(un)Common Sounds

by Sooi Ling Tan (Editor), William A Dyrness (Foreword by), Roberta R King (Editor)

Overview

In troubled times of heightened global tensions and conflict, (un)Common Sounds: Songs of Peace and Reconciliation among Muslims and Christians explores the contribution of music and the performing arts to peacebuilding and interfaith dialogue in interreligious settings. It asks the simple but endlessly complex question: How is music and song used in our faiths and daily lives to foster peace and reconciliation? Focusing on the two largest world religions that together comprise more than 55% of the world's population, the essays address the complexities of embodied, lived religious traditions by moving across and linking a range of disciplines: ethnomusicology (the intersection of music and culture), peacemaking, Islamic studies, and Christian theology. Based on research in the Middle East, North Africa, and Indonesia, context-specific case studies serve to identify and reflect on the significant roles of music and the performing arts in fostering sustainable peace. (un)Common Sounds investigates the dynamics of peacebuilding and interfaith dialogue as they relate to music's transformative roles in conflict and post-conflict settings. Classroom tested, (un)Common Sounds also provides discussion questions and projects for each chapter, a companion Web site (www.songsforpeaceproject.org), and an available documentary film to enhance learning in the academy, nongovernmental organizations, and religious groups.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625644886
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	11/18/2014
Series:	Art for Faith's Sake
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Roberta R. King, PhD, is Associate Professor of Communication and Ethnomusicology, Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies, California, USA. Her publications include Pathways in Christian Music Communication: The Case of the Senufo of Cote d'Ivoire and Music in the Life of the African Church.

Sooi Ling Tan, PhD, is an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Fuller Theological Seminary and Adjunct Lecturer, Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary, Malaysia. Her publications include Transformative Among the Salako of Sarawak, Malaysia and "Transformative Worship in the Malaysian Context."

Table of Contents

Resource Links and Accompanying Multimedia vii

List of Illustrations vii

Notes on Transliteration and Translation x

Notes on Contributors xi

Foreword William Dyrness xiii

Foreword Najeeba Syeed-Miller xv

Acknowledgments xvii

Prologue 1

From Beirut to Yogyakarta Roberta R. King Sooi Ling Tan

Introduction: Pursuing Songs of Peace and Reconciliation Roberta R. King 17

Part 1 Historical Contexts

1 Muslim-Christian Relations and Peacemaking in the Arab World Jon Hoover 51

2 Peacemaking in the Indonesian Context Bernard Adeney-Risakotta 71

Part 2 Theological Considerations

3 Biblical Approaches to Music and Peace James R. Krabill 87

4 A Peaceful Message beyond the Permission of Warfare (Jihad): An Interpretation of Qur'an 22:39-40 Sahiron Syamsuddin 104

5 Cantillation as a Convergence Point of the Musical Traditions of the Abrahamic Religions Nidaa Abou Mrad 117

Part 3 Multi-Disciplinary Explorations

The Middle East and North Africa

6 Musical Gateways to Peace and Reconciliation: The Dynamics of Imagined Worlds of Spirituality at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music Roberta R. King 135

7 Performing toward Peace: Investigations into the Process of Peace-building through Shared Music in Libya Jared Holton 158

8 The Art of Tawshih: Reflections of Cooperation in Sufi Music Mustafa Said 178

9 Music for Peace and Reconciliation from Lebanon Marcel Akiki 194

Indonesia

10 Voices of Peace and Reconciliation in Contemporary Islamic Music: The Kyai Kanieng and Suarasama Music Ensembles Rithaony Hutajulu 210

11 A Samanic Messenger: Interfaith Dialogue through Art Performance Irwansyah Harahap 229

12 Peacesongs: Forging Musical Peace Communitas among the Youth of Indonesia Sooi Ling Tan 245

Part 4 Pathways toward Peace

13 Musical Pathways toward Peace and Reconciliation Roberta R. King Sooi Ling Tan 267

14 Employing Musical Pathways of Peace and Reconciliation Roberta R. King Sooi Ling Tan 295

Appendix 303

Glossary (Arabic) 305

Glossary (Indonesian) 311

Index of Names, Terms, and Subjects 315

Scripture Index 327

Song Title Index 329

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"(un)Common Sounds shows how the common sounds between Muslims and Christians have intensified from the clanging of swords to the thunder of bombs. By holding consultations and concerts in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the authors have shown that when swords are beaten into flutes on their way to becoming plowshares, people's feelings, thinking, and behavior are changed so that they can hear the still small voice of the God of Abraham and Jesus whom their Scriptures proclaim. Then as friends they can better deal with their differences and the (un) can be removed from 'Common Sounds.'"
—J. Dudley Woodberry, Dean emeritus, School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA

Editorial Reviews

"(un)Common Sounds shows how the common sounds between Muslims and Christians have intensified from the clanging of swords to the thunder of bombs. By holding consultations and concerts in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, the authors have shown that when swords are beaten into flutes on their way to becoming plowshares, people's feelings, thinking, and behavior are changed so that they can hear the still small voice of the God of Abraham and Jesus whom their Scriptures proclaim. Then as friends they can better deal with their differences and the (un) can be removed from 'Common Sounds.'"
—J. Dudley Woodberry, Dean emeritus, School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA

From the Publisher