Native Deen: Islamic Hip Hop Group Out With New Recordings

You may remember that I met up with the US based hip hop group Native Deen here in Dubai over a year ago. (Deen means “religion”) We had some great conversation about truth and comparative religions. They’ve just come out with a new recording. And here is the music video from the group.

Native Deen: Islamic Rap from Baltimore in Dubai

During the most recent Eid a group of students from a local University put on a festival to raise money for a Muslim charity. The center-piece of their event was a Baltimore based Islamic rap group called Native Deen. This group was fascinating.

They are orthodox Muslims (not Nation of Islam… i.e. Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan). And all their music is about Islam. It’s a like Christian rock/pop only with an Islamic focus.

After the show was over I met up with some of the band and we had some discussion about Islam and Christianity. It was great fun talking with them and very interesting to hear some of their story.

One of the three guys, Joshua Salaam, told me at some length about how his story of growing up as an African-American Muslim. His mother’s family had once been Nation of Islam but his mom had eventually moved away from that and into orthodox Islam. He had also served in the US military for some time and had discussions with fellow troops who where Christians.

I do want to touch on one particular thing he talked about centered on Jesus. The one story he wanted to talk about was his view of the Garden of Gethsemane. His recounting of the scene and the associated question went something like this:

“As a Muslim I don’t believe Jesus intended to be arrested and to die. Muslims don’t believe that Jesus actually died on the cross, rather they believe that Jesus was replaced with someone else by God. If you think Jesus did die willingly why did Jesus arm his followers with swords and station them as a force to protect him in the Garden of Gethsemane? And why did he return to their stations and get upset with them for getting drunk? I don’t think Jesus wanted to get arrested or to be sentenced to death on a cross.”

It’s been a couple months since the conversation so it’s a rough approximation though I think fair. And I must add that many well-read Muslims wouldn’t agree with Joshua on his recounting of the events on Jesus’ last night before death.

Here was/is my response to him.

Jesus fully intended and expected to be arrested, sentenced to death, tortured, and killed. He repeated this prediction many times during his ministry leading up to that night. Here are some references just from the book of Luke… 9:22, 9:44, 11:30, 13:33, 18:31-33, 20:9-15, 22:20.

Further, Jesus instructs his followers to buy swords so that scriptures will be fulfilled about him rather than to actually defend him. They buy two swords for a total of twelve men and Jesus says that is enough. He clearly means that it will be enough to fulfill the prophecy. It would also clearly be NOT enough for twelve fishermen types to defend themselves against armed Temple guards who would come to seize him. The reference is in Luke 22:36-38. Later, when one of them does pull out a sword and begins to fight Jesus stops him because he has clearly not understood why they had the swords in the first place.

And lastly, Jesus didn’t post them as an armed guard. He posted them to pray (Luke 22:40) and there is no mention of alcohol in any of the Gospel accounts. Jesus returns to find them sleeping rather than praying (Luke 22:45,46).

Well, that sets the record straight I think. Do go and see the Native Deen website, they are an interesting phenomenon. And see their latest video here.

Martin Luther on the Prophets

I read the book of Micah from the Old Testament over the last two days. I hadn’t read in the prophets in a while and it was both refreshing and challenging.

If you haven’t read any of the prophets you should try. But you need to learn a little of the cultural context to even begin to piece together what they are trying to say. Once you do it’s a really ‘rich’ message.

After I finished reading it I thought, “I understood some but what did that or that or that mean?”. So I picked up my Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series and read the introduction to the commentary on Micah. In it, Martin Luther was quoted as saying…

(The prophets) have a queer way of talking, like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next, so that you cannot make head or tail of them or see what they are getting at.”

Now this sounds like a guy I could get along with! I really like his honest appraisal.

Regardless of how it can be difficult to understand them, here are a few great verses from Micah. Maybe it will draw you in.

4:1 In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
2 People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.

Also,

6:8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

And lastly,

7:18 Where is another God like you,
who pardons the guilt of the remnant,
overlooking the sins of his special people?
You will not stay angry with your people forever,
because you delight in showing unfailing love.
19 Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

This last verse is where this Audio Adrenaline song comes from… here
Read the lyrics… here