Instep: Okay so honestly, what did you think of our country's music scenario?
ML: Well, there's certainly some cheesy pop music, but no worse than the Arab world or Iran. I think in terms of rock - not metal specifically, but rock and hard rock, Pakistan's is by far the best scene in the world right now to my ears, because it is so hybrid, it so effortlessly blends together the best of the rock tradition and of local Pakistani styles. From qawwali to classical Indian, and to tribal music. And bands in Pakistan even sing metal in Urdu, which is unheard of in the Arab world!

Instep: From your travels for research purposes, have you ever happened to encounter any band/musician that is a 'worst case' example of oppression in the Muslim world?
ML: I haven't met any musicians who've been killed or tortured in jail, although I'm certainly aware of people to whom this has happened. I guess Iran has been the worst, in that most every Metal-head I met (who had long hair) told me stories of being beaten, arrested and the like by police or Revolutionary Guards ('Basij') just for walking down the street with long hair.
In Egypt and Morocco I know many musicians who were arrested, and perhaps roughed up a bit, and in Lebanon I've met musicians who were brought in for questioning by the police because they were into metal music.

Instep: How can orthodox religion and heavy metal/rock reach a 'settlement' in your opinion?
ML: Well, probably 'orthodox' religion can't come to terms with metal, just as it can't come to terms with anything else besides its own interpretation of its religious tradition. That's the same for Christianity or Judaism or Hinduism, as for Islam.

But the reality is that all religions are very complex and diverse. That's why there is Christian metal, Islamic Hip-hop, etc. In terms of metal in the Middle East, the reality is that the Salafi types will never accept it unless they can use it as a tool for propaganda - in other words, if some metal kids wrote a death metal song supporting Al-Qaeda or something. But a whole new generation of Islamists has emerged that is much more culturally open and less concerned about policing people's musical habits than they are about fighting authoritarian regimes. Not to mention that many musicians are themselves religious, and, as one Egyptian Metal-head described it to me with a laugh, will "go to Juma prayers on Friday and then go play black metal for four hours", with his band.

As one young leader of the Muslim Brotherhood said to me when I asked him if one could be a good Muslim and a good Metal-head, he said: "We want to confront the regime - not to impose Shariah or wage jihad against the West or Israel - but to bring real democracy and social justice to Egypt and the region as a whole." He then continued, "Here's the thing I know: If I fight just for myself and my rights, then I'll never get them. Only if and when I'm ready to fight for everyone's rights can I hope to have my full rights as a religious Muslim in Egypt."

This is a radically different approach to politics than has traditionally existed among Islamists in the Muslim world, who haven't been too interested in the rights of other oppressed groups in their societies, particularly those that don't follow their conservative views on religion and morality. It's also an invitation to dialog which many secularists, especially artists, have been slow to accept. But that's a dangerous strategy because sooner or later authoritarian governments always go after artists, and they'll need all the allies they can get.