Music

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered herself of some ahistorical and distorted remarks about Palestine on Morning Joe, maintaining that the young people protesting the Gaza atrocities do not know history. Former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticizes pro-Palestinian protests, saying that many of the young people […]

Culture

The Music of the late Iranian Singer Faramarz Aslani, Forced into Exile by a Puritan Revolution

Fariba Amini

Newark, Del. (Special to Informed Comment) – Amidst war and genocide in Ukraine and in Gaza, a new spring came along. For millions of Persian-speaking people, March 19 marked the beginning of Nowruz or new day this year. A holiday with Zoroastrian roots, Nowruz is celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and parts of India and […]

art and photography

Artists Bring Human Richness at Times of Strife – and must be allowed to Speak about the Israel and Gaza

The Conversation

By Lowell Gasoi, Carleton University | – The current Israel-Hamas war has dominated the news for the past few months. As reports of military machinations and diplomatic efforts have gained attention, the art world has struggled with responses to the horrors of this war. For example, controversy and calls for transparency and accountability followed the […]

Iraq

How Popular Music Videos encouraged Iraqi Shiites to Resist ISIL Terrorism

The Conversation

By Benjamin Isakhan, Deakin University; and Ali Akbar, The University of Melbourne | – Almost a decade ago, the Sunni jihadist network known as the “Islamic State” (IS) declared the formation of an Islamic Caliphate after they captured the Iraqi city of Mosul in June 2014. In response, tens of thousands of Shia men joined […]

African-Americans

How some Muslim and non-Muslim Rappers alike embrace Islam’s Greeting of Peace

The Conversation

By Margarita Guillory, Boston University and Jeta Luboteni, Boston University | – Ever since the United States’ “war on terror” began, American media has been rife with stereotypes of Muslims as violent, foreign threats. Advocates trying to push back against this characterization sometimes emphasize that “Islam means peace,” since the two words are derived from […]

African-Americans

‘Knowledge of self’: How a key Phrase from Islam became a Pillar of Hip-Hop

The Conversation

By Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, University of Michigan | – (The Conversation) – I was 9 years old when Eric B. and Rakim’s “Paid in Full” dropped. I have vivid memories of the bass-laden track booming out of car stereos and hearing it on Black radio, like Kiss FM’s top eight at 8 p.m. countdown. On […]

Christianity

Sinead O’Connor’s Music and Life were infused with Spiritual Seeking, From the Hebrew Prophets, to Rasta, to Islam

The Conversation

By Brenna Moore, Fordham University | – When news broke July 26, 2023, that the gifted Irish singer Sinead O’Connor had died, stories of her most famous performance circulated amid the grief and shock. Thirty-one years ago, after a haunting rendition of Bob Marley’s song “War,” O’Connor ripped up a photograph of Pope John Paul […]

Featured

The Other Sinead O’Connor, Pro-Palestinian Critic of Violent Israeli Extremist Ben-Gvir, and Muslim Convert

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Tragically, Sinead O’Connor is dead at 56. Many of the obituaries of Irish protest singer have been oddly thin, and have ignored key moments in her life. One was her contretemps with Israeli extremist Itamar Ben-Gvir, now the country’s Minister of National Security. She later became fiercely critical of the […]

Music

Adam Lenhart: “Two Scenes from the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám” (Concert)

contributors

Adam Lenhart Music: “Two Scenes from The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám – University of Michigan 2023 CoLab Concert Performance” Two Scenes from The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (2022) ~ Trio for Bb Clarinet, Violin & Piano Performed by Alan Sun, Alex Vershinin and Emma Fu Video and Audio by Nelson Walker “The Rubaiyat of Omar […]