Page "French hip hop" Paragraph 33

One of the most prominent Islamic hip-hop artists is the rapper Akhenaton from the group IAM.

Akhenaton was born Philippe Fragione, to Italian immigrants and converted to Islam despite his family ties to Catholicism.

His stage name " Akhenaton " was chosen after the first monotheistic pharaoh in Egypt.

The goal of Akhenaton's music is to represent the spiritual Islam which is tolerant and mystical in order to loosen the high tension in France due to the prejudice against Muslim immigrants.

The group IAM is an anti-establishment group as they want " nothing to do with the state ", thus actively rejecting the way the French government is handling the tensions in the country.

The group IAM spreads positive messages about Islam and tolerance, a philosophy revealed by the group's multi-ethnic make-up including members that are " Madagascaran, Senegalese, Algerian, Spanish, and Italian plus one white French Native ".

Muslim hip hop artist and groups such as IAM have utilized their art to address social issues as well as religious ones.

Many scholars and Muslim clerics have studied whether hip-hop and music in general is permissible ( Halal ) in Islam.

There have been many different opinions and controversy regarding this subject: " But for some conservative Muslims this verges on blasphemy ; they say music is " haram "-or not allowed-in their strict interpretation of Islam ".

Thus, there are clearly two opposing sides within Islam on the subject of hip-hop not only in France but around the world.

However, regardless of whether conservative Islam permits hip-hop or not, Islamic influences on hip-hop continue to shape the future of Hip Hop globally, as it speaks to the more than 1 billion believers in the religion .< ref > BBC News: " Making Music With a Message ".

27 December 2007.

< http :// www. bbc. co. uk ></ ref >