About music censorship Artists on censorship About Freemuse Publications Study room Activities News News 2007 News 2006 News 2005 News 2004 News 2003 News 2002 News 2001 Links Press room

NEWS 03 August 2004 Clerics condemn Kashmir pop song Religious leaders in Indian administered Kashmir have sought a ban on a pop song by two Pakistani singers. A line in the song, Kachi Pencil (Fragile Pencil), says God has written the fate of man with a fragile pencil. The song has become popular with people across the disputed state, despite the protests by enraged clerics who say God would never do such a thing. They have threatened to take to the streets in protest at the song, which is sung by Akram Rahi and Naseebo Lal. Story from BBC Related reading: Pakistan: Two South Indian dance teachers stand up to ban For the past 53 years, Indu and Tehreema Mitha have been doing the impossible in Pakistan: teaching South Indian dance to Muslim girls in a country where Islamic clergymen will not allow girls to dance 05 December 2004 Clerics condemn Kashmir pop song Religious leaders in Kashmir have sought a ban on a pop song by two Pakistani singers. A line in the song, Kachi Pencil (Fragile Pencil), says God has written the fate of man with a fragile pencil 03 August 2004 Pakistan: Music and militancy in the frontier (radio report) This radio report tells about religious militants' attacks on music centres, and the reactions from the owners of the music business in Swat Valley of North-West Pakistan. 25 February 2008 Pakistan: Musicians and singers live in danger A complete ban on all singing and dancing has been implemented in Mingora city in northern Pakistan. The singers and dancers have been thrown out of business 13 December 2007 Pakistan: Attack on hotel where music was played Dozens of local Taliban extremists attacked and ransacked a hotel in Mingora in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, because people were dancing and playing music there 18 September 2007 Pakistan: Taliban group issues new ban on sale of music If you sell music CDs and cassettes in Zargari and other areas in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, you will now be fined 50,000 rupees 23 August 2007 Pakistan: Religious extremists destroyed 25 music shops In June 2007 alone, there were more than 20 bomb attacks on music shops in north-west Pakistan. On 4 July, five more music shops were set ablaze with petrol 04 July 2007 Pakistan: Intensified campaign against music Religious militants in north-western Pakistan continue violent attacks on property belonging to people who sell or listen to music 08 May 2007 Pakistan: Fear and persecution follows Afghan musicians The fear and persecution which forced Afghan singers to leave their country now has followed them to their exile in Peshawar in Pakistan 04 April 2007 Pakistan: Extremists kill one, injure two in music shop attacks Extremist religious groups intensify their campaign against all forms of entertainment in north-west Pakistan. Attacks on music centres left one killed and two seriously injured 18 March 2007 India: Album recalled and destroyed because it offends Christians EMI Music has pulled the new album by the American Heavy Metal band Slayer from music stores across India because of protests from the Christian community 12 October 2006 Pakistan: Two more music shops bombed Bombs damaged two music shops in a bazaar in Bannu in north-western Pakistan on 11 September 2006. Explosions damaging music shops are increasingly shaking up the area. 13 September 2006 Pakistan: Explosion destroys music shops Suspected Islamic militants planted explosive material near a music shop in the center of the bazaar in Tanak district of North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan 26 January 2006 Salman Ahmad Video interview with ex-Junoon member Salman Ahmad about music prohibition among Islamists, and about music censorship in Pakistan 22 November 2005 India: Government bans “raunchy” music videos In April 2006, the Government of India banned “raunchy music videos”. However, the Times of India reports that the ban has not been implemented 11 May 2006 Pakistan: String of bomb attacks on CD shops across the northwest province Religious militants have blown up numerous music shops in the northwest region. On 9 October in Peshawar a bomb blast damaged almost all 40 shops in Hussain CD market 11 October 2007 Pakistan: Religious music prohibition discussed in popular movie Feature film about a musician who gets inspired by a cleric to give up music for religious reasons became Pakistan's highest grossing movie of all time 06 August 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 Afghanistan: Music download shop attacked, two killed Two people were killed and several wounded by a bomb that exploded in a music download shop in Afghanistan's south-eastern town of Khost on 22 April 2007 09 May 2007 Pakistan: Music business faces serious threats in North West Pakistan 1,200 owners of music centres have been warned by Islamic hardliners to close down, and on 21 April 2007, three more video and music shops were blown up by a bomb 23 April 2007 Pakistan: Religious extremists request radio to stop its music programmes Dera Radio was asked by unknown callers to stop it's music programmes because they are "un-Islamic" and "against shariate" 18 April 2007 Pakistan: Music CDs burned in the streets of Islamabad Emotionally charged religious youth screamed slogans against perceived immorality as they burned a pile of music CDs and cassettes in Pakistan's capital on 6 May 2007 08 April 2007 Pakistan: Islamic music prohibition discussed on Danish tv 'Our prophet was born to do away with music', a mullah from Pakistan's second-largest mosque was quoted as saying on the Danish tv-channel DR1 on 18 March 2007 19 March 2007 Pakistan: Music and video shop blown away "Close within three days – or you will be blown away." This threat by the religious extremists became reality when a video centre was blown away on 13 March 2007 15 March 2007 Pakistan: Music centres threatened by religious extremists A campaign launched by a religious leader against listening to music has taken a dangerous turn in Swat Valley of North-West Frontier Province, reports our correspondent 10 March 2007 Pakistan: Fine for playing music in taxi, music shop attacked The Taliban in Pakistan's in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are imposing a fine of 500 rupees for any one playing music in public, reports several news agencies 03 March 2007 Pakistan: Bus drivers threatened not to play music An organisation called Mujahideen Bajaur has warned public transport drivers in Bajaur region to stop the “un-Islamic act” of playing music in buses 28 February 2007 Denmark: Focus on arguments against religious music prohibition Salman Ahmad visited Copenhagen in February 2007 to introduce the screening of the documentary film, 'The Rock Star and the Mullahs' 15 February 2007 Three films about music and Islam hit Scandinavia Pakistani rock star Salman Ahmad and editor Simon Broughton visit Denmark and Sweden in February 2007 to show three documentary films about music and Islam 24 January 2007 India: Complete ban on music in West Bengal village Since May 2006, no music has been played in the West Bengal village Kanupur because of a religious 'fatwa' on music 03 January 2007 Freemuse.org: Focus on artists from the Middle East Watch the new video interviews on www.freemuse.org recorded during the 'Images of the Middle East' festival which took place in Denmark in August-September 2006 30 October 2006 Pakistan: Call for music centres to be closed MMA's member of North-West Frontier Province Assembly Zakir Shah has called for a complete closure of music centres during the holy month of Ramzan 26 September 2006 USA: Banned Musician speaks at Clinton Global Initiative Pakistani rockstar Salman Ahmad has been invited to speak at former US president Bill Clintons Global Initiative panel in New York on 21 September 2006 14 September 2006 Pakistan: Students protest against music classes Student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami intensifies protest campaign 13 September 2006 Pakistan: Renewed ban on audio cassettes Local Taliban and religious leaders in North Waziristan on 11 June 2006 issued public notices that they will punish people listening to “un-Islamic” music 15 June 2006 Pakistan: Music banned in Pakistani province In May 2006 a pro-Taliban militant cleric announced a ban on music and video shops in the Hamuzai area near Miramshah, residents said, according to the Pakistani newspaper, Dawn 18 May 2006 Pakistan: Pro-Taliban strikes against music shops Music shops ordered to close down - threatened with bombs and violence 08 August 2005 Pakistan: Grenade kills four listening to music at wedding party Grenade thrown into a wedding ceremony at Peshwar, killing four and injuring 35 people. The guests were listening to music 15 October 2004 Pakistan: The censored meet the censor In the BBC4 programme "The Rock Star and the Mullah", Salman Ahmad, guitarist with Pakistani rock group Junoon, meet the men who banned music 18 December 2003 Music provoke islamists on Pakistan campuses A film student at Pakistan's biggest university in Karachi, produced a music video for his final-year project. But right-wing Islamic students opposed to holding art shows on campus attacked the student's exhibition and smashed the computer he had planned to use to screen it 27 November 2003