Inshad dini

Inshad Dini = Islamic religious hymnody

Traditional inshad

• Ibtihalat. Performed by Shaykh Taha al-Fashni, probably the most famous mubtahil of the 20th c. Here

ibtihalat is based entirely on poetry. The recording is different from the dawn-prayer style heard above. From Sono Cairo 67028/601.

• Tawashih diniyya. Performed by Shaykh Muhammad al-Fayyumi and his bitana (chorus). Tawashih

involve alternation between solo and chorus; the former improvisatory, the latter more precomposed and quasi-metric. From Sono Cairo 75113/461.

• Mawlid. Listen to a typical mawlid and read the associated album notes.

The mawlid is a celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birth, including devotional singing; it is frequently recited in the mystical orders of Islam, the turuq Sufiyya - in this case the Hamidiyya Shadhiliyya order of Egypt.

Musical inshad and aghani diniyya

• Orchestral inshad (religious song). Performed by Shaykh Sayyid al-Naqshabandi with chorus and

orchestra. Here is an example of transformation of the older ibtihalat and tawashih traditions. Shaykh Naqshabandi became famous through media appearances. Formerly he performed in the traditional vocal style, which was later augmented with orchestra and fixed arrangements. Note the focus on nay (reed flute), whose sound is a symbol of Islamic mysticism and contemplation, as well as the duff (frame drum), which is specially sanctioned by Prophetic traditions in Islamic music.

• Aghani diniyya (religious songs performed by ordinary singers=mutribin). Performed by ‘Abd al-Halim

Hafez. ‘Abd al-Halim was Egypt’s Elvis, an extremely popular singer of romantic songs; he did not train in the religious tradition and has no status as “shaykh”. However during religious holidays he might sing religious material; this tape is an example. It cannot be considered pure inshad dini, since the context, style, and performer do not certify the performance as a true devotional act. The nay is used to mark the performance as religious, and the mood is subdued, with little meter; but vocal style is similar to ‘Abd al- Halim’s standard popular fare.

New mediated inshad

Mediated Islamic music

With the rise of mass music media—beginning with early 20th c phonograms—new modes of commodified production and consumption were enabled, transforming the sound and meaning of Islamic music. Mass media tend both to replace traditional performance, and to standardize it, according to high-value models. While cassettes (1970s) greatly expanded mediazation, until recently most distribution was regional.

Since the 1990s, a studio-produced style called nashid or anashid, has been globally disseminated via satellite TV and Internet, in the ethos of Islamic reformism. While traditional themes of praise and supplication remain, new ones—political or social—are also taken up, in keeping with reformism’s more socially engaged worldview.

Conservative performers avoid instruments, though often admitting percussion as a matter of principle. Such inshad is restrained, with little improvisation or elaborate melisma, yet modernized through digital processing, harmonization, and music videos. One of the most media-savvy voices is that of the Kuwaiti [Shaykh Mashari Rashid al-`Afasy (b. 1976), who also recites Qur’an and ad`iyya, serves as imam of Kuwait’s Grand Mosque, and even owns his own religious TV station (al-`Afasy TV).

The work of others is closer to popular music, often incorporating melodic instruments, and featuring contemporary arrangements, inflected by local pop style. Such performers include the British-Azeri Sami Yusuf. In one album (My Umma) he scrupulously avoided use of musical instruments, but later made use of them as in this clip, though not without invoking criticism. Here he deliberately makes use of several languages, emphasizing unity in the Muslim Ummah. Other performers of this type include Zain Bhikha from South Africa, Mesut Kurtis from Macedonia, the Indonesian Haddad Alwi and the phenomenal Malaysian boy band, Raihan. Note use of traditional gongs in some southeast Asian nasheed.

Islamic versions of Western popular music genres, usually created by Muslims living in the West, maintain musical style, while inserting Islamic texts and intentions. Examples include Islamic hip-hop (Amir Sulayman), Islamic punk rock (Taqwacore) (e.g. the Kominas, Islamic folk-rock (Dawud Wharnsby Ali, and of course Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens), even Islamic country (Karim Salama) (Buysse, 2007, Swedenburg, 2002, Miyakawa, 2005, Abdul Khabeer, 2007). These musics tend to engage social issues afflicting diasporic Muslim communities, e.g. racism and drug use, addressing non-Muslims as well.

For more information on inshad dini in Egypt, see the following:

• Inshad Dini and Aghani Diniyya in Twentieth Century Egypt: A Review of Styles, Genres, and Available Recordings, an article from MESA Bulletin