Music is widely understood as a key to understanding any culture, but Arab music should be considered a zenith of musical history and progression for the world. Frequently possessing long, haunting melodies and traditional instruments unused in the Western world, Arab music can invoke different feelings in listeners who are unaccustomed to its sounds and… Read more »
Music & Muslims
Rapping in Germany When Your Roots are Turkish and Muslim – Aziza A.! and Matters of Representation…. by Derya Doğan
Imagine listening to hip-hop with lyrics in German but the melody starts and ends with a Turkish folk song, and there is the Islamic Sufi flute Ney playing in the middle… Or rapping in German as if speaking in Turkish…This is exactly what Aziza A. does! [1] Born and raised in Berlin to Turkish immigrants[2],… Read more »
An Interview with Ahmad Hayaniz
Music often gives expression to human experiences that are difficult to communicate. In times of war and national crises, artists harness music as a tool for community empowerment and healing. With this starting point, fifth-year Arabic students at Indiana University spent the fall semester looking at how the role of music takes form during… Read more »
Dena El Saffar on her listening practices by Ezgi Benli
“To really have the spirit of the Middle Eastern music, you shouldn’t be looking at a piece of paper, you know, you should be looking at each other or closing your eyes or looking at your instrument.” Right before the pandemic, Dena and I were practicing for an upcoming Turkish concert. After our rehearsals, I… Read more »
An Interview with Ala and Yaman Hayani
Shems al-Ubaidi and Audria Hettinger, two seniors in Professor Iman Al-Ramadan’s course “Arabic Culture through Music” at Indiana University, met with Syrian artist Ala Hayani and his son Yaman Hayani to discuss Arabic music, their music, and how the war in Syria has impacted their lives as artists. Hayani and his family are originally… Read more »