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In countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of South Asia, most of what we hear is the news of war, authoritarian regimes, gender discrimination, and religious fundamentalism. But struggling to be heard are the voices of a young generation of people singing, playing, and listening to hard rock, heavy metal, and hip hop, infused with musical elements of their native cultures. It is a movement that has rarely been covered by the news, but it is alive and getting stronger. Influenced by classic American metal bands like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden*, thousands of young people in countries like Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan, are expressing themselves through music, and often being repressed by their governments for crimes such as “satan worship.” Now, a new book by musician and history professor Mark LeVine, chronicles what he calls “Heavy Metal Islam: Rock, Resistance, and the Struggle for the Soul of Islam.” Through interviews with musicians and fans, LeVine introduces a world of young Muslims attempting to reconcile their religion with a passion for music and a desire for positive change. Today we’ll spend the hour with Mark LeVine, and his colleague Reza Aslan about the topic of Heavy Metal Islam.

[*As noted in a comment below, Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden are not American metal bands – they are both from Britain. We apologize for the error!]

For more information, visit heavymetalislam.net and rezaaslan.com.

EVENT INFO: Mark LeVine and Reza Aslan will be at the King King Club, 6553 Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles at 8 pm on Wednesday September 9th. They will be joined by the Iranian metal band Tarantist and by Tunisian musician, MC Rai. For more information and to RSVP call 310-657-5511.

GUESTS: Mark LeVine, musician who has recorded and toured with acclaimed performers including Mick Jagger, Dr. John, Ozomatli, and Hassan Hakmoun. He is also a professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of California – Irvine, and holds a doctorate in Middle Eastern history and Islamic studies.

Reza Aslan, internationally acclaimed author of “No God But God,” and the forthcoming “How to Win a Cosmic War.” He is also the founder and creative director of BoomGen Studios – a motion picture studio dedicated to creative content from and about the Greater Middle East.

In this hour we featured the music of: Orphaned Land, Dam, Arthimoth, The Kordz, Sajid and Zeeshan, Tarantist, Junoon, Caf� Mira, Salome, H-Kayne, as well as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Mark LeVine will be shortly release an album called “Flowers in the Desert”, on EMI featuring 2 dozen artists discussed in his book, Heavy Metal Islam and a few we heard today.