Afghanistan has its own American Idol!! In fact, Afghan Star just crowned 19-year-old Rafi Naabzada the winner of its third season, and the whole country is going gah-gah for his hip new sound. Actually, his singing voice resembles the screams of a goat passing a kidney stone, but that didn’t stop a third of the Afghan population from tuning in for the season finale. Despite some controversy over a third-place finish by a colorfully, though modestly, dressed female contestant, hundreds of thousands of text message votes were sent. Yeah, apparently they have text messaging in Afghanistan too.

For all the talk about winning the hearts and minds of Afghans and Iraqis, stories about Western culture being successfully exported have been mostly overlooked. That a pop reality show can thrive in a nation ruled just seven years ago by fascist thugs who stoned people for singing and dancing is a cause for hope. And by hope, I am not merely referring to the prospect of a Middle Eastern edition of Flavor of Love. The fact is Afghan Star has almost as much to do with winning their hearts and minds as anything we do militarily.

Guns cannot penetrate the soul. However, popular entertainment combined with consumerism has the potential to refocus the attention of young, prospective terrorist recruits. A new consumer culture can even be used, as with products like Mecca Cola, to provide people a nonviolent means of channeling anti-Americanism. Muslims can maintain the pretense of hating the West even while they subconsciously affirm quintessentially American values like materialism and consumer choice.