Hometown News

This picture was taken at al-Ain as-Sukhna, a beach on the Red Sea that looks out into Sinai if you squint reeeeeally hard.


From my local newspaper, courtesy of my my dearest, darlingest mother:

'First Muslim country singer' got start in Iowa City

Brian Morelli • Iowa City Press-Citizen • June 23, 2008

A man being tabbed as the first known Muslim country and western singer got his start in Iowa City.

After self-releasing two albums through an Iowa City recording studio, Kareem Salama is starting to catch on, and people are telling him he is one of a kind.

“That’s what they say, that he is the first Muslim country music singer. But, I don’t know that for a fact,” the 2007 University of Iowa College of Law alumnus said.

The son of Egyptian immigrants, Salama was raised in Oklahoma and Texas where twangy rhythms are the norm. With a thick Southern accent, the devout Muslim said the country sound is a natural fit for him.

“I sing country music and since I am a Muslim it surprises people, but it shouldn’t be a surprise because a lot of people where I grew up like country music,” the 30-year-old who currently resides in Southeast Texas said.

He graduated from University of Oklahoma with a degree in chemical engineering, and came to UI in 2004. Salama’s interest is intellectual property law, something he said he will eventually practice.

Writing music and poetry has been a hobby since he was a child, but after receiving positive feedback performing at a Muslim-American conference, Salama decided to push it a little further.

He returned from the conference and connected in 2005 with Aristotle Mihalopoulos, a producer who has a music studio called Inner Light Records on Benton Street.

Salama released albums Generous Peace in 2006 and This Life of Mine in 2007. He has a European tour scheduled this summer.

“I didn’t do any shows while I was in Iowa, but Iowa was where my interests and meeting the right people came together,” he said.

Salama returns periodically to work on his music with Mihalopoulos. In fact, he is in Iowa City presently.

“He is honest and sincere in his music,” Mihalopoulos said. “I think the reception to the material has been very accepting. People seem to really get it, which is great.”

Salama writes positive songs about virtues, chivalry and nobility, he said. He is a fan of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and said he brings a philosophical approach to his music.

Attention has been pouring in. New York Times and Christian Science Monitor each had pieces, and he appeared on Fox News.

“I don’t know how they feel about Muslims, but they seem to be alright with me. I am judged based on the beauty or lack there of in my music,” he said.

(accessed online at .)

Is this news? Is this good news because we are proving ourselves to be open-minded individuals who encourage artistic expression from all people irrespective of their backgrounds? Is this actually bad news in that ultimately we are essentializing somebody, taking his most "controversial" feature and using it as our primary tool for interpreting this man's actions? Is this just stupid news because who really cares what religion your country singer prefers (and who really cares about country music at any rate)?