JIHAD

Prophet Muhammad described armed struggle against tyranny and oppression as a LESSER JIHAD. He also warned against the dark whisperings of the Nafs(ego) and called the fight against the lower self, the Greater Jihad. Ever since I can remember I've been fighting an inner Jihad against the "I" of my ego. Being a believer and a rock musician means having to navigate between the parallel and sometimes intersecting streams of creating and performing passionate, soul stirring music and the magnetic impulses of rock and roll excess and all that it entails. It's not a battle for the fainthearted: I've seen too many close friends consumed by the sex, drugs, alcohol and/or the accompanying megalomania that comes with the turf of being in the pop culture industry.

Islam and my music provides me with an anchor and a shield which protects against being sucked into a sea of vapid souls. This inner Jihad is more difficult because on days when my defense is weak, the demons will conspire from within, they will try to knock me off my saddle.

As the Koran says: "Man was created weak"; we just have to soldier on and get right back in the saddle again.

SUICIDE

My advice to anyone who contemplates suicide is simple, your denying God his greatest blessing to you: LIFE. At the same time your condemning your soul to darkness till eternity.

There is no Islamic justification for suicide bombing.In 7th century Arabia, Prophet Muhammad's people were humiliated and persecuted mercilessly by the pagan Quraysh, yet never did he ask his followers to kill innocent men,women and children or to commit suicide in the name of Islam.

My most successful Jihad has been fighting for my music in the film "Rockstar and the Mullahs."