Whenever I have pointed out that Islam generally views
music negatively and that some schools of Islamic law
even ban it outright, I get called an "Islamophobe" --
so I guess Khameni is an "Islamophobe" as well.
There Is No Fun In Islam* Update from the Islamic
Republic: "Music fails to chime with Islamic values,
says Iran's supreme leader," by Saeed Kamali Dehghan in
The Guardian,
August 2 (thanks to all who sent this in):
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
said today that music is "not compatible" with the
values of the Islamic republic, and should not be
practised or taught in the country.
In some of the most extreme comments by a senior
regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei
said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching
it is not compatible with the highest values of the
sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."
Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for
a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was
thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know
if they were acceptable according to Islam, the
semi-official Fars news agency reported. "It's better
that our dear youth spend their valuable time in
learning science and essential and useful skills and
fill their time with sport and healthy recreations
instead of music," he said.
Unlike other clerics in Iran, whose religious rulings
are practised by their own followers, Khamenei's views
are interpreted as administrative orders for the whole
country, which must be obeyed by the government. Last
month Khamenei issued a controversial fatwa in which
he likened his leadership to that of the Prophet
Muhammad and obliged all Iranians to obey his orders.
Khamenei has rarely expressed his views on music
publicly, but he is believed have played a key role in
the crackdown on Iran's music scene following the
revolution. When Khamenei was president, he banned
western-style music, forcing many stars to go into
exile.
Houshang Asadi, a former cellmate of Khamenei before
the Islamic Revolution said: "He hated the music from
the beginning."
"There were times I sang a song by Banan (a popular
vocalist) for him and he told me to avoid music and
instead pray to God", said Asadi, who shared a cell
with Khamenei for four months in Moshtarak prison in
Tehran in 1976 and stayed friend with him for several
years after the revolution. "The only music he liked
was revolutionary and religious anthems," said Asadi.
After the reformist President Khatami took office in
1997, official attitudes towards music and especially
pop began to thaw.
After his election in 2005, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad cracked down on music. His ministry of
culture and Islamic guidance has refused permission
for the distribution of thousands of albums. Since
last year's disputed elections the authorities have
given even fewer permits for public concerts, fearing
they could be used by the opposition....
* The Ayatollah Khomeini said that.
