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IRAN Iran Concert banned because of presence of women musicians Iranian authorities have cancelled a concert of traditional Iranian singer Homayoun Shajarian because two members of the band are women 24 February 2010 Iran: More than 20 musicians banned from radio Government-owned radio stations in Iran have been ordered to stop broadcasting certain singers’ music and certain songs, reported Ilna and Iran Human Rights Voice. 30 November 2009 Iran: 12 'satanist' musicians reportedly arrested in Orumiyeh An Iranian newspaper reported that 12 musicians accused of promoting satanism have been arrested in northwest Iran 02 November 2009 Iran / UK: 'The exile factor' in The X Factor tv show Iranian singer Behrouz Ghaemi fled Iran to pursue his singing dream in the UK. On 29 August 2009 he became famous overnight in a tv-show watched by 11.8 million viewers 07 September 2009 Iran: Five-year prison sentence for performance of Koranic verses The Iranian singer Mohsen Namjoo has been sentenced - in absentia - to five years in prison for disrespecting religious sanctities 17 July 2009 Iran: Music gives hope Austin Dacey's article about the underground music scene and the system of music censorship in Iran, based on an interview with the rock band Kiosk 17 July 2009 Iran: Musicians respond to the crisis Despite a general ban, rock music has become one of the most vibrant forces for critiquing the various ills of Iranian society, writes music researcher Mark Levine 23 June 2009 Iran: Rock concert raided, 104 arrested A concert in Shiraz was raided by an Islamist militia, and 104 people arrested, on the grounds of being 'immoral', reported Jam-e Jam newspaper on 27 May 2009 08 June 2009 Iran: Film about Iranian music censorship awarded, musicians exiled The Iranian film ‘No One Knows About Persian Cats’ was awarded at Cannes Film Festival. But two of the musicians which it features now must go in exile 27 May 2009 Iran: Rock band tells its story of censorship and imprisonment The Iranian rock band Font, winner of Britain’s first-ever Immigrant Song Contest, were imprisoned in August 2007 merely for performing their style of music. 18 May 2009 Iran: Film about music censorship shown on Cannes Film Festival Kurdish-Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi launches a two-hour film about music censorship in Iran which features banned musicians and singers 15 May 2009 Iran: 13 musicians arrested in Isfahan Brigadier general Mer-Abbas Sofivand told a daily newspaper that 13 musicians have been arrested, and 90 CDs seized by police in Isfahan 02 March 2009 Human Rights for Musicians – Impressions & Descriptions: Mahsa Vahdat Testimonial by Mahsa Vahdat in the anniversary publication 'Human Rights for Musicians - Ten Years With Freemuse' 30 January 2009 Iran: Rap singer believed to be arrested The alleged arrest of rapper and singer Tataloo is debated in online Persian rap forums. Rumours says that Tataloo has received a three-year jail sentence 21 November 2008 Iran: Trial against two Kurdish singers Two Kurdish singers are to be sentenced for “propaganda against the [political] order”, reported Shâr News from Saqqez in western Iran on 17 November 2008 21 November 2008 Iran: Organiser of music concerts executed On 4 August 2008, 28-year-old Yaghub Mehrnahad, a education activist and concert organiser, was executed, reported several human rights groups 21 August 2008 Iran: Setar master openly critised ban on women vocalists Musician Mohammad-Reza Lotfi said at a press conference that he wishes to eliminate Iran’s prohibition on solo vocal performances by women 28 April 2008 Iran: Organiser of music concerts sentenced to death The death sentence on civil rights activist Yaghub Mehrnahad highlights how many Iranians must live with the risk of execution for expressing their views 19 February 2008 Iran: Official campaign against rap music Iranian police have been instructed to close rap studios in an official nationwide campaign to stamp out "obscene" rap music, reported Agence France Presse and BBC News 04 December 2007 Iran: Musician bypasses censorship on the internet To Iranian artist IO the publishing of his new album is a victory over censorship. He could not have it published in Iran, but now it is available world-wide via the internet 27 September 2007 Iran: 'Rap-e-Fars' – Persian rap and the Iranian rap scene Although the Persian rap, 'Rap-e-Fars', is illegal in Iran it is very popular among Iranian teenagers. An article about the underground Iranian rap scene 17 September 2007 Iran: Daniel Pearl: Status of music in Iran 2000 Link to an article in which Daniel Pearl describes the status of music in Iran in 2000. He interviews the Iranian pop singer Alireza Assar and composer Fouad Hejazi 04 September 2007 Iran: About 230 people arrested during a ‘satanistic’ music event As part of an annual summer crackdown on “immoral behavior” about 230 people were arrested during a police raid on an underground rap and rock concert 07 August 2007 Iran: Gradual changes through modern technology The daily pan-Arabic newspaper Ashark al Awsat reports that changes are introduced gradually among the citizens of Iran – despite official bans and censorship. 04 July 2007 Freemuse: Religious fanatics a threat to music Freemuse presentation at the IASPM conference for popular music researchers from the whole world - in 2007 held in Mexico City 27 June 2007 IASPM Conference 2007: Speech by Ole Reitov Freemuse presentation at the IASPM conference for popular music researchers from the whole world - in 2007 held in Mexico City 27 June 2007 Middle East: Dossier on music, bans and censorship The internet portal Qantara.de has produced a dossier entitled 'Middle Eastern Musical Worlds'. It includes issues of music bans and censorship in the Islamic world 16 May 2007 Iran: Prohibition of music in holy city In a speech in official Friday praying on 11 May 2007 the Imam of Mashhad banned practicing of music and ordered to close all of the music institutes in the holy city 15 May 2007 Iran: 'Half Moon' - film about women's right to sing 'Half Moon' is a prize-winning feature film which talks of women's right to perform in public, and to participate in the artistic development of a land 25 April 2007 Iran: Six musicians arrested Authorities in Iran have reportedly detained at least six members of underground music bands and shut down their studios, Radio Farda reported 24 April 2007 Signature song for Music Freedom Day 2007 Recorded for Freemuse and the Music Freedom Day, the song 'Navai' features the Iranian singer Marjan Vahdat in a musical collaboration with the British guitarist Jason Carter 06 February 2007 3rd Freemuse World Conference on Music and Censorship 200 professional musicians, scholars, and composers from 22 countries met at the 3rd Freemuse World Conference on 25-26 November 2006 in Istanbul, Turkey 18 December 2006 Iran: No more music download A ban on high-speed internet will make it more difficult to download foreign music which the authorities blame for undermining Islamic culture among the younger generation 19 October 2006 Iran: ’Unveiled: Art and Censorship in Iran’ Excerpt from Chapter 8 in the report ’Unveiled: Art and Censorship in Iran’ published by Article 19 in September 2006. Chapter 8 is about music in Iran: 05 October 2006 Iran: Report about art and censorship in Iran “Artists self-censor in fear of risking harassment, arrest, flogging, or worse still, imprisonment,” stated a report about art and censorship in Iran published by Article 19 05 October 2006 Iran: World premiere of film about music censorship in Iran Documentary film on governmental censorship of music in Iran had its world premiere in New York in 2006: ‘Sounds of Silence – Underground Music in Tehran’ 04 May 2006 Iran: Gissoo Shakeri - “Voice of women who cannot sing" Singer Gissoo Shakeri's works are banned in Iran, but her songs can be listened to on the internet. Interview excerpt from Revolution, and lyrics from one of her banned songs 06 April 2006 Iran: Forbidden rap album becomes a hit A new album made by the group Dalu mocks the Islamic Republic's top clerics. It has taken the country by storm, reports Iran Focus 03 March 2006 Mahsa Vahdat Video interview with female Iranian singer Mahsat Vahdat. Women, religion, and music censorship in modern Iran 17 January 2006 Iran: New ban on Western music in Iran New decree bans music that does not conform to Islamic doctrines and the spirit of the Islamic Revolution 21 December 2005 Iran: More than thirty concerts cancelled Iran is experiencing a cultural clampdown. In three months, from September to November 2005, Iran’s Ministry of Culture has cancelled more than thirty concerts in the country. 29 November 2005 Iran: Rock artists struggle to breach cultural and bureaucratic barriers The Iranian culture ministry does not recognise rock music in its permitted music categories, and frequently rejects such work as culturally inappropriate, reports The Guardian 29 August 2005 Iran: Ministry rejects instrumental CD Ministry of culture says Western rock is the product of drug addicts 29 August 2005 TehranAvenue - Link Alternative online magazine about cultural life in the city of Tehran. Tries to focus on issues that established medias seldom cover 01 August 2005 Iran: Reviewer of music book sentenced to jail A cultural critic at the newspaper Iran has been sentenced to jail for writing that the prophet Muhammed liked music played by women 03 June 2005 Women and Music Censorship - Past to Present Examples from all over the world of the censorship of female music during the centuries 25 April 2005 Googoosh: Iran's Daughter Googoosh was Iran's most famous and beloved pop diva, until she was silenced following the 1979 Islamic revolution. The award winning documentary on Googoosh is now out on DVD 14 December 2004 Iran: Concerts cancelled Bureaucratic obstacles have turned into a kind of musical oppression in Iran, reports Shadi Vatanparast from the Iranian web-magazine Tehranavenue.com 21 October 2004 Iranian hardliners cancel embassy music concerts A series of concerts organized by foreign embassies in Iran have been cancelled, apparently due to increased curbs on cultural events by the Islamic republic's hardliners 05 October 2004 Iranian rapper talks a fine line Chart-topping Shahkar Binesh-Pajouh targets unemployment, poverty and westernised Iranian girls in his new album, which the culture ministry took four years to approve. The ministry passed it only after he deleted six songs from his original ten 04 September 2004 Iran: Lashes for loud music The judiciary in Hamedan has ordered that anyone caught playing thumping tunes in their cars should be subject to jail terms or lashes, according to news agency IRNA. "Playing any type of music loud in the vehicles is regarded as a crime and violators will be dealt by legal measures" 09 August 2004 Shoot the Singer! Book "Shoot the Singer! Music Censorship Today". The first worldwide presentation of contemporary cases of music censorship, with cases from i.a. Burma, Mexico, Middle East, France, Algeria, Zimbabwe, USA, South Africa, Turkey. Edited by Freemuse director Marie Korpe, published by Zed Books, May 2004. 25 May 2004 Fresh Iranian bands ready to rock A music competition aims at introducing new talent in the Islamic Republic. But when you live and work in Iran, there are certain limitations on forms of self-expression 09 February 2004 Iran: Women & music censorship Background material on women in the performing arts in post-revolutionary Iran 20 January 2004 Iran: Mahsa Vahdat - Singing in the absence of others Mahsa Vahdat speaks with Naghmeh Taqizadeh from TehranAvenue about the challenges of being a female musician and singer in Iran 18 December 2002 Popular Iranian singer Googoosh kept out of the US The U.S.-led war on terrorism has had unintended consequences on Iran's most popular artists, who are finding it almost impossible to practice their craft in the United States 10 February 2002