Conceived in 2017 following Donald Trump’s election victory, this Durham, North Carolina punk trio (who are all Muslims) formed as singer QADR says to express their “experiences that make you wake up and push back against the normativeness of society”.
Taking inspiration from classic punk and Afropunk roots, bands including Agent Orange, Bad Brains, The Replacements, and Fugazi have been cited as influences. Alongside these bands, the Dead Kennedy’s (known for “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”) also deserve credit. As singer QADR said in 2018, “If it wasn’t for white supremacy, The Muslims band wouldn’t exist…”
Whilst Fuck These Fuckin Fascists is the band’s first LP release with Epitaph, this band has several prior LP’s and EP releases which have delivered powerful messages and introduced aspects of the Muslim faith people would otherwise be less aware of. For example, the opening track to their self-titled debut LP “Agent Orange” is lyrically unveiled “He’s a racist ass bitch. You know what it is. Build a wall and a fence. We’ll still get in….” Likewise, “America the Great” from their sophomore effort Mayo Supreme addressed the topic of assimilation “Try to be a good American! Pledge that flag, I’m a citizen, But they hate me cuz of melanin, and they say it’s in my head”.
The second track to their debut LP “Adhan” is “the Islamic call to prayer” amidst a punk backdrop lasting just under 90 seconds. On their debut, there is a track called “Bismillah”, which means “In the name of God” in Arabic. The Muslims 2020 LP Gentrified Chicken opened with “Blame it On Mohammad” with the heavyweight lyrics “Oh my fuckin god, Johnnys gon’ down to Walmart. Oh my fuckin god, Bobbys bought himself an AR… Bismillah, Oh Bismillah. He’s going to shoot a synagogue. Praise be, Oh Praise be. I know he’s comin’ for me….” Gentrified Chicken also has a track called “Sura Sura”, which refers to “any of the main divisions, or chapters, of the Koran”.
One of The Muslims most deft songs, the playout track to Gentrified Chicken, and probably most alarming lyrically is their parody to Blink 182’s “What’s My Age Again?”, entitled “Blink 9-11 (What’s My Race Again?)” reflects a haunting reality for many people globally. The following lyrics captivate this reality “That’s about the time it fuckin dawned on me. Nobody loves you when you’re black and free. I shoulda checked the demographics first. What the hell is wrong with me? That bitch said I don’t act my race. What’s my race again, what’s my race again…?”
The 12 track Fuck These Fuckin Fascists contains the new singles “Fuck These Fuckin Fascists” and “Unity”. Whilst extremely brief (lasting just under 24 minutes), Fuck These Fuckin Fascists doesn’t waste time or allows for restlessness; thus, it is indeed “All Killer No Filler”. Fuck These Fuckin Fascists taps into the zeitgeist with songs including “Coronavirus” along with comical lyrics such as the playout “John McCain’s Ghost Sneaks into the White House and Tea Bags the President”.
The punk energy and attitude continues. Whilst the lyrics continue to shock and impact, especially on “Illegals”, overall, they are less verbose and less likely to stun, wound or kill as they did on The Muslims earlier efforts.
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