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Yusuf Islam interview

From CNN: It’s true. I used to be prejudiced — as prejudiced as anyone about Islam. … And then I was given the opportunity of reading the actual source, the Quran itself, without anybody forcing me or looking over my shoulder and saying, “What do you think?” It was just me in my space. And the more I read the Quran, the more I realized that it was like an incredible matrix of connection with Christianity and Judaism. I mean Jesus, Moses, the religion of Abraham in this book! And I said, “Wow, how come I didn’t know this before?”…

Music, #Iran, and the #IranElection

With my passion for music, I’d be remiss in not pointing out some resources on Iranian music, especially with the conflict surrounding the Iranian election. This piece from Religion Dispatches is good, but I think it takes the “all politics is personal” a little too far. It’s not always about the music. Hawg Blawg is always excellent, and Talk Islam has some work as well. Andrew Sullivan is running an intermittent series called “Outing Iran” that includes a lot of music.

Hasidic Reggae

Yes Virginia, it’s true. Take a look at this site, just to read comments like this: “He can really rip,” agrees hip-hop producer and bassist Yossi Fine (David Bowie, Me’Shell Ndege-Ocello), who is himself part Israeli and Afro-Jamaican Jew. “He’s extremely fierce, jumping around the stage. The only difference between him and a Jamaican rapper is that he takes the lyrics from the Bible instead of from Rasta. He changes ‘Jah’ to ‘Hashem’ [Hebrew for God].” I intend to buy an album. Seems very cool. Also, here.