Music in religious discourse

Reading assignment: music in Islamic discourse

There is an extensive discourse on music in the Islamic tradition, including the use and effects of music in religious ritual (especially the sama`, spiritual audition), and the legality of music generally. While the Qur'an neither explicitly proscribes nor allows music, various passages have been interpreted as implying either position. The second principal sacred source for Muslims, Hadith (descriptions of sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad), occasionally refers to music and singing, but once again passages may be located to support either position. Thus the legality of music depends on the perspective of the interpreter. Such interpretation continues to the present day, as is evident from the large number of web sites devoted to this topic.

Read this article by Amnon Shiloah covering the general topic of music in Islamic discourse.

Examine the following web sites, one generally anti-music, the other more tolerant.

Other religious traditions

Your research assignment for this class is to locate examples of "music in religious discourse" on the web, and insert links and commentaries below, following the name of the religious tradition in boldface. For the purposes of this assignment, you may consider any text on the web to constitute "authentic" source material, whether or not the authors properly represent the mainstream of the religious tradition with which they claim affiliation.

Please try to locate source materials from a range of religious traditions. Such materials may range from sacred texts themselves, to discussion groups, blogs, and web sites established by religious organizations.

Please review each others' submissions before class on Thursday, to serve as the basis for a discussion of general issues.

I've inserted a few examples myself to start you off.

• Catholicism: Sacred music in the Catholic church, 1955
• Jewish mysticism: Music and Kabbalah