“Freedom of speech in Afghanistan is allowed only if the speech remains void of substantial political content,” wrote Nushin Arbabzadah in her article for Global Post which was published on 16 May 2010. She is a former BBC journalist, currently a visiting scholar at University of California in Los Angeles, USA, and she interviewed the exiled Afghan artist over the internet.

Nushin Arbabzadah wrote: “Mosadeq is destitute and hiding in Tehran with his young family. He couldn’t even afford to pay to use the internet at the cafe from which he told his story to the author of this article. Another patron gave him the money.”

Shakib Mosadeq fled to Iran in the beginning of May 2010, together with his wife, his three-year-old daughter and two members of his band.

“His uncertain future there is evidence of the Afghan government’s empty promise to protect freedom of speech,” stated Nushin Arbabzadah.

Thirst for meaningful music
Shakib Mosadeq’s songs tell about violence, corruption and political fraud, human rights abuses and injustice, and he has been publishing videos of his songs on Youtube.com as a way to bypass the Afghan broadcast media that allegedly refuse to air his music.

His most famous songs are ‘The Angels of a Dark Night’ which speaks about the abuse and rape of women in Afghanistan, ‘Padar Jan’ (‘Dear Father’) which is about the killing of a taxicab driver whose cab was driven over by a warlord vehicle, and thirdly the song ‘Marsia’ which in particular is a song which has angered many pro-government officials.

Shakib Mosadeq “became an immediate hit, both in Afghanistan and abroad among diaspora communities. His popularity revealed the Afghans’ thirst for meaningful music, for songs that address the social and cultural taboos that have stifled political progress, leading to disenchantment and violence,” wrote Nushin Arbabzadah, as she unfolded the musician’s story to the readers of Global Post — an online, Boston-based news provider which focuses on geographic areas that are ignored or underreported by the mainstream American news media.

Told to leave the stage
Excerpt from the article in GlobalPost:
“Shakib Mosadeq was performing at universities in the urban centers of Afghanistan when authorities took him aside to gently recommend that he sing more patriotic songs. They warned him that the situation was delicate and the country needed songs of praise and optimism.

But Mosadeq did not cave in to pressure. At a recent concert at the Herat University campus, Mosadeq sang a song called ‘Men in Suits’, which highlights corruption, poverty and election fraud, directly addressing government officials.

Local officials at the concert asked Mosadeq to leave the stage mid-song. He subsequently received a phone call, saying that his daughter had been kidnapped and was being held in the custody of unknown men. Mosadeq panicked and ran home, where he thankfully found his daughter alive and well.

The threat to his young family yielded the desired result. He took his wife and child and, together with two of his band members, fled to Iran.”