Introduction to Music and Islam

Tuesday (1a)

Class

Greetings and introductions to ourselves

assalamu alaykum السلام عليكم  - Peace be upon you

wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته  - And upon you peace and God's mercy and blessings

Let's share: who are you and what brought you here?

Introduction to Islam and Islam & Music

(and the role of Arabs and the Arabic language)

Islam: الاسلام  

Literally: Islam means submission three levels: islam = submission/practice (5 pillars), iman = faith/belief (6 articles), ihsan = excellence

Central principles: Tawḥīd (unity), Nubuwwa/Risāla (apostleship/revelation)

Islamic Creed (al-Shahāda): الشهادة  (kalimatu l'tawhid or kalimatayn):

laa ilaaha illaallah لا اله الا الله

muhammadun rasulullah  محمد رسول الله

Islamic

Islamic/Muslim...vs Islamicate/Muslim

(Egyptian Copt Salāmā Mūsā (1887-1958) once said, “I am a Christian by religion and a Muslim by fatherland.”

Music: موسيقة

Aesthetic expressions of the Shahāda

Calligraphy

Vocal sound (language performance): inshād (nashīd)

• Cat Stevens and children(with lyrics)
• Sami Yusuf [1]

Shahada as the Call to Prayer (al-Adhan): الأذان

Adhan - mu'adhdhin - ma'dhana (minara or "minaret")

Global variety

Try performing (Helbawy recordings)

Sufi hadra

dhikr + madīḥ = shahāda

• hadras of Egypt (Ali Zayn al-Abidin ziyara day; 5 Sufi hadras)
• 1932 recording of the Laythi order

The general relation of Music and Islam

Music (موسيقى = "musiqa") or Singing (غناء = "ghināʾ) or Sound (صوت = sawt). Problems of translation, interpretation.  Etic vs Emic approaches.

Music and Islam:

• What are the relations between Music and Islam?
• What are the practices and functions of music, singing, or sound in Islam? How can we understand them, and what do they tell us?
• What are the beliefs and attitudes towards music? What are the discourses about music?
• How has Islam conditioned music, and vice versa?

Music (Sounds) of the Islamic World

Maps and Timelines

Orientalist images of the muezzin (mu'adhdhin)

The sounds of Islam: Adhan

Some key dualities for this course

• Etic vs Emic
• Source vs Reference
• Critical review (report) = summary + critique

Course Mechanics

Refer to the syllabus.

Due today (not graded!)

• Review course
• Locate resources
• Submit a short statement about yourself, and what you hope to learn from this class (not graded)

Use this form to submit all assignments. Please be sure to indicate the due date on the form. Except for today, all assignments are due before class.

Thursday (1b)

Due today (note that assignments are due by class time!)

Report on the following (1-2 pages total) [remember page counts are 1.5 spaced, 1" margins, Times New Roman font - but you'll submit this as text using the assignment submission form]

Read:

• Schimmel 1992 pp. 1-28, from Schimmel, Annemarie. 1992. Islam : An Introduction. Albany: State University of New York Press. One paragraph will suffice to summarize (and critique if you can).
• Frishkopf 2008, “Music”, in The Islamic World, edited by Andrew Rippin. New York: Routledge, 2008, pp. 510-526. Again, write a paragraph.

Watch: Empire of Faith, part 1. Take note of (a) sounds of Islam represented in the film (diegetic sound); (b) the film's non-diegetic soundtrack. Critique: who is behind this film and why? Who is behind the ideas? How is Islam reified? Search: Find at least one online video introducing Islam by and for Muslims. What is the difference between this video and Empire of Faith? (include the link in your report)

Add to your report: one question or issue (about anything you have read, seen, or heard in the course so far) - to be discussed in class.