Heavy metal unites Jews, Muslims across Middle East

The following story was taken from Jerusalem Post news:

Sometimes change happens in the most unlikely ways, fostered by the most unlikely people. In the past few years, while Israel's relationship with the Arab and Muslim world has drastically deteriorated, an Israeli heavy metal band has been uniting thousands of Jews and Muslims across the Middle East.

Orphaned Land, Israel’s biggest heavy metal band, are credited both with pioneering the genre of Middle Eastern metal and – to many people’s surprise – with garnering thousands of fans in the Muslim and Arab world: from Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Iran (despite the fact that their music is banned in many of those countries).

Many of those followers are diehard fans: they travel far to get to Orphaned Land concerts (mainly in Turkey); have a strong facebook presence; tattoo the band’s logo on their bodies; create Orphaned Land artwork; play covers of the band and post them online; and even dance to their music in weddings.

Orphaned Land, who are not overtly political, are nevertheless proud of having created a reality of coexistence that has escaped politicians and peacemakers. They often speak of the power of music to turn purported enemies into friends; frequently pay homage and encourage collaborations with Arab and Muslim artists; and have made their latest album free to download for anyone in a number of Middle Eastern and North African countries.

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Tags:  Orphaned land, Century Media Records   

ROI BEN-YEHUDA    May 09, 2012