fbpx
35.4 F
Spokane
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
spot_img
HomeNewsTurkey’s ‘Rockin’ Imam’ gets green light from religious authorities

Turkey’s ‘Rockin’ Imam’ gets green light from religious authorities

Date:

Related stories

REPORT: Muslim discrimination hits 92% in Washington State; Spokane community members speak out

Understanding Muslim discrimination in Washington State. Learn about the experiences of the Muslim community and the impact of bias on their daily lives.

For 15 years Spokane nonprofit, Big Table, serves hope to restaurant workers

Discover the inspiring work of Big Table, a nonprofit caring for restaurant and hospitality workers in crisis. Read how their table serves help and hope meeting their needs.

As Ukraine war hits 1,000 days, Pope Francis renews call for peace

Ukrainian war reaches 1,000 days. The Vatican and Olena Zelenska discuss humanitarian aid and just mediation in conflict.

FāVS Religion News Roundup: Nov. 22

Christians lobby to bring Bibles into Idaho schools, Adoption Day to be celebrated with several events in Washington Nov. 21-23, Gonzaga students organized a Nov. 21 'Walkout for Palestine' protest and more fill this week's FāVS Religion News Roundup.

Youth Self-Care Summit celebrates young women of color

the Annual Youth Self-Care Summit on Dec. 14 aims to be an empowering event that promotes self-care, empowerment and community building for young women of color.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

ISTANBUL (RNS) Turkey’s religious authorities have given the go-ahead for the country’s controversial “Rockin’ Imam” to keep on rocking.

Ahmet Muhsin Tuzer, a Muslim prayer leader from the coastal town of Kas, raised eyebrows last year after he formed the band FiRock and performed as its frontman.

His case — as far as anyone can tell — is unprecedented. There have not been any — to date — public cases of Turkish imams forming rock bands.

A YouTube video of the group’s first single, Mevlaya Gel (Come to God), received more than 50,000 hits since July.

After a concert in August drew more than a thousand people in Kas, Turkey’s religious authority, which supervises the country’s more than 80,000 state-run mosques, opened an investigation to see if a rocking imam was espousing a brand of counterculture that violates Turkish religious values.

Nine months later, after having reprimanded him for critical statements he’d made about the investigation, Tuzer’s bosses say the show can go on.

The decision comes as the Islamist-rooted government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — now in its 11th year of power — continues to impose a conservatve religious agenda.

Erdogan has courted controversy for passing stringent rules on the sale of and advertising of alcohol, counseled women to marry and bear at least three children, likened legal abortion to a massacre and has even called for a ban on mixed-sex accommodations for university students.

“If I make a mistake, they will definitely punish me,” Tuzer said. “But right now it’s OK and there’s no problem.”

Tuzer had already garnered attention from his superiors when he wed his wife, Mara, an Orthodox Christian from Romania. She’s since converted to Sufi Islam, and the two have a teenage son.

International attention on the clean-shaven, 43-year-old imam, whose strong singing voice once led the call to prayer in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet neighborhood, has been intense. In April, he traveled to New York and performed in Brooklyn as part of a larger ensemble.

Tuzer and his bandmates who form FiRock — a psychedelic mixture of acid rock and Sufi-infused mystical lyrics — have their second major Turkish show planned next month in the nearby town of Finike.

“It will be a very, very big concert. We are expecting at least 20,000 people,” he said. “We have many surprises for the people.”

Tuzer said he plans to return to New York in October for an interfaith concert with Christian and Jewish musicians. He said he’s trying to carve out a new niche: Islamic rock that shows the tolerant side of his faith.

“This decision is very historic,” he said. “It shows we are not radical Islam. This is peaceful Islam because, you know, I love all people.”

 

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

1 COMMENT

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Eric Blauer
Eric Blauer
10 years ago

Rock? Are you kidding me, this stuff put me into daze and what gives, no beards? Man I am bummed I was hoping for something edgy to come from Islam. I couldn’t bang my head to that, well, maybe when it hits the desk from sleep! lol, just teasing, I actually think its cool to hear something coming from the Sufi wing of Islam, being a fan of Rumi’s poetry. Too bad this music’s got a hand sway in the air evangelical, suburban feel to it, I was hoping for some middle eastern version of something like “We Came As Romans”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y7dnaFAKEE. That said, props to him for doing the interfaith gigs in NY, luv it.

1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x