Public school controversy over singing Muslim worship song.

[HomerJay]

Here's the lyrics.

Allaah is the only One who is eternal and immortal and rest are perishable and will be destroyed by Allaah

Seems to me, in context, to be about God being the only thing that lasts (unlike, say, family, friends, love, looks, wealth, fame or glory).

yabbut .. there's that small issue of the death and destruction bit ...

Yeah, so? God is creator and destroyer. He giveth and he taketh away. Mountans, landmarks, cities, even planets and stars come and go. All is transient. God remains eternal.

This is religion 101 stuff.

It flies in the face of what Coito said. He compares it to a war song. An Ork war song as they go off to fight the forces of good! It's nothing like that. It's about the transient and ephemeral nature of reality and faith in the transcendent. It's actually quite uplifting in its own way.

I'm not sure if you haven't bought a dummy here.

In context, Allah is the only One means Allah is the only god, historically Mo was fighting the Meccan polytheists and this is a statement regarding montheism and Allah destroying the polytheist's gods. Monotheism vs Polytheism is central to Islam in a very big way:

Tawhid (Arabic: توحيد tawḥīd "doctrine of Oneness [of God]"; also transliterated Tawheed and Tauheed) is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God (Arabic: Allah) is one (wāḥid) and unique (ahad)...Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession.The first part of the Shahada is the declaration of belief in the oneness of God. To attribute divinity to a created entity is the only unpardonable sin mentioned in the Qur'an.

Islam makes polytheism not just an incorrect belief but a morally reprehensible belief, so singing about Allah as a destroyer of other gods is glorifying the 'racist' history of Islam. If you look at where Saudi is today, the suppression of polytheism is alive and well.

The history of monotheism vs polytheism is very interesting, not just viz Islam but all religions.

This song may sound uplifting but how many marching songs sound the same and glorify some militaristic history?

[Animavore]

That isn't the context of the fucking song.

[Animavore]

And.. and this?!

This song may sound uplifting but how many marching songs sound the same and glorify some militaristic history?

It's not a fucking marching song. It's the type of song that makes one want to gyrate one's hips and dance.

Christ! It's like I'm living in an alternative universe.

[HomerJay]

That isn't the context of the fucking song.

You're looking at Rahman and saying he seems like a nice bloke, I'm saying that he has bought into a culture he doesn't fully understand and is regurgitating some drivel.

Nice bloke or not, it doesn't stop him from simply repeating century's old prejudices.

[HomerJay]

And.. and this?!

This song may sound uplifting but how many marching songs sound the same and glorify some militaristic history?

It's not a fucking marching song. It's the type of song that makes one want to gyrate one's hips and dance.

Christ! It's like I'm living in an alternative universe.

I didn't say this WAS a marching song, just that 'uplifting' tunes can have a poor libretto, why is that so difficult to understand?

[Animavore]

And.. and this?!

This song may sound uplifting but how many marching songs sound the same and glorify some militaristic history?

It's not a fucking marching song. It's the type of song that makes one want to gyrate one's hips and dance.

Christ! It's like I'm living in an alternative universe.

I didn't say this WAS a marching song, just that 'uplifting' tunes can have a poor libretto, why is that so difficult to understand?

Well I don't find marching songs 'uplifting' so it's hard for me to see your point. They conjure up images of imperialistic Europeans trapsing over the planet with hobnail boots conquering people.
I'm Irish, I'm more used to songs the opposite of that, about freedom from oppression by imperialists.

[Animavore]

That isn't the context of the fucking song.

You're looking at Rahman and saying he seems like a nice bloke, I'm saying that he has bought into a culture he doesn't fully understand and is regurgitating some drivel.

Nice bloke or not, it doesn't stop him from simply repeating century's old prejudices.

Did you actually read the lyrics of the song I posted?

[Thinking Aloud]

Choirs tend to sing songs they find interesting, or challenging, or that they think will entertain their audience. Presumably that's why this song came to their attention. Music is either entertaining (subjective to the listener, of course) or it isn't. It's a fun composition, taking words (presumably) from some ancient myths and putting them to music typical of the region they come from. Would a Nordic Saga set to music be any different?

If this guy quits the choir because this song is about a different imaginary friend to his favourite, then that's his problem.

[Animavore]

Choirs tend to sing songs they find interesting, or challenging, or that they think will entertain their audience. Presumably that's why this song came to their attention. Music is either entertaining (subjective to the listener, of course) or it isn't. It's a fun composition, taking words (presumably) from some ancient myths and putting them to music typical of the region they come from. Would a Nordic Saga set to music be any different?

If this guy quits the choir because this song is about a different imaginary friend to his favourite, then that's his problem.

Or they could've picked a tribal African song, a Tibetan monk piece, a Norweigen folk song about trolls... etc. Or even a crappy, soul-less Catholic/CoE song. Choirs should be learning as many styles from around the world from as many cultures as possible.

[PsychoSerenity]

I'm with Ani - after reading the lyrics, there's nothing in there you wouldn't get in any religious song. And the point of it was to practice a song from a different style/culture, so it's the kid's problem if he finds it offensive.

Where I do disagree though is that that style is not to my tastes at all. Don't know what it is about it, the tone or something, it really grates on my ears. Like listening to this:

[Animavore]

Try to imagine it being played around a campfire in the desert surrounded by fire-dancing acrobats.

It's an awesome tune.

[Coito ergo sum]

I'm with Ani - after reading the lyrics, there's nothing in there you wouldn't get in any religious song. And the point of it was to practice a song from a different style/culture, so it's the kid's problem if he finds it offensive.

Thought experiment:

What if a Muslim student objected to "Onward Christian Soldiers?" Same result? Different?

[Thinking Aloud]

The difference would be that people would loot shops and burn things over it. Which says it all.

[Animavore]

Different in the fact Onward Christian Soldier is a terrible, terrible, terrible song with no vibe. The type of song sung by no-pussy-getting arseholes who don't have the confidence to get up and dance and enjoy themselves. Just standing there droning.

Same in principle, though. Except the latter is specifically about going off fighting for Christianity where the former isn't anything to do with war, except maybe the internal war we face within ourselves

[Coito ergo sum]

It flies in the face of what Coito said. He compares it to a war song.

I didn't, actually.

An Ork war song as they go off to fight the forces of good! It's nothing like that. It's about the transient and ephemeral nature of reality and faith in the transcendent. It's actually quite uplifting in its own way.

I said it SOUNDS like that. I didn't say the words were similar to the words in Orc songs. I don't know any of the words to Orc songs. I think the Muslim song in the OP "sounds" like an Orc song. It's got a scary, kind of "el Diablo en Musica" Paginini E to B-flat kind of scary thing to it.

How to describe it..... sounds not much different than a Dracula nocturne...lol

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX4DOM8O ... re=related[/youtube]