What’s American About Muslim-American Hip-Hop?

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Muslim-American Hip-Hop
The land of opportunities, is the phrase that comes to mind whenever the immigrants are discussing about coming to America. This is also the phrase that is used by most of the minority ethnic groups as they struggle for recognition and making it in a country that is largely white and Christian. That notwithstanding, there is an element of inclusivity and one that was envisaged in the fore fathers messages across almost all facets of governance. From the time that America was formed as a country, the theme of inclusivity is one that formed a strong foundation giving rise to many of the races coming together to build a nation that they could be proud of. However, this has not always been the case and in some of the instances more often than not there are those that some ethnic backgrounds do not represent the American spirit. These are views that are borne of the 19th century fiasco of slavery, where the minority groups in America were subjected to discrimination. While that has died down with few incidences that indicate overarching issues in the equality agenda, it is the Muslim community that has suffered the most in the last few decades (Haddad, and Smith). To rise above the discrimination, most of the Hip-hop artistes have come out strongly shoring up their support for recognition and respect for the Muslim brothers and sisters living in the United States. American Muslim hip hop is a platform that gives identity to the Muslim especially the youths through the music and dance.
The American society is not a stranger to discrimination along racial and religious lines (Haddad, and Smith). There have been thousands of cases where African Americans have been discriminated to the extent of being harmed and in some of the cases being killed. The fight for equality is a never ending struggle to get the minority the same level of recognition as the whites. For any minority group, being American means proving that they are able to hold their ground in the midst of the barrage of discriminatory remarks, police brutality, biased justice system and a culture to maintain. It becomes even harder for the minority, where they are also Muslim. This simply pushes them to the very top of the list of people that are highly discriminated against. Most Muslims are suffering identity crisis as they try to establish their identity as Muslim and American while still fighting minority battles (Haddad, and Smith). Following the controversial wars in the Middle East, and the terror attacks in America and across the world, Muslims are constantly associated with violent terror attacks and their religion is associated with repressive culture against women. Hip hop has however brought a new life to the pains that Muslims across the nation suffer from.
Over the years hip hop has become an instrument that the youths use to express themselves. It is a platform that has been used to express the various elements of the society relative to social issues, religious, economic and cultural among many others. Muslim artistes have been at the forefront of the hip hop industry sensitizing the youths about the ways of life and even educating them on various social and cultural aspects alongside politics. Th...