What Do Islam and Hip Hop Have in Common?

Did you know that the story of hip hop began in the South Bronx during the 1970’s? It came into being as a form of revolution to combat the inequalities many African American and Latinx communities faced because of inequalities regarding unemployment, the loss of quality housing and public services and the flight of private investment.

As many Muslim families, mainly from Arab and South Asian backgrounds, began to settle into these urban communities of Black and Latinx life, the immigrant children engaged in a relationship with hip hop as a way to relate to their surroundings, and became profoundly impacted by hip hop. First, second, and third generation kids as well as the culture of hip-hop, were both hungry and deprived of success. They both are constantly met with criticism and restraint to be heard.

“While it was brought to life by the African American community in the United States, hip hop’s ruptures into different cultures around the world were not driven by any of the homogenizing forces of Western culture that usually seek to take over local and indigenous heritages. Instead, hip hop continues to locate its narrative space in the margins of each society.”

Although these two phenomena may seem contradicting, there are a lot of similarities between the two. Usama Kahf, author of “Arabic Hip Hop: Claims of Authenticity and Identity of a New Genre” states, “Hip Hop is a unique form of expression that has crossed social, cultural, and national boundaries in the last couple of decades, from Europe and South America to Africa and the Middle East.“

He continues on to make another valid point, claiming that in the liberating form, hip hop has taken the world amass: “While it was brought to life by the African American community in the United States, hip hop’s ruptures into different cultures around the world were not driven by any of the homogenizing forces of Western culture that usually seek to take over local and indigenous heritages. Instead, hip hop continues to locate its narrative space in the margins of each society.”

Simply put, hip hop is as free of an expression as can be. It exists and leads not through power relations or the need to dominate or otherize, but through love and commonality in our varied experiences.

Today, hip hop continues to be inspired and influenced by Islam and its teachings, with its subtle references to Islam, teachings of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), or references to influential Muslim leaders such as Malcolm X, Minister Louis Farrakhan (Nation of Islam), and Muhammad Ali. Some may be surprised to learn that a large number of rappers they follow avidly are Muslim, but that doesn’t stop Muslim rappers such as Ice Cube, Brother Ali, Lupe Fiasco, and others extend Islamic teachings and lyricisms into their own raps, keeping the link between Islam and hip hop going.

Given the times that we live in, and the undeniably growing isolation some may feel within the United States, American Muslim kids are looking to hip hop as a way to let out steam at the socioeconomic inequality they often experience. They use hip hop as a diplomatic tool to combat the growing divide amongst those who identify with Islam and the so-called western world.

At the end of it all, surprising though it may be, elements of hip hop are rooted within the same spiritual and social justice narratives so deeply embedded within Islam. Both are about uniting people and standing firm for the truth and justice.

from Muslim Girl https://ift.tt/308pdMv