Fascinating read by Hishaam Aidi who is “editor of Black Routes to Islam and a fellow at the Open Society Foundation in New York. He is also a lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.”

Here’s an EXCERPT:

Surveying European hip-hop today, one notices two things: first, as in America, some of the biggest stars are Muslim, the children of immigrants and/or converts; and second, a number of these artists are (or have been) embroiled in controversies about freedom of expression, national identity and extremism.

European government officials are increasingly worried about the influence that Muslim rap artists wield over youth, and are scrutinising hip hop practices in the immigrant neighbourhoods, trying to decide which Muslim hip hop artists to promote and which to push aside.