What
Exactly Are 'Nasheeds' and What Are Their Roles For ISIL and The
Islamic Caliphate State , affiliated Emirates and Sultanates?
In
essence, Nasheeds are hymns or prayers set to rhyme and rhythm.
They
predate the rise of ISIS and come from the era of the 1970s when
there was an 'Islamic Renaissance' for a short period of time.
A
'Naat' is a prayer sung to glorify or praise Islam. It is common for
'Naats' to refer to the Prophet (PBUH.)
Because
Islam is, in the eyes of ISIS/ISIL, 'at war' the 'Naats' ISIS
composes are meant to glorify the 'good Islamic fight' 'death to
unbelievers', glorious battles against the Kufur (Infidel) and
Satan's armies as opposed to the simply peaceful aspects of Qur'anic
teachings and the Hadith as is more common in 98% of the Muslim world
where the 'Naats' glorify the peace and harmony which Islam brings
into ones life.
Great
historic events in the history of Islam, myths, legends ,even
prophecies are all interwoven into melodic charm and rhyme.
You
don't have to understand Arabic to appreciate the allure of the
rhythm.
The
'Naats' have a particular appeal to young, intelligent, educated
Muslims in rebellion against 'Westernisation' and the shedding of
'traditional values' by ruling elites in favor of Christendom and
its values. So a 'call to arms' to 'defeat' the Infidel does not
exactly fall on deaf ears throughout the Muslim world of the Levant
across the Sahara to the West African Muslim-majority country of
Nigeria, where Boko Haram (meaning:'Westernisation is sinful!')
operate.
In
many instances the Nasheeds are beautifully melodic (tantric?) and
are all based on Qur'anic verse and scripture.
Arab
prose is legendary for its embellishments and colorful language which
transcend the realms of the physical world and take us onto another
plane or mystical level.
[There
is a relationship between Judaic Kabbalism and the Nasheeds but I
have never seen a comparative analysis between both as a study
exercise.]
There
is also an alluring timeless charm about Nasheeds.
I
want for one minute to completely leave ISIL and look back upon what
first interested me in the Nasheeds decades ago.
It
was, in fact, something completely different.
A
Lebanese singer, Samira Tawfik, first interested me in the melodic
aspects of Arab music.
(Interesting,
she achieved fame not in her country of birth, Syria, but in Lebanon
and in Jordan from where her music was transmitted across the Arab
world of the Levant, to great acclaim.)
She
is universally acclaimed as the individual singer who made Jordanian
(Bedouin) music popular across the Arab world.
Because
of the rise of Islamic extremism, it is often difficult for her
websites not to be bombarded with obscenities based on the fact that
she is a woman singing, the themes of her songs and the 'decadence'
'unIslamic' and 'un-Arab' (sic. Western-influenced
'Haram')
nature of her works.
So,
as with Albert Einstein in Germany in the 1930s, ordinary people
across the Arab world are simply frightened to play or stock or sell
her works for fear of having their shops or houses burnt down by
Islamic extremists.
From
what I have learnt, she is the 'Albert Einstein' or 'Pavarotti' or
'William Shakespeare' of Bedouin music – so what is happening
today, for her, as a brilliant artist, a genius, is very sad.
While
relatively unknown in Christendom, her melodies have influenced pop
and rock culture – to a greater extent than is generally
acknowledged.
Of
course her themes are not religious but I am taking these as examples
of how it is easy to listen to the melodies without understanding the
language.
So
now if you want to listen to ISIS chanting religious Nasheeds
(anasheed
jihadiya),
all based on the Qur'an, you are welcome to them.
So
when you watch ISIS/ISIL videos and they are chanting Nasheeds, you
will understand that they are to inspire and motivate the faithful
both to join ISIL, to kill the Infidel, to fight for the mystical
Caliphate – the land of milk and honey where 'the word and song'
will 'translate' into a 'physical paradise' based on those very
melodic and rhythmic Qur'anic verses so beautifully composed and
interwoven into song, verse and rhyme. In essence ISIL have taken
something usually used for peace and turned it into an instrument for
war.
Another
important thing about the ISIL Caliphate Nasheeds is the 'certainty'
of triumph – of good (Islam) over evil (the Infidel) despite the
many trials and tribulations, and the exalting of those martyred in
battle into the very mists of the mythology of the very songs
themselves being sung – and, for the true believer and martyr, the
rightful place, as reward, at the right hand of the Prophet, who
himself is at the right hand of Allah.
So
those are the 'Nasheeds', in a nutshell.
I
have not included ISIL Caliphate Nasheeds below because here I want
to show what 98% of Muslims listen to – in contrast to the 2%
'blood and guts' ISIL 'Naats'.
Having
said that, the 'call to arms' as I have already mentioned, is very
popular amongst this 'motivated' ISIS minority across the Islamic
world.
©Patrick
Emek, April 2017
As an afterthought, before you listen to the Nasheeds, I have included this (very popular!) Christian Balkans piece of music to give you the 'flavor' of 'moving further East':
Goran Bregovic - Ederlezi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU--Ox25DCo
