Jihad (4:31)

“Jihad” is a song by the American thrash metal band Slayer which appears on their 2006 album Christ Illusion. The song portrays the imagined viewpoint of a terrorist who has participated in the September 11, 2001 attacks, concluding with spoken lyrics taken from words left behind by Mohammed Atta; Atta was named by the FBI as the “head suicide terrorist” of the first plane to crash into the World Trade Center. “Jihad” was primarily written by guitarist Jeff Hanneman; the lyrics were co-authored with vocalist Tom Araya.

“Jihad” received a mixed reception in the music press, and reviews generally focused on the lyrics’ controversial subject matter. The song drew comparisons to Slayer’s 1986 track “Angel of Death”—also penned by Hanneman—which similarly caused outrage at the time of its release.

Joseph Dias of the Mumbai Christian group “Catholic Secular Forum” expressed concern over “Jihad“‘s lyrics, and contributed to Christ Illusion’s recall by EMI India, who to date have no plans for a reissue in that country. ABC-TV’s Broadcast Standards and Practices Department censored the song during Slayer’s first US network television appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Only the opening minute was broadcast over the show’s credits, thus omitting 40% of the lyrics.