volume is a key resource for policymakers, academics and students interested in the history of Islam, religion and the contemporary relationship between Islam and the West.

Author's note : revolutionary auras and phantasms -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction : from uprisings to plagues -- Morocco : finding harmonies in a land of dissidence -- Yalla, let's play! : Egypt from the pharaoh to the general -- Palestine/Israel : hard music in an orphaned land -- Lebanon : remixed but never remastered -- Iran : living in the upside down and inside out -- Pakistan : shredding the funk from the valleys to the sea -- By way of an epilogue : the joys of resistance.

Through in-depth case studies, Religion and Popular Music explores encounters between music, fans and religion. The book examines several popular music artists - including Bob Dylan, Prince and Katy Perry - and looks at the way religion comes into play in their work and personas. Genres explored by contributing authors include country, folk, rock, metal and Electronic Dance Music. Case studies in the book originate from a variety of geographic and cultural contexts, focusing on topics such as nationalism and hard rock in Russia, fan culture in Argentina, and punk and Islam in Indonesia. Chapters engage with the central issue of how global music meets local audiences and practices, and considers how fans as well as religious groups react to the uses of religion in popular music. It also looks at how they make these interactions between popular music and religion components in their own identity, community and practice. Tapping into a vital and lively topic of teaching, research and wider cultural interest, and employing diverse methodologies across musicians, fans and religious groups, this book is an important contribution to the growing field of religion and popular music studies.

The Cambridge Companion to American Islam offers a scholarly overview of the state of research on American Muslims and American Islam. The book presents the reader with a comprehensive discussion of the debates, challenges and opportunities that American Muslims have faced through centuries of American history. This volume also covers the creative ways in which American Muslims have responded to the myriad serious challenges that they have faced and continue to face in constructing a religious praxis and complex identities that are grounded in both a universal tradition and the particularities of their local contexts. The book introduces the reader to some of the many facets of the lives of American Muslims that can only be understood in their interactions with Islam's entanglement in the American experiment.

A ground-breaking and comprehensive collection on various facets of Islamic spirituality throughout history and in the modern world The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Islamic Spirituality is an authoritative reference work comprising twenty-eight scholarly essays that explore the expressive and performative dimensions of Islamic spirituality. Edited by two of its most prominent scholars, and bringing together a stellar cast of contributors, this wide-ranging volume covers religious practices, sacred texts, history and places, gender, music, poetry, the visual arts, and politics. Spirituality has had a long and important history in Islam, where a focus on spirituality is required of every believer. Each Muslim is asked to achieve a state of devotion through prayer, fasting, supplications, recitations, pilgrimage, and ascetic practices. The essays in this volume explain the role of spirituality in Islam—from its beginnings, through the development of its institutions, and into the present day. They also reflect important new research, and discuss contemporary debates and issues affecting Islamic spirituality such as the Internet, social justice, the role of women, ethics, and religious fundamentalism. Offering readers a thought-provoking way to engage with the topic, this comprehensive work includes: The spirituality of words and letters, including the Qur’an, prophetic traditions in Islam, and litanies, invocations, and devotional texts Devotional practices in Islam, including the spirituality of prayer, ascetic spirituality, Qur’an recitation, and spirituality of the Sufi path Spirituality in literature, including Arabic and Persian poetry, spirituality in the modern novel, and the art of translation Spirituality in the arts, including the visual arts, music, song, and film Islamic spirituality and post-modern practices, including the Internet, Islamic hip-hop, and Salafism From the personal to the political, The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Islamic Spirituality offers a fresh and revitalized view of all aspects of spirituality in Islam. It is a must-have scholarly resource for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, instructors and scholars studying Islam, spirituality, and Asian and Middle Eastern history as well as general readers with an interest in the subject.