Sounds Islamic? : Muslim music in Britain

Abstract

Young Muslims in Britain are increasingly required to navigate an unsettled social, \nreligious and cultural landscape. These complex dynamics encompass a range of factors: \nfrom sectarianism and the global marketplace of Islamic knowledge, through to the \ninfluence of diverse ethnic communities, the ubiquity of popular culture, and late-modern \ndiscourses relating to spirituality and religion. Religious practice, identity formation and \nsocial/cultural relationships are therefore a continual process of (re)negotiation, with \nyoung Muslims often adopting highly reflexive and pragmatic approaches to this \nuncertainty. Emerging from this turbulent context is a vibrant Muslim music culture. \nThis thesis provides an ethnographic account of this music culture – through \nengagement with both musicians and fans – whilst furthermore analysing the deeper \nsignificance of Muslim cultural production in contemporary Britain. The observations \nand arguments throughout are based on extensive fieldwork that took place over a period \nof approximately two years. A number of methodological strategies were employed: \nthese included interviewing, participant observation and various online research \nmethodologies (including an online survey). \nWhile the ethnographic account provided in this thesis is an original and timely \ncontribution to the study of Muslims in Britain, there are broader theoretical implications \nto emerge. In particular, the original concepts of ‘Islamic Music’ and ‘Islamicallyconscious \nmusic’ are developed to better understand how Muslim musicians varyingly \nemphasise both their individual subjectivity and a more collectivist sense of religious \nbelonging. By examining the development of a distinct British Muslim public sphere, it \nwill therefore be claimed that Muslim musicians are using cultural production as a \nvehicle to simultaneously contest, negotiate and develop ideas of Muslim practice and \ncollectivity in contemporary Britain.

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