Radicalism and Music: An Introduction to the Music Cultures of al-Qa’ida, Racist Skinheads, Christian-Affiliated Radicals, and Eco-Animal Rights Militants

353 Pages·2015·8.25 MB·English

by  Jonathan Pieslak

Radicalism & Music

Jonathan Pieslak
R A D I C A L I S M & M U S I C
An Introduction to the Music
Cultures of al-Qa’ida, Racist Skinheads,
Christian-Affiliated Radicals,
and Eco-Animal Rights Militants
Wesleyan University Press Middletown, Connecticut
Wesleyan University Press
Middletown, CT 06459
www.wesleyan.edu/wespress
© 2015 Jonathan Pieslak
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Mindy Basinger Hill
Typeset in Minion Pro
Wesleyan University Press is a member of the
Green Press Initiative. The paper used in this book meets their
minimum requirement for recycled paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pieslak, Jonathan R.
Radicalism and music: an introduction to the music cultures
of al-Qa’ida, racist skinheads, Christian-affiliated radicals,
and eco-animal rights militants / Jonathan Pieslak.
pages cm. — (Music culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8195-7583-8 (cloth: alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8195-7584-5 (pbk.: alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8195-7585-2 (ebook)
1. Radicalism and music. 2. Music—Political aspects.
3. Qaida (Organization) 4. Islamic music—Political aspects.
5. Radicalism—Religious aspects. 6. Skinheads.
7. White supremacy movements. 8. Fundamentalism.
9. Environmentalism. 10. Animal rights movement. I. Title.
ML3916.P56 2015
781.5'99—dc23 2015008905
5 4 3 2 1
Cover illustration credits: reddz / 123rf (fire) and
K_attapon / istockphoto.com (earphones)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vii
Opening 1
ONE Al-Qa’ida Culture and Anashid 14
TWO The Music of Racist-Skinhead Culture 45
INTERLUDE Race Faiths and Music —
The Intersection of White Supremacy and Christianity 99
THREE Christian-Affiliated Radicalism and Music 110
FOUR The Music Cultures of Radical Environmental
and Animal Rights Activism 148
FIVE Understanding Music’s Roles in Radical Culture 193
Closing 242
APPENDIX Hardline Manifesto 253
Notes 255
Bibliography 295
Index 317

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to thank my wife, Sabina, first and foremost. Anyone researching the
topics of radicalism and political violence (from any perspective) usually relies
on a network of support that begins and ends with their partner and immedi-
ate family. These people often assume a burden that they did not choose to put
on their shoulders, and Sabina was unwaveringly by my side, offering support
both morally and academically.
Radicalism and Music would not have been possible without the research
funds provided by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which
awarded me a fellowship in 2011. Supporting travel, materials acquisition, and
sabbatical subsidy, this generous funding was pivotal in allowing me to pursue
research in greater depth. I am deeply grateful to the foundation for its support.
Likewise, many scholars and experts made invaluable contributions to the intel-
lectual richness of the study, including, Thomas Hegghammer, Nelly Lahoud, J.
Martin Daughtry, Shiraz Maher, James Deaville, Behnam Said, Anthony Lemieux,
George Gittoes, and any number of scholars who offered insightful reactions to
my work presented at conferences. The graduate students who participated in the
two seminars I ran on this topic at the City College of New York (Fall 2010 and
2012) provided lively discussion and thoughtful engagement with the material.
If there is anyone I have overlooked, please know that it is not intentional and
my gratitude is abundant.
Thanks to everyone at Wesleyan University Press, in particular Parker
Smathers and the series editors, who provided thoughtful direction to the project.
Additionally, a debt of gratitude is due to the three anonymous reviewers who
offered comments and criticisms that strengthened and solidified my arguments.
I would also like to thank my family and friends, among them: Shaugn O’Donnell,
Heather Laurel, Chadwick Jenkins, Joe Popp, Mauro Botelho, Kevin Korsyn,
and all of my friends who helped in varying ways along this journey. My family
was a major source of support and encouragement over the years, especially my
mother, who always expressed interest in what I was up to.
Finally, I would like to thank all of those who participated in the ethnography
of this study. My interactions with those involved in radicalism have ranged
from a few e-mails or a short discussion to written correspondences over a
period of years. In many ways, the topic of music provided us with a common
ground on which to bond. I was able to find paths to friendship through our
shared musical preferences rather than enmity through our political, social, or
religious differences. We may not share the same worldview, but by participat-
ing in this study those involved in radicalism have deepened my understanding
of how people arrive at violence as a means of expression — and, for that, I am
particularly grateful.
viii Acknowledgments
OPENING
I look forward to our correspondence on the subject of music and radical
environmentalism/Animal Lib. This is a subject I really love to talk about
as music has played an instrumental (no pun intended) role
in my development as an activist.
E-mail to the author from Walter Bond, Animal Liberation Front Activist
There are few subjects I love more than this. . . .
Music is much of my life, music certainly played a role in my getting
involved with the cause for the preservation of our White people because
I felt that a people capable of such greatness as classical music — something
unique to the White Race — must surely be preserved.
Letter to the author from Rev. Matthew Hale, Leader of the Creativity Movement
It is hard to imagine that the authors of these two quotations could represent
more distant ideological orientations: vegan militancy and sacred white power.
Walter Bond’s political worldview grants moral equivalency to all sentient beings,
providing the justification for his multiple acts of arson committed in the name
of animal liberation. Rev. Matthew Hale is the figurehead of a white-power race
faith, the Creativity Movement, which asserts white racial supremacy on the
basis of natural, “creative” law. Nonetheless, their commonalities are numerous,
including present-day incarceration, the self-ascribed denomination of “political
prisoner,” and the advocacy of violence as a means of political change. They also
share a deep love of music. For both, music was a pivotal catalyst in their radi-
calization and in the ideological reinforcement that motivated them to commit
acts of political violence. Such thought-provoking circumstances kindled the
impetus for the topics explored in this book.