Blackpink’s Ice Cream without the sexual overtones? Malaysian bands release Islamic-friendly K-pop covers less likely to upset Muslims

Bands under Malaysian label Tarbiah Sentap Records are producing clean-cut versions of songs by K-pop acts that ‘contain negative values’

Their toned-down cover versions of chart-topping K-pop hits better suit the religious beliefs of hundreds of thousands of young Muslims

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Autotune Band, signed to Malaysia’s Tarbiah Sentap Records, are one of a number of bands under the label producing a sound known as “pop nasyid”, a music style embraced by modern urban Muslims.

Published: 1:15pm, 10 Jan 2021Updated: 1:25pm, 10 Jan 2021

In recent years K-pop has exploded in popularity around the world, but in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where the music has a large fan base, the naughtiest chart-topping hits – full of double entendres and sexy dance moves – have raised Islamic eyebrows.

Such songs have been branded “mind-corrupting”, or budaya kuning – literally “yellow culture” – a catch-all term for most forms of Western culture, including foreign pop and rock music.

Malaysia’s younger generation is obsessed with K-pop. But those who see negative values in the songs and want to switch to more positive K-pop music have few options, says Usamah Kamaruzaman, a sound engineer and spokesman for Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic pop label Tarbiah Sentap Records.

The label, founded by author Ahmad Adnin Bin Roslan, produces a sound known as pop nasyid, an Islamic-oriented a cappella music style embraced by modern urban Muslims who believe that music should not be haram (forbidden). Its artists have released clean-cut versions of songs by K-pop acts such as Blackpink that are less likely to upset Muslims.

Tarbiah Sentap Records founder Adnin Roslan. Photo: Courtesy of Tarbiah Sentap Records

To the groups represented by Tarbiah Sentap – including Rabithah, Aniq Muhai, Areef, Autotune Band and The Truth – pop nasyid is not only an important tool for spreading the word of Islam to a wider public, it also proves that Islam can be adapted to the modern world.