Religious fundamentalism vs music

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I can't help but notice that some religious fundamentalists, at least those who are Christian or Muslim anyway, have a serious problem with music, or at least music that isn't done in a traditional/conservative style and/or doesn't praise God.

It seems that drumbeat-heavy or rhythm-led genres like rock & roll, heavy metal and a surprising amount of electronic music comes under frequent attack for introducing "satanic influences" or what have you.

Is this simply a mechanism for social/psychological control, or is there more to it than that?

I have a tentative hypothesis, which is that drums are perceived by the fundamentalist ear as primal and atavistic, and their ability to "carry" the mood of a piece as well as get people physically moving if not outright dancing is seen as something akin to demonic possession.

Thoughts?

[Zostrianos]

What I think it boils down to is 2 main factors: the first is if the musical style is perceived of as lascivious or encouraging sex. Since sex is fun, and musical genres attacked by fundamentalists are usually also about having fun and partying - and oftentimes sex -, it's easy to see how this comes about. Fundamentalists often see the revelry of partying and music as conducive to sex, and let's be honest, why do people go to nightclubs half the time? To hook up. The other factor is if the musical style promotes freedom and rebellion from established order, again it's bound to be condemned - conservative parents don't want little Johnny to be influenced by the music he listens to, they want him to go to church and follow all their strict directives and grow up to be like them.
There are a few cults that take it to the extreme (like the Jehova's Witnesses I think), where all music is forbidden.

[Comrade Nasser]

Actually many Muslim extremists make crappy nasheed songs about Jihad lol. But yeah you're right there are some Muslim extremists (Salafists to be exact) who wan't to live how their prophet did (no electronics or toilets or anything useful really) and then there are the christians and muslims who see music as a precursor to having fun (i.e. partying) which in their religious minds may lead to premarital sex.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

@Poimandres

I don't think Jehovah's Witnesses ban all music, since I've attended their religious services a couple of times out of curiosity, and on both occasions (a standard service and an Easter one, if you're curious) hymns were sung with musical accompaniment.

As for the rest of your post, that sounds about right. But I guess I was wondering if anything more rigorous than my own half-baked suppositions had been written on-line.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Supposedly one of the Taliban's edicts that was most frequently ignored & violated was their prohibition of music (music being a pretty big part of Pashtun culture).

[Brutus]

Heavy metal is satanic worship r

[piet11111]

Supposedly one of the Taliban's edicts that was most frequently ignored & violated was their prohibition of music (music being a pretty big part of Pashtun culture).

Well the Taliban are a bunch of hypocrites anyway i have read that when the americans where negotiating with them most of those meetings had alcohol available.

[Nakidana]

there are some Muslim extremists (Salafists to be exact) who wan't to live how their prophet did (no electronics or toilets or anything useful really)

The thing is that the ideal world that these fundamentalists want to go back to has never really existed. The prophet Muhammad would probably be terrified to live in the society these guys are trying to create. So if we take music and dancing for example, I believe there is a hadith describing Muhammad and his wife Aisha listening to music while watching some African tribe dancing. They only leave when Aisha tells Muhammad that she is tired. So the extreme restrictions on music were never really applied.

Anyway, I don't know the real reason they're against music, but I can definitely agree that many of them are hypocrites. I have a devout Muslim friend who doesn't listen to music or dance, but he's a huge movie buff and is especially into all the Hollywood blockbusters which, that's right, all contain epic soundtracks.

I somehow doubt he'd want to watch Batman without the Hans Zimmer score even if he could...

Even funnier is the fact that somehow they're okay with listening to the Qur'an being read in a pleasant singing voice. Couldn't that also be regarded as a kind of music? :rolleyes:

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

I think religious music gets an exemption in the eyes of fundamentalists because it's well, basically praising God. I imagine it's secular and non-traditional music (or at least music not of their traditions) that gets their backs up.

Of course, to secular eyes such a position looks like nothing short of a hypocritical double standard, but I think that in a nutshell is one of the key psychological differences between fundies and everyone else.

[A Revolutionary Tool]

I've had the same thoughts NoXion, is it the beat? Like its some sinister primal force that gets people to love Satan or something.

[liberlict]

I think it has to do with the fact that most pop. music is driven by a youth crowd - like 15 - 25 or so. People that age aren't usually interested in conservative ideas. After they turn 25 or so people seem to just listen to whatever they listened to in their youth. As a gross generalization.