I've planned to bring a lighter touch in this blog to Christian reflections on our multifaith world so as part of that, I'm going to present the "Top 5 songs on the Distinctly Welcoming iPod". These will be songs that give us some insights into the religious diversity we find ourselves in. First up is Rachid Taha's incredible reworking of The Clash's "Rock the Casbah". The original punk classic was written in response to the banning of punk records in Saudi Arabia: "Now the king told the boogie men you have to let that raga drop". The chorus hits and the music still holds sway even though "Sharif don't like it". So the jet pilots are sent in on the minarets: "He thinks its not kosher Fundamentally he can't take it You know he really hates it." Hearing these words spoken in Arabic by an Algerian who has spoken out against the marginalisation of North African communities by the secularist French state is startling. Rachid Taha is somehow subverting a diatribe against religious fundamentalism to make a more nuanced statement about the imperialistic West, whose jet planes now circle the minarets of the Middle East. At the same time, he is celebrating the music and culture of the West and advocating an artistic freedom that would be unimaginable in Saudi Arabia. And then you remember Algeria, where free democratic elections were annulled because the "wrong party" won (the Islamists) and wonder whether Taha is also wanting to say something about privileged elites crushing the voices of those in the casbahs of Algiers.
Confused? You should be. This song exemplifies something of the religious, political and cultural borrowing that makes conversation about faith so problematic. Simplistic polarities that seek to divide the world into monolithic compartments no longer work. What is the reality on the ground? Where are the people in all our generalisations? Listen to the thrilling voice of Rachid Taha, hear his passion and you might make a start here.
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