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Today Lebanese born Swedish R&B global super star singer @maherzain released “Break the Chains,” a video tied to #BlacklivesMatter, the protests linked to death of #Georgefloyd. Zain has 25 million fans on Facebook and 1.7 million followers on Twitter. bit.ly/2D3PTY9 1/x
Zain’s previous videos, such as “Nabi Salam Alayka,” have gone viral. Between 2015 and 2017 alone, his videos were viewed over 2 billion times on YouTube. They have been filmed in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. 2/x .
In “Break the Chains,” Zain sings over poignant black and white pictures of protesters, including a picture of (1) a Black Lives Matter sign, (2) a montage of Floyd and others recently killed, (3) and Muslims praying in New York City at a protest. 3/x
The lyrics (in English) tell the listener that “I know how it feels to lose everything,” freedom seems far away, and it feels like nothing will ever change. But they also offer hope. 4/x
Zain sings that nothing can hold him down, nothing will break his heart, and that he will break all the chains. He will forgive and that God has given the courage to live with honor and dignity. 5/x
The video also includes quotations from the prophet Muhammad on race along with suggestions on how to combat racism. 6/x
The video was a group effort, with lyrics written by Zain, Bara Kherigi, and Paddy Dalton. It was produced by British Muslim Music Company Awakening records, which has produced other leading Muslim artists and is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2020. 7/x
The themes of “Break the Chains” are ones he has touched on before. Maher Zain's 2010 video, “Insha Allah” shows torture and police brutality, including against a black woman with a baby. 8/
“Insha Allah” has been viewed 92 million times on YouTube: 9/x
That song, which was part of his first album, “Thank You Allah,” channeled the mood of the Arab Spring and the Muslim World generally in 2010. And, I as argue in the Atlantic, this album helped propel him to stardom globally: bit.ly/2By7Cqc. 10/x
“Break the Chains”—like his video in 2010—channels the mood of his community, especially Western Muslims who strongly support the protests from #Nashville to #New York to #Nottingham. 11/x wpln.org/post/protester…
The killing of Floyd has also raised complicated class and racial issues for them, explored on shows like @Ramy. Floyd was killed after he was reported to Minneapolis Police by employees of the Muslim-owned Cup Foods in Minneapolis. 12/x bit.ly/2VGpfeA
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