Islamabad, July1: Much to the chagrin of conservatives who say music is ‘haraam’ (forbidden) in Islam, hip Pakistani youngsters are listening to a new kind of music that spreads the “message of Islam”.

“Muslim hip hop” dwells on everything from the first lesson in Islam learning the ‘kalma’ to introducing believers to the 99 names of Allah in Arabic and English.

The new genre of music that goes by many names Muslim hip hop, Islamic rap or nasheed music can be easily downloaded from the internet and is becoming popular in Pakistan, where bombing of music shops is not uncommon in some parts.

‘Mecca2Medina’, ‘reason rule’ and ‘soldiers of Allah’ are some of the favourite bands in this part of the world.

Muslim rappers came together to launch this genre of music a few years ago to counter the theory by radical Muslims that Islam prohibits listening to music. A few years down the line, their music, by their own admission, is a rage in Muslim countries.

Ali Ahmed, a student who works part-time in a music shop, is hooked to Islamic rap. “My introduction to this type of music is very recent. I heard Mecca2Medina when a friend recommended it and I must say I loved their work. These days I am trying to listen to other Muslim rappers,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed admits that a lot of customers at his shop come looking for Islamic music. “There is a demand for this music. A lot of parents also pick it up for their children,” he said.

Britain-based group Mecca2Medina describes its music as “revolutionary rap”.

Apart from teaching the basics of Islam, their album explores other issues as well. “Mecca experience” praises “sisters for wearing hijaab”, discusses the importance of loving one’s mother and tries to deal with the negativity against Islam in the media.

The group wants to create a “Muslim Youth Movement” with their music. “We want to be the alternate to mainstream hip hop. So young Muslims can grow up and listen to ‘halal’ music that reminds them of the greatness of Allah,” Abdul Karim, one of the group’s rappers, said in a statement on the band’s website.

Pakistani youngsters falling for this genre of music have a role model in Aki Nawaz, a British rapper of Pakistani origin who has been in the limelight for his controversial lyrics relating to the “immorality of western governments”.

Though Nawaz did not pen lyrics to teach recital of ‘duas’ (prayers), his album defends Muslims. “All is war” (the benefits of Jehad), contained a track that used the words of Osama Bin Laden issuing “a statement of reason and explanation of impending conflict” and equated him with Che Guevara.

Another track recreated a suicide bomber at work and one supposedly dream-like track predicted the demise of the US at the hands of Islam.

With quite a few Muslim rappers on the horizon, Mecca2Medina is trying to create a forum for these musicians.

“When we started doing this we were the only group. Now there are probably about 20 to 30 Muslim groups. A lot of the problem was the whole idea about music being haraam (forbidden). I think now that is changing a great deal,” a message on the band’s website reads.

But it’s not just the men who are into Islamic rapping. There are some women too, like sister Haero of Iraqi descendant, who are trying to “give young Muslims girls an alternative role model to Britney and Christina”.

Reason rule is another hip hop group floated by a husband-wife duo. Shaadi, the wife, said she gets feedback from women saying what she is doing is Haraam.

“(I tell them) I am not doing what I do for the pleasure of men but rather for Allah and he sees this and knows my intention,” Shaadi said in a statement.

On music being forbidden in Islam, most of the groups have posted their views on their websites.

“There are some scholars that say it is ‘haraam’ (forbidden) in all cases, some say no musical instruments can be used, and some say it’s ‘halal’ (permissible) as long as it doesn’t contain content which violates the principles of Islam,” a statement on muslimrap.Com reads.

“We take the latter viewpoint on this matter. While we are not scholars, we have consulted different scholars on the issue and have made an informed decision.”