( CNN ) -- Salman Ahmad is a devout Pakistani Muslim on jihad -- but his holy war is a rock ' n ' roll battle against intolerance , he says . He 's the frontman of the band Junoon . He 's sold 30 million albums . And he says music is a powerful weapon against extremism . `` My own personal narrative tells me that arts and culture is mightier than the sword , '' he told CNN during a tour of the United Kingdom Thursday . Ahmad , who was born in Pakistan and grew up in New York , has set himself an ambitious goal -- not only fighting Muslims ' own misconceptions about their religion , but reclaiming the very word `` jihad '' from extremists . It 's come to mean violent holy war of the kind waged by al Qaeda and the Taliban . But Ahmad says that 's not its true meaning . `` There has been a sinister case of identity theft where the extremists have hijacked not only language but culture , '' he said . `` Jihad means to strive , to overcome your ego , to work for social justice and peace . '' That may be why his new book and album are called `` Rock & Roll Jihad . '' He insists his long-haired , guitar-driven rock music is entirely compatible with Islam . `` Anybody who says that music is un-Islamic is a poser , '' he said . `` Muslims have expressed their faith , their lives , their hopes , through music , through poetry , for 1,400 years . '' His own music is a fusion of the wildly disparate influences he grew up with , he said . `` I was a 13-year-old from Pakistan ( when I ) arrived in a suburban cocoon like New York , '' he recalled . `` My exposure to rock-and-roll was watching Led Zeppelin in Madison Square Garden . '' Frontman Jimmy Page `` had a two-headed guitar and dragons painted on his pants , and I said : 'That 's what I want to do with the rest of my life . ' '' `` My music takes equal inspiration from classic rock like Led Zeppelin and the Beatles and also Sufi poetry , '' he said , citing a mystical Muslim tradition . `` We are in the same tradition of musicians who are sending out a message of love , a message of joy . '' And while he may seem like a trailblazer -- and be one -- he said he is not alone . South Indian Muslim composer A.R . Rahman won an Academy Award for best song for `` Slumdog Millionaire 's '' anthemic `` Jai Ho , '' Ahmad observed . And Ahmad 's mentor , Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan , performed with Peter Gabriel and Pearl Jam 's Eddie Vedder . `` He said to me , `` The Quran promotes cultural diversity , so why not play with rockers ? ' '' Ahmad 's done some high-profile collaborations of his own , including recording a song with American rocker Melissa Etheridge . `` I saw him perform at the concert and was amazed by his vocal and guitar abilities . Here was this traditional Eastern sound that was rocking hard at the same time , '' Etheridge writes in the introduction to Ahmad 's new book . They traded ideas , resulting in the song `` Ring The Bells . '' She remembers listening to some tunes he recorded to kick off their collaboration : `` I found in one track a haunting guitar part that I kept playing over and over until finally the words started to come . 'Whose God is God ? Whose light is light ? Whose law is wrong ? Whose might is right ? ' '' The message is resonating , Ahmad said . He has played rock concerts in the disputed territory of Kashmir , with `` thousands of kids braving death threats going to hear concerts , '' he said . `` It 's a way for people to vent their emotions . Junoon 's sold over 30 million albums , '' he said . `` That music was n't bought by a fringe . That 's a mainstream majority . ''
Muslim singer Abdullah Ahmad says music can fight intolerance . ` ` Anyone who thinks music is un - Islamic is a poser , '' he says . Influenced by both Led Zeppelin and Sufi poetry , he 's sold 30 million albums . His mentor played with Peter Gabriel , while he 's collaborated with Melissa Etheridge .