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.
