Mark LeVine on his discovery of “well developed metal scenes across the Muslim world”:

The first time I learned of the existence of such scenes, in an expensive hotel bar in Fes, Morocco, I realized that if the mixture of metal and Islam made me rethink my understanding of Islam and Muslim cultures after more than a decade studying, traveling and working around the Muslim world, it would be an even bigger shock to people who knew far less about them than I did.

Read the full interview at Religion Dispatches.