The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the CrusadesMany of these men were open Islamic heretics; few seem to have taken
insp ira tio n fro m Isl am it sel f,wit h the pos sib le exc ept ion of Far id
Att ar's twel fth-cent ury alle gory TheConf eren ce of the Bird s.They
leftbeh ind man y gre at wor ks, but mos t of the se are not abl e not for
the irIslami c chara cter but for their lack of it. However , to credi t the
inspi rati onal power of Islam would be tant amou nt to cred itin g the
Sovie t system for the works of Mendelstam, Sakharov, or even
Solzhenitsyn.
But what about Islamic achievement in other artistic fields?Where
are the Muslim Beethovens or Michelangelos? Where can one listen to the
Islamic equivalent of Mozart's 20th Piano Concerto or savor the Islamic
Mona LisaorPieta?
Don't waste too much time looking, There is music and art in Islamic
count ries , and some Musli ms were resp onsi ble for impre ssive music al
and artistic achievements, but it was always in spite of Islam: nothing
comparable to Western musical and artistic traditions developed, because
Isl ami claw out law s bot h mus ic and art ist ic ren deri ngs of the hum an
form. In music, there is nothi ng like Bach's B Minor Mass or gospelin
Islam, for above all, musical creativity has no place in religion,
Islamic law invokes Muhammad himself in forbidding musical instru-
ments, quoting several ahadith:
Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me asa guidance and mercy to
believers andcommanded me to do away with musical instru-
men ts. flu tes , str ing s, cru cif ixe s, and the aff air of the pre-
Islamic period of ignorance. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah
will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening toa
songstress. Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as waterdoes
herba ge. "This commun ity will exper ience the swall owing up
of some peop le by the eart h. meta morp hosi s of some into
ani mals , and bein g rain ed upon with ston es." Some one asked,
"When will this be, 0 Messenger ofAllah?" and he said,