UK Indymedia | Islamophobia and censorship in Britain

The Sun calls him the suicide bomb rapper, MPs want him arrested and his record company refuses to support his latest album. But would his treatment be the same if he were white?

Aki Nawaz says Exposing the inherent colonial mentality of the British
State is an honour and worth any consequence in any shape or form.

Public debate with Aki Nawaz of urban act Fun-Da-Mental...

All is War (the Benefits of G-Had), the as-yet unreleased album from
Fun-Da-Mental, has already caused a storm. Its direct political lyrics
dealing with terrorism, war, Muslim identity and western hypocrisy have
provoked outrage from politicians and the press, prompting Radio 1 to ban
it from its playlist and the distributors to declare it too hot to handle.

Yet as Nawaz points out in one of his songs, his message is no more radical
than that of white figures like Pinter, Pilger or Chomsky.

Red Pepper will be holding a public debate on Thursday 17 August,
discussing whether Nawazs treatment has highlighted a dangerous fusing of
Islamophobia and censorship, making us deaf to the grievances of Muslims.

Red Peppers editor Hilary Wainwright said: Muslims and Non-Muslims must
speak to defend democracy at a time when our Prime Minister is effectively
implicating the UK in war crimes. The institutions of democracy are being
overriden by the subservience to the US. Its up to all of us to recreate
democracy ourselves wherever we can. Support for Aki and his rights to be
published and promote debate will be a test case in resisting the fear and
intimation that is letting the government literally get away with murder.
This is why Red Pepper is strongly supporting him.

Aki Nawaz said: Muslims and Non-Muslims must speak out whether on the
streets or from their prison cells. Democracy has been insulted when
through fear and intimidation we are conditioned to side with those that
are drenched in the blood of thousands of human beings. These parasitesmust
be overturned. Exposing the inherent colonial mentality of the British
State is an honour and worth any consequence in any shape or form.

Also on the platform will be renowned human rights lawyer Louise Christian,
Natacha Atlas, Ken Fero of Injustice Films, John Pandit of Asian Dub
Foundation and Shahrar Ali of the Green Party.

6.45pm, Thursday 17th August
RampART, 15-17 Rampart Street, London, E1 2LA (off Commercial Road)

For further information contact Fiona Osler on 07734 079 757

Yeah but I don't imagine Radio 1 would play a rap song by Chomsky, Pilger or Pinter either.

(Though Radio 1 constantly played Mass Destruction by Faithless the other year...)

There's a fine line between a valid debate over censorship and freedom of expression and deliberately trying to be provocative as a cheap publicity stunt to plug records. I've not heard any of this guy's music yet so I can't judge it - I'm looking forward to hearing it, though. I hope he's not the musical equivalent of Aaron Baarshack. Or that rapping rabbi.

If you think this is bandwagon jumping, have a trawl through their back catalogue or google some interviews. Nothing's changed except that non-white people with opinions are suddenly a political hot potato.

The BBC wouldnt go near broadcasting anything thats 'islamophobic' so anything thats 'Westernophobic' should surely be treated the same, thats equality.

Radio one played the Tony Benn rap song so I think your point is pointless.

Radio 1 played Tony Benn rapping? I'm sorry I missed that.

(Hope it was better than the Blur song when they got Ken Livingstone to deliver the lyrics in a monotone.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/2997424.stm

Yo, what's happenin, man?

Yo, they tryin to come down on the ATL when whe speak

They say we on a negative tip

What's up?

[ VERSE 1: Cold 187um ]

Now I'ma kick a way-out style that's smoother than usual

It's from Above The Law, so see, it's crucial

Hype beats are kickin and rippin, yo, with a funky touch

It's done the Ruthless way, some say it's too much

D-o-p-e, please don't misdefine it

That's the way that I live and, that's the style of my rhyme

That's on time, just like your watch keeps tickin

(KM.G) on my side, so that my knowledge keeps stickin

Now what's really known as a radio cut?

When you can's say (shit) and you can't say (fuck)

I really think you wanna hear it

But the radio stations, you see, they still gonna fear it

Yo, I thought this country was based upon freedom of speech

Freedom of press, freedom of your own religion

To make your own decision, now that's baloney

Cause if I gotta play by your rules, I'm bein phoney

Yo, I got to cater to this person or that person

I got to rhyme for the white or the black person?

Why can't it all be equal?

Music is a universal language for all people

I better get off the rebellious tip

Before somebody out there say I'm startin to slip

I ain't trippin, I'm steadily flowin and throwin

Givin you a dope style

Keepin me on top of the pile

Cause ATL'll soon take over the nation

And if you don't wanna hear us, well, change the station

Boo! I sneak in your mind your mind

Sink in your mind, creep from behind

So fast that you won't have time

To deny a brother that's from the streets

Tryin to teach, hopin to reach

Yo, 187's not one that's known to preach

But I wish for each to have freedom of speech

(Congress shall make no law

Respecting an establishment of religion

Or prehibiting the free exercise thereof

Or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press)

[ VERSE 2: Cold 187um ]

They'll milk you to make it understood

They make it good, so that it taste real good

To you, so see, you fall right in it

Your minds are small, they feed you like infants

Like children they'll bring you along

They say we're wrong for makin a rap song

But ATL'll hit you straight up jam after jam

Long as we say what we want, make our stamps, we don't give a damn

Those that wanna sell out need to get the fuck out the business

Cause they ain't doin nothin but bluffin

Me, I get wild every rhyme I release

Whether I talk about violence or talk about peace

Cause violence is somethin that happens in society

When people are livin low and don't kow where they can go

But peace, I think we all want peace

But it's too much to face, and it's too far to reach

Whether I say my rhymes fast, slow, sloppy or neat

See, I wish when I'm doin, to have freedom of speech

(Congress shall make no law

Respecting an establishment of religion

Or prehibiting the free exercise thereof

Or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press)

[ VERSE 3: Cold 187um ]

Now if they ban me, I don't give a fuck

Chalk it up as experience (yeah, bad luck)

Because I'm ballin with Laylaw's clout

And if he say that it stays, the shit comes out

Cause in the early days when rap first began

Some fool jumped up and said it soon would end

But nowadays I hear song after song

And it proved to me that the fool was wrong

So yo, cut the bullshit, all set aside

It's time for the people to realize

About the things that happen in the ghetto which those try to hide

When they know we just strive to survive

(The homie said he'd have a job, if you'd give him a break)

But when he gets it (he goes by the other man's ways)

Now see, there's just one more thing I have to talk about

'bout how they say rap music is turnin kids out

You got to give your child credit for what he can do

Plus the way that they're raised is really up to you

Rap music, a form of literature

Words and verbs and adjectives

Painted up like a picture

Yo, it's gonna hitcha, yo, it's gonna getcha

And when I'm all finished up, it's gonna fitcha

(Hittin the nation) station to station (heavy rotation)

So strong that it's keepin the pace, and

We will speak out on any situation

But while we're doin

Yo, we gotta have freedom of speech

[ KM.G ]

Yeah - see, that's how we had to do that

Yo, I gotta give it up to all my homeboys

That got freedom of speech

Yo, Cold 187

Ice Cube

MC Ren

The deadly Dr. Dre

Eazy-E

The G-o M-a-c-k

Total Koss housin thangs

Ruthless in the muthafuckin house

Yo, to my homie D.O.C.

And Laylaw with the clout

And we out

Hey
whickety whack
tickety tack
dont attack
what you dont understand
the cultcha
of da brudders
of da anger
of muslims picked on
fun da mental
are not fundamentalists
so go get pissed
on white cider
if you dont like dis
message
to y'all
Word up to the east end posse!
word up to all the brudders outs there!
dont attack us
not you monica
not you Guardian journo
its time you played
fun da mental
and hear da truth

will the real muhammad haque please stand up?
OR IS M HAQUE NOT A REAL PERSON BUT A MUTUALLY USED PSEUDONYMN?
OR is M haque a guardian journo?
or does M haque work for the MI5?
or is M haque simply bored and has nothing better to do than make up crappy rhymes?

This is a very brief note in response to the post asking for my response/comment:

But I am not bored; in fact I am busy doing the campaign sorting out the boring paper work and overseeing the research on the overdue court action that Khoodeelaar! Against Crossrail.

That includes

The Secretary of State
The mayor of London
Transport for London
Tower Hamlets Councillors
Certain bureaucrats and others
[The list is far longer than it is possible to publish at this moment].

We are taking the Secretary of State [D Alexander and if possible his predecessor in post A Darling] to court initially in a judicial review procedure and later perhaps under other 'remedies'.

Also, we are seeking reviews of the behaviour of the bureaucracy that is called the Crsosrail Bill Select Committee in the UK House of Commons

One thought though:

Only because it is possible to make personally poisonous and abusive comments does not mean that we have to do it. If we did that then the whole idea fod intelligent and enlightened debate goes out the window.

I wait for the day when we can apply the due restraint and basic respect on indymedia and actually create a standard of debate that does rise above and stay above the printed media and the existing BBC and ITV etc status quo.

tick tack toe
you just a ho
monica ali
like monica lewinsky
cum in yr mouth
you cant go south
dont attack
mohammed haque
not m hack
cos i dont work for da
guardian or bill clinton
you cant stop khooledar
no, not by far

Hey

Mohammed haque, yr poetry is getting better. i like the comparison betweem the two monica's. and oral sex is a good image to have in your head to bring to mind how low monica ali has fallen. ( or how low you would like her to go in yr mind which is the same thing) i think this the the true left wing libertarian poetry of our time.

15.08.2006 09:43

Islamophobia and censorship in Britain

Comments

Yeah, but...

Fun-da-mental have been around donkey's years and have always been activists

Sounds ok to me

yeah but no but

Tony Benn rapping

MC Tony Benn in the muthafuckin house

dont attack

dont attack

will the real muhammad haque please stand up?

Muhammad Haque is busy preparing court action against Crossrail !

poetry please

poetry getting better

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