Heavy metal Muslims: the rise of a post-Islamist public sphere

Abstract

This article explores the emergence of new, youth-oriented public spheres in the Middle East and North Africa through the lens of the burgeoning extreme music scenes across the region. I argue that the seeming incongruity of genres such as extreme heavy metal or gangsta rap becoming popular in the Muslim world is a reminder of the diversity of contemporary Islam; more deeply, it reveals that the borders between religious belief and seemingly secular practices in Muslim societies are increasingly porous, with politically marginalized young metalheads and their more activist religious peers sharing many of the same societal goals. These are greater autonomy and even democracy, the right for tolerance of divergent views, and the rejection of the hypocrisy, corruption and authoritarianism of their leaders. I conclude with an analysis of the political implications of a still tentative rapprochement between ostensibly secular artists and the religious forces who less than a decade ago were spearheading their persecution, and in some cases prosecution, across the region.