‘Nashīd’ Between Islamic Chanting And Jihadi Hymns: Continuities and Transformations

Abstract

Nashīd in its English spelling nasheed and mediatised on the internet is a relatively new phenomenon. Nashīd as a musical practice, by contrast, is old. This chapter analyses nashīd as both a technical term and as a vocal genre. Today, the term nashīd may denote quite different sonic manifestations, ranging from traditional praise songs to the prophet Muḥammad and prayers to religious pop songs and military marches. The chapter focuses on the developments since the early twentieth century and examines the musical roots and styles of the different types of nashīd that are known today. It offers a brief glimpse into traditional practices of nashīd (i.e. inshād) and suggests a categorisation for the different manifestations of modern nashīd, based on musical characteristics and functions. These are (1) political hymns, (2) traditional inshād, (3) popularised nasheed and, finally, (4) the Jihadi anāshīd (sg. nashīd), which musically draw from all three preceding categories.