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Iran's president bans all western music
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-20 09:12
Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has banned all Western music from
Iran's state radio and TV stations åK½ï¿½ an eerie reminder of the 1979 Islamic
revolution when popular music was outlawed as "un-Islamic" under Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini.
Today, though, the sounds of hip-hop can be heard blaring from car radios
in Tehran's streets, and Eric Clapton's "Rush" and the Eagles' "Hotel
California" regularly accompany Iranian broadcasts.
No more åK½ï¿½ the official IRAN Persian daily reported Monday that Ahmadinejad,
as head of the Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council, ordered the enactment of
an October ruling by the council to ban all Western music, including classical
music, on state broadcast outlets.
"Blocking indecent and Western music from the Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting is required," according to a statement on the council's official
Web site.
The Iranian guitarist Babak Riahipour lamented what he called a "terrible"
decision. "The decision shows a lack of knowledge and experience," he said.
Music was outlawed by Khomeini soon after the 1979 revolution; Khomeini
claimed it was "intoxicating." Many musicians went abroad and built an Iranian
music industry in Los Angeles.
But as revolutionary fervor started to fade, some light classical music was
allowed on Iranian radio and television; some public concerts reappeared in the
late 1980s.
But later, Khomeini allowed classical music to be played over state radio.
Since his death, pop music has been creeping into Iranian shops.
In the 1990s, particularly during the presidency of reformist Mohammad
Khatami starting in 1997, authorities began relaxing restrictions further. These
days in Iran, Western music, films and clothing are widely available in Iran.
Bootleg videos and DVDs of films banned by the state are widely available on the
black market.
However, women are prohibited from singing in public, except to a segregated
female-only audience. Hard-liners were afraid the voice of a woman soloist might
arouse impure thoughts in men. Women are allowed to sing as part of a chorus.
Ahmadinejad's order means the state broadcasting authority must execute the
decree and prepare a report on its implementation within six months, according
to the IRAN Persian daily.
Earlier this month, Ali Rahbari, conductor of Tehran's symphony orchestra,
resigned and left Iran to protest the treatment of the music industry in Iran.
Before leaving, he played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to packed Tehran theater
houses over several nights last month åK½ï¿½ its first performance in Tehran since
the 1979 revolution. The performances angered many conservatives and prompted
newspaper columns accusing Rahbari of promoting Western values.
The ban applies to state-run radio and TV. But Iranians with satellite dishes
can get broadcasts originating outside the country.
Ahmadinejad won office in August on a platform of reverting to
ultraconservative principles, following eight years of reformist-led rule under
Khatami.
During his presidential campaign, Ahmadinejad also promised to confront what
he called the Western cultural invasion of Iran and promote Islamic values.
Since then, Ahmadinejad has jettisoned Iran's moderation in foreign policy
and pursued a purge in the government, replacing pragmatic veterans with former
military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners.
He also has issued stinging criticisms of Israel, calling for the Jewish
state to be "wiped off the map" and describing the Nazi Holocaust as a "myth."
International concerns are high over Iran's nuclear program, with the United
States accusing Tehran of pursuing an atomic weapons program. Iran denies the
claims.
The latest media ban also includes censorship of content of films.
"Supervision of content from films, TV series and their voice-overs is
emphasized in order to support spiritual cinema and to eliminate triteness and
violence," the council said in a statement on its Web site.
The council has also issued a ban on foreign movies that promote "arrogant
powers," an apparent reference to the United States.
The prohibitions mirror those imposed in neighboring Afghanistan during the
Taliban regime, which imposed a strict version of Islamic law, including a ban
on music and film. The Taliban was ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in late
2001.
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