Today's post is a guest blog from Mark LeVine, Professor of Middle Eastern history, culture and Islamic Studies at UC Irvine and author, most recently, of Heavy Metal
Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam (Three Rivers Press/Random House)

By Mark Levine

Heavy metal has had a more powerful and controversial appeal than perhaps any other element of Western culture that has taken hold in the Muslim world. It might seem strange that a genre of music long associated with sex, drugs and even Satan worship should be popular in Muslim countries. But heavy metal can't be reduced to the "hair" or "glam" metal epitomized by one-time MTV staple bands such as Motley Crue or Quiet Riot. Instead, the much harsher sound of death, doom and other forms of extreme metal are winning a growing following across the Muslim world.

Continue »

Last week defenders of Islamic law received a publicity blow when a Malaysian court evoked Sharia law to allow a man to divorce his wife by text message.

Yes, text message. As in: "Am dvrcng u".

The decision was, quite rightly, condemned by women's rights groups in Malaysia, who say to condone such frivolity with Islamic law highlights the way it is inherently bias towards men and leaves women with the short end of the stick.

Continue »

This month the U.S. publisher Random House planned to launch an historical novel about Aisha, the wife of the prophet Muhammad. The book was a rarity in Islamic-themed literature: an attempt by a Western woman to fictionalize the personal life of the prophet, and to bring to a wider audience one of the great feminist heroines of the Middle East.

Here, Jones gives an eloquent defense of her book, and explains why we should all take note of Random House's assault on our freedoms.

Continue »

Following debate about censorship in the U.S., and the questionable decision of Random House to pull a historical novel about the Prophet's wife A'isha, I thought I'd show you a perspective on the challenges facing writers and filmmakers in Egypt.

Yousry Nasrallah is one of Egypt's leading directors, who has spent much of his career working out strategies for dealing with these challenges. They come from the state censorship board, representing the interests of Egypt's entrenched dictatorship; the Islamist lawyers who patrol the airwaves and publishers' lists for potential insult to Islam; ahd the political motivations of funders and distributors.

The trick, Nasrallah told me, is not to tackle religious or political subjects head on, but accept the dominant ideologies while subverting them from within. His 1995 documentary, On Boys, Girls and Veil, which followed a family of hijab-wearing women, is a masterful examination and critique of the veil that is still regularly shown on state-owned up buses as they travel the country.

It's worth noting that Nasrallah's best known work, at least in the Middle East, is his 2003 epic Bab al-Sham, which caused controversy for debunking some of the myths of Palestinian victimhood (based on the Elias Khoury novel) but which has sadly not found a U.S. distributor. Nasrallah suspects that's due to its equally staunch criticisms of Israel.

A rising number of female Muslim athletes are competing in this year's Olympic games in the veil.

Some might see this as a negative development, equating head coverings with female repression. I'd argue that the small but growing number of veiled athletes participating in the Games is an important cultural shift.

In a culture where the women are expected to fit into traditional models of femininity, and the vast majority are veiled and don't take part in sports, athletes like the Bahraini sprinter Ruqaya al-Ghassara embody a certain revolutionary potential.

But there's no question al-Ghassara and her peers face an uphill struggle. Sports and game-playing may be at the center of our Western culture, but in the Middle East they play, at best, a marginal role. The exceptions are soccer, with its international appeal, or sports with a hint of martial prowess, like body building and horse-riding. Even then, sports facilities are often dirty and cramped, like this bodybuilding gym in Kabul -- a reflection of their status in society.

Cultural primacy in Arab nations goes to Islam, which in turn puts its emphasis on the family, and the traditional roles of men and women. Which brings us back to those veiled female athletes, like al-Ghassara, and the message they send to women in the Middle East. Yes, women can have it all: be good Muslims and be sports stars.

Of course, that message is going to take a while to reach beyond the more privileged classes that currently have the time and resources to enjoy sports. But perhaps one day we'll have the Olympics in the Middle East, and a few more Muslim, female sports stars.

This week the BBC revealed that it's leading charity organization,
called Children in Need unknowingly gave just under $40,000 to the
London bombers.

Continue »

What role should Sharia have in the UK? That's one of the most controversial debates taking place in Britain today, and Sheikh Suheib Hassan of the UK Sharia Council thinks he has the answer.

Sharia law consists of the teachings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad as recorded in the Koran and hadiths. In the West, Sharia law has been characterized, infamously so, by its penal code, which includes punishments such as floggings and amputations. For Muslims, Sharia is a way of life decreed by God. In the UK, with a population of 2 million Muslims, the issue of Sharia has called into question the liberal, secular consensus of the post-war years, and tapped into deeper fears of the erosion of so-called "British values" in the face of immigration.

For many second- and third-generation British Muslims, their Islamic identity has become an important bridge between the different cultures that they straddle. Many Muslims and non-Muslim Brits have trod cautiously around the issue. But Sheikh Hassan, the secretary of the UK Sharia Council and a religious authority figure, has no qualms about speaking his mind in this video.

He believes Sharia law should be recognized under British law for personal matters like marriage and divorce, issues that make up the bulk of his work at the council.

But the Sheikh also wants to go further.With violent murders and robberies on the rise in the UK, he believes British lawmakers should be make a broader appraisal of Sharia, and consider incorporating its penal code for Muslims and non-Mulsims alike, as you will hear.

For a fuller assesment of the debate, check out my earlier blog.