Islamic music

• Arabic music
• Egyptian music
• Iranian music
• Turkish classical music

All of these regions were connected by trade long before the Islamic conquests of the 7th century, and it is likely that musical styles travelled the same routes as trade goods. However, lacking recordings, we can only speculate as to the pre-Islamic music of these areas. Islam must have had a great influence on music, as it united vast areas under the first caliphs, and facilitated trade between distant lands. Certainly, the Sufis, brotherhoods of Muslim mystics, spread their music far and wide.

The Berber and Arabic speaking countries of North Africa, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, share some musical traditions with Egypt and the Arab countries of the Middle East. Popular modern styles of music such as Raï and Chaabi originated in Berber counties. In addition, West African influences can be heard in the popular music of Gnawa.

• Music of Algeria
• Music of Morocco

Somali oud player Nuruddin Ali Amaan.

Most Somali music is based on the pentatonic scale. That is, the songs only use five pitches per octave in contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale. At first listen, Somali music might be mistaken for the sounds of nearby regions such as Ethiopia, Sudan or Eritrea, but it is ultimately recognizable by its own unique tunes and styles. Somali songs are usually the product of collaboration between lyricists (midho), songwriters (lahan), and singers ('odka or "voice").[1] Instruments prominently featured in Somali music include the kaban (oud).

Islam is the largest and oldest organized religion in this region, although indigenous Sahelian and Saharan styles and genres are more prominent than those influenced by Middle-Eastern theory.

West African musical genres are more varied, and tend to incorporate both native and Berber influences, rather than those of Arab origin. A long history of court griot music based on historical accounts and praise-singing exists in the region. Wind and string instruments, such as the Kora harp, xalam lute, or Tambin flute (similar to the ney) are generally preferred to percussion, although percussion instruments such as the talking drum and djembe are also widely played among Muslim populations

Many of the countries in Central Asia such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have been heavily influenced by Turkic and Persian culture. Bowed instruments are common, as is bardic singing.

• Music of Central Asia

The music of the Muslim countries of South Asia (Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan) as well as countries with sizeable Muslim minorities (India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) merged Middle Eastern genres with indigenous classical musical modes, and is generally distinct in style and orchestration, yet due to the strong links encountered between the Middle-East, Central Asia, and South Asia, it is closer to Middle-Eastern styles than those of the periphery of the Islamic world, which tend to be purely indigenous.

Folk music of Balochistan, Pakistan

• Music of Bangladesh
• Music of Maldives
• Music of Pakistan

Indonesian Sundanese Gamelan Degung

Muslim-majority Indonesia has been significantly less influenced by Middle Eastern traditions than South Asia. As a result, many local musical styles predate the coming of Islam, although exceptions include Malay Zapin and Joget, and the Indonesian Gambus, all of which show strong Middle Eastern influence.

There are also local music genres in Muslim-majority regions in Southeast Asia that are influenced by Arabian traditions, such as the tagonian of the Sundanese people and glipang of the people of Probolinggo

The music of South East Asia's Muslim-majority regions is more closely related to the musical genres of South East and East Asia. Gong chime ensembles such as Gamelan and Kulintang existed in the region before the arrival of Islam, and musical theory and method owe more to heavy Chinese influence, as well as Hindu-Buddhist principles, than to Arabic musical philosophy. Variations of one of two main scales prevail in the region among different ensembles: slendro and pelog (both of which originated in Java).

In Java, use of the gamelan for Islamic devotional music was encouraged by the Muslim saint Sunan Kalijogo.

Nasheeds are moral, religious songs sung in various melodies by some Muslims of today without any musical instruments. However, some nasheed groups use percussion instruments, such as the daff. Singing moral songs of this type without instrumentation is considered permissible (halal) by many Muslims.

Sufi worship services are often called dhikr or zikr. See that article for further elaboration.

The dhikr of South Asian Muslims is "quietist". The Sufi services best known in the West are the chanting and rhythmic dancing of the whirling dervishes or Mevlevi Sufis of Turkey.

However, Sufis may also perform devotional songs in public, for the enjoyment and edification of listeners. The mood is religious, but the gathering is not a worship service.

In Turkey, once the seat of the Ottoman Empire and the Caliphate, concerts of sacred song are called "Mehfil-e-Sama' " (or "gathering of Sama'"). Song forms include ilahi and nefe.

In South Asia, especially Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, a widely known style of Sufi music is qawwali. A traditional qawwali programme would include:

• A hamd—a song in praise of Allah
• A na`at—a song in praise of Muhammad
• Manqabats—songs in praise of the illustrious teachers of the Sufi brotherhood to which the musicians belong
• Ghazals—songs of intoxication and yearning, which use the language of romantic love to express the soul's longing for union with the divine.

Shi'a qawwali performances typically follow the naat with a manqabat in praise of Ali, and sometimes a marsiya, a lamentation over the death of much of Ali's family at the Battle of Karbala.

The most well-known qawwali singer in modern times is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Another traditional South Asian genre of Sufi music is the Kafi, which is more meditative and involves solo singing as opposed to the ensemble form seen in qawwali. The most widely known exponent of the Kafi is the Pakistani singer Abida Parveen.

Sufi music has developed with the times. A Pakistani Sufi rock band, Junoon, was formed in the 1990s to bring a modern twist to suit the new younger generation. The band achieved wide popularity, in Pakistan as well as in the West.

• Ta'zieh music—Ta'zieh is a passion play, part musical drama, part religious drama, rarely performed outside Iran. It depicts the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, venerated by Shia Muslims.
• Ashurah music—performed during the Muharram mourning period, commemorating the deaths of Imam Hussein and his followers. (Shia)
• Thikiri (from the Arabic word "Dhikr" which means remembrance of God—performed by the Qadiriyya Sufi orders of waYao or Yao people in East and Southern Africa (Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa).
• Manzuma—moral songs performed in Ethiopia.
• Madih nabawi—Arabic hymns praising Muhammad.

Based upon the authentic Twelver ahadith, numerous Iranian Grand Ayatollahs; Sadiq Hussaini Shirazi, Mohammad-Reza Golpaygani, Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, Ahmad Jannati and others, ruled that all music and instrument playing is haram, no matter the purpose.[18][19][20] Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini held similar religious position, stating on 23 July 1979: “If you want independence for your country, you must suppress music and not fear to be called old‐fashioned. Music is a betrayal of the nation and of youth.”[21] During the Iranian Revolution, Khomeini said: "...music is like a drug, whoever acquires the habit can no longer devote himself to important activities. We must completely eliminate it."[22] From 1979 to 1989, all the music on radio and television was banned except occasional “revolutionary songs” that were performed in a strong martial style.[23] After Khomeini's death, reformist Rafsanjani and Khatami administrations gradually lifted the ban on music. The current supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in 2014 has stated his admiration of Western music,[24] and nowadays music is officially permitted in Iran by the government as long as it is either Iranian folk music, Iranian classical music, or Iranian pop music.[25]