A useful article from the L.A. Times on French-Congolese rapper Abd al Malik, a member of the hip-hop group New African Poets (N.A.P.). Useful in that it provides a different image from the predominant one of Muslims in France's urban ghettoes (banlieues), who are frequently depicted as congenitally disposed to extremist, jihadist Islam. Abd al Malik is a critic of the jihadis and a devotee of Sidi Hamza, a Sufi spiritual leader from Morocco.
Hisham Aidi discusses French Muslim hip-hop and its involvement in struggles against racism, promoting Arab-white-black dialogue, and positions on 9/11 in his article, "Let Us Be Moors: Islam, Race and 'Connected Histories'" (Middle East Report 229, 2003).
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