Great Muslim composers
Although President Obama claims that Muslims have a rich history and have made wonderful contributions to human civilization, they are notably absent in the field of music. Wonder why?
Because Islam’s foundational texts expressly and repeatedly forbid music. From the Hadith:
“Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of Ignorance.”
“On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”
“Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.”
“This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” Someone asked, “When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?” and he said, “When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.”
“From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk (by men), the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful…. Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, and He will transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of Resurrection.”
Over the last 14 centuries, there have surely been musicians and composers that happened to be Muslim. But an objective reading of the Qur’an and Hadith shows that music is forbidden and they have done so despite Islam, not because of it.
These quotes are all fabrications and mistranslations. Post middle age music was literally adopted from the Muslim world.
Islam has over a billion followers, so there are over a billion different personal interpretations of Islam. Just because the Qur’an and Hadith commands Muslims to kill non-Muslims or forbids alcohol and music, doesn’t mean that all Muslims live their lives accordingly – or even know what is in the texts in the first place.
There may be musicians or composers that happen to be Muslim, but they do so despite Islam – not because of it. And the Times of India has a story claiming that Ali Akbar’s may never have been a Muslim in the first place: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2006-09-01/india/27812255_1_hindus-surname-islamic
Such an ignorant thing to say…if you do even a little basic research, you’ll find Ali Akbar Khan, one of the greatest Indian/Muslim composers of the 20th century. There is also contemporary composers such as AR Rahman who composed music for Slumdog Millionaire, 127 hours, and other prominent films.
Furthermore, try to learn about Islamic legal matters before commenting on them because you just sound plainly ignorant. Spain under Islamic rule flourished musically…in fact, flamenco music has its roots in Muslim musical endeavors.