Share: As part of IMP and ASL19’s continuing coverage of media policy in Iran, musician Shahin Najafi sat down with ASL19 for an interview about music and censorship in Iran.. Shahin Najafi is an Iranian rap star that recently came out of hiding after the Islamic Republic of Iran placed a fatwa, or religious edict, with a bounty of $100,000 for his life. We would find cassettes and would come by a metal magazine from time to time. While Western pop music has largely been banned, a wave of locally produced hip-hop, rock and techno have found their audiences online. You will get into trouble quickly.". But despite their hard work, they said they cannot break out into the larger electronic music scene because of restrictions. Indeed, from the very outset, the official position of the Islamic regime was unmistakable. ... On 30 January 2019, Iranian band Askair, performed a concert in Tehran. Such restrictions have pushed Iran's music and dance scenes underground. Uyghur refugees speak out against genocide and crimes against humanity. Mr Rajabian creates classical compositions using local Iranian instruments, but his latest project contains something largely forbidden in Iran: the graceful movements of a female classical dancer. My song failed to obtain the necessary authorisations, as it was, apparently, too close a reflection of the current situation,” he explains. “Everyone seems bent on putting obstacles in the other’s way, when we could all be climbing the steps together! Last year, a popular social media movement called #dancingisnotacrime went viral, in protest of government censorship. "Instead, the country should show pride and support. A few months ago, the young man nevertheless obtained an authorisation from the Labour Ministry allowing him to issue a technical and professional diploma. Mr Taheri cited numerous cases of performers sentenced to prison terms and/or lashes, including 15 women and men in 2018 imprisoned for alleged "participation in the production of 'vulgar' music and images and its dissemination through anti-regime satellite networks". Censorship mandated by the Ministry of Culture occurs in every aspect of life in Iran. “It’s a profound source of sadness for me that neither my parents nor my country backed me, and that I have to go elsewhere to hear people cry out my name, to understand my true worth,” laments Shirin. They told us that the flames might call to mind the devil and would have to be removed,” he recounts. Back then, playing rock was like selling drugs, it was hidden, often played in cellars or garages. Between censorship and a burgeoning music scene, Iranian rockers are trying to keep to tempo From left to right, Shirin Vaezi, Amir Kharrazi and Amir Shahab, from the group AtriA, after a re-hearsal in their private studio, on 15 September 2018 in Tehran. Forbidden to perform in public, many female dancers in Iran use their social media accounts as a type of virtual stage. Today’s young people, who make up 70 per cent of the country’s population, are conscious of being the sacrificed generation, the ones whose entire lives are likely to be spent struggling for the next generation to have rights. Moreover, as Kerdar points out, “rock uses a raw language” and any societal issue in the Islamic Republic touches on politics. But for Ms Bandeh, dancing has been her lifelong passion and she has no intention of stopping. Will Kazakhstan’s booming cryptocurrency mining industry be a boon or a danger for the environment? "I feel it is my goal in life to express our history, our culture, our joys and our struggles through this beautiful art form.". Organising concerts is virtually impossible, because in addition to the authorisations from the ministry, they also need the approval of the Friday Imam, the religious authority. To better understand this specific type of censorship, one needs to recognize the fundamental differences between a classical dictatorship government (such as Shah’s in 1941-1978) versus a religious dictatorship (Islamic Republic, 1979-). Last year, a popular social media movement called #dancingisnotacrime went viral, in protest of government censorship. The report traces the gradual imposition of music censorship since 1978, when the communist government of Nur Ahmad Taraki came to power in a violent coup d’etat. “Unfortunately, there are not many options for the musicians in the provinces. Everyone, however, seems to agree that last year was one of the best years for Iranian rock, largely thanks to the holding of the ShabShanbeha Festival (literally, “Saturday evenings”), the kind of event that hasn’t been seen in Iran since the 1979 Revolution: “Every Saturday, except during religious festivals, at least four groups were able to play on stage, whereas under normal circumstances, they would have to bend over backwards to obtain the authorisations,” notes Shahab. The combination of cultural heritage with hip-hop, rap and rock music is typical of the (underground) music scene in Iran. "We might have some performances in some small places with few audiences, but they are all without [Government] authorisation," she said. This was also the case with the ShabShanbeha festival, which hasn’t been held since. "We are born into censorship. Shirin explains that in spite of all the efforts aimed at reviving rock music in Iran, she cannot speak about her work with pride: “I think that most people do not know this genre and associate it with negative images, such as depravity, alcohol, devil worshipping and even prostitution. The Iranian embassy in Canberra, the Parliament of Iran and the Ministry of Justice did not respond to requests for comment. I have spent my life presenting the beautiful side of Iran and our culture to people all over the world," she said. I did that for a few years until I decided to quit my job to pursue my true passion,” she recalls. "I have never expressed negative sentiments about our country anywhere. UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Beloved among world-music circles for her vocal perfection, Persian classical singer Mahsa Vahdat has been internationally recognized for raising awareness of freedom of expression for the female Iranian musical voice. We give everything we have just to reach the surface, and then the real competition begins!” says Kharrazi. What's next for America? by the way 90 percent of people here don't like this kind of rules and don't listen to the government. The Ershad is in charge of providing these permits and judges whether these works are in line with Islamic culture. The courses are designed in line with international teaching methods and can be taken online, which means that musicians living in the provinces can also follow them. At Café Blues, in central Tehran, not far from the old American embassy, there is music on all the time. Ms Bandeh now lives with her husband and children outside of Iran, where she continues to perform and teach. The site completely removed all female (and some male) singers from their own album covers, leaving them completely empty. Amir Shahab Khorrami, founder of the death metal band AtriA, and Shirin Vaezi, the band’s drummer, sometimes meet at the café. They were sentenced to up to one year in prison and 91 lashes, their lawyer said, but AP later reported that their prison sentence would be suspended as long as they did not commit any more crimes. "If you choose to be an independent artist and you value to be able to express yourself freely, you are on the wrong side of the fence. Big data: a friend or foe for small farmers. But Rajabian has been determined to defy the authorities’ efforts to intimidate him, repress his art, and silence women’s voices. It is also the place where budding young musicians can showcase their talents. Shirin comes from a family of musicians. The weathered manager also tells the story of an AtriA poster that had to be altered to appease the authorities: “The poster featured a guitar with a few flames coming out of it. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. The movement was sparked after 17-year-old Maedeh Hojabri confessed to crimes on Iranian state TV when authorities clamped down on her Instagram account, where she had posted videos of herself dancing without a head covering. "A strong women that dares to express herself individually suddenly becomes threatening. In 2015, Mr Rajabian said he was again imprisoned, this time for two years during which he went on a hunger strike for 40 days. Music censorship has a long history. Kaveh Taheri, a Turkey-based Iranian researcher, investigative journalist and founder of political studies institute ICBPS, said Iranian authorities have banned 52 women musicians from performing since early 2019. This tall, 36-year-old bearded man was drawn into the world of rock and metal when he was a teenager. "I felt they took my identity and there was nothing left inside of me.". Groups that manage to have a concert authorised throw all their money into it, only to see it cancelled at the last minute for no good reason. Heather Rastovac The Underground Music Scene in Urban Iran 63 position, as well as its religiously contested status, pop music was officially banned following the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic form of government in Iran. We've seen some examples of censorship in the Middle-East before but Iranian music streaming site Melovaz decided to take it to the extreme. Joe Biden has been sworn into office. "One artist can create a video clip with a dancer, another is arrested for it. A record shop in Tehran in 2005, when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad banned all western music from Iranian airwaves. Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top ... facilities banned in an attempt to impede "corrupting" foreign films and music. Warning, your message will only be displayed after it has been checked and approved. "Music is our only weapon. says a song by the famous Iranian rock band O-Hum. Ultimately the goal is important.". As a result, I’d rather say I play pop music, to be more respected,” says the young woman. Nevertheless, despite all the measures designed to stifle music, it could not be eliminated from … "I could not believe that something so beautiful could be treated so unjustly … It is hard to express the depth of the sadness that lives inside of me for it," she said. They instead launch their music on social media. 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Hassan Rouhani was elected in 2013 on the promise that he would allow Iran’s cultural scene the space to flourish, free from the worst excesses of censorship that … – what happens when a grassroots, international creators’ movement and a traditional trade union join forces? Cultural Censorship in Iran: A State of Emergency is an exploration of the Iranian government’s policies of cultural control in the latter years of the Ahmadinejad era.. “Headbanging is banned, even though it’s the DNA of heavy metal,” laments Kharrazzi. Shahab also feels it is a shame that young musicians are not able to experience performing on stage more often: “Music schools allow us to organise concerts under the cover of their authorisations, but they are often so-called experimental concerts, in a small lounge, which only family and close friends can attend, and the acoustic conditions do not really allow us to replicate the real thing.”. Another – by no means insignificant – problem affecting rock in Iran is the lack of solidarity between the bands. Internet users have made impressive strides in circumventing Internet-based music censorship. Her workshop and home were raided, her belongings were confiscated and she was detained for one year. The poet of the time called on the Mongol ruler to take care of his people, whose living conditions were deteriorating. "Even if I go to prison hundreds of times, I need female singing in my project, I need female dance along with philosophy and thinking," he said. Sometimes we were able to get hold of video cassettes, for example, and that’s how we saw a clip of Iron Maiden for the first time,” he reminisces. Reported cases of internet censorship. "The judge told me I was charged with publishing a woman singing and a woman dancing in my latest project, which 'causes society to go into prostitution'," Mr Rajabian said. Many in the West equate Middle Eastern music with the folklore of "A Thousand and One Nights". It was only at the insistence of a mutual friend that I deigned to listen to their music and I was surprised at the quality of their work.”. In contrast to conven- Censorship begins inside the home," he told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) in a recent interview. The fight against censorship is an exercise in absurdity, a long, frustrating process of negotiation for the sake of negotiation, a futile wading into quicksand. The young woman started taking drum lessons at the age of 20 and went on to become one of the few, if not the only, female drummers in Iran: “When I started working as a civil engineer, I didn’t have much time to rehearse and couldn’t play at home, so I used to drive to a friend’s place to practise there for half an hour. According to Kharrazi, it follows a cyclical pattern: eight years of reformists and there’s an opening in the world of cinema, theatre and music, then eight years of conservatives and there is another clamp down. His music label, Barg Music, which he said "supported banned artists, including many women", was shut down and his instruments and other equipment were confiscated. Each group member has to be approved, as does their music, their lyrics and their attire. For him, it is the anti-establishment ideology behind rock that the authorities fear: “Unlike those who go to pop concerts, rock fans are more intellectual, there is a line of thought, and that scares them.”, Khorrami, meanwhile, explains that he has been teaching electric guitar for 10 years, and that 95 per cent of rock and metal musicians in Iran earn their living by teaching. "Persian dance runs through my veins and without it I might just as well not be there at all," she said. Unlikely as this now may seem, there was a … In the Islamic Republic, anyone wanting to form a group, regardless of the musical genre, has to go to the Ministry and fill in the relevant forms. There have been restrictions on women performing publicly in front of men who are not their immediate relatives since the Islamic revolution of 1979. Equal Times is a trilingual news and opinion website focusing on labour, human rights, culture, development, the environment, politics and the economy from a social justice perspective. Another incident in 2014 made headlines across the world when six Iranians were arrested for appearing in an "obscene" video dancing to Pharrell Williams' song Happy. Here’s what the recent crackdown in Iran can tell us about the regime’s approach to internet censorship and what comes next. 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Several of his songs have been rejected on this basis: “I once took a poem from the Mongol period and set it to music. The Intelligence Ministry has banned at least 26 popular Iranian singers, including Shahram Shokoohi, Mohsen Yeganeh, Reza Sadeghi and Sirvan Khosravi, from performing in Iran after their music was broadcast by satellite networks abroad. In this country, those who persevere are really passionate about it.” Amir Kharrazi manages several bands in Iran and also organises concerts. He said he spent three months of 2013 in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, accused of insulting the values of Islam and spreading propaganda against the regime for an album he described on Facebook as being about the "absurdity" of the Iran-Iraq war. 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They have faced restrictions from authorities' countless times and cannot play their electronic music at any mix-gender festivals, as Ms Kafashan would face too much scrutiny as a female musician. It is actually a quotation from Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273), a celebrated Persian poet. Because of government restrictions and political issues, Ms Kafasha said there is no way to "show our art or make people familiar with what we do". In the chain of command of internet censorship in Iran, FATA is the policing body that acts on information provided by the SCC and CCDOC. As early as 1940 George Formby had his song “When I’m Cleaning Windows” banned due to its alleged smutty lyrics!!! Culture in Iran was facing a state of emergency. He said he was interrogated and detained for several hours before his family paid for him to be released on bail ahead of his trial. That same year, Iranian state TV broadcast apologies — which appeared to be filmed in prison — of several women, who were briefly detained for posting videos of themselves dancing on Instagram, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. In Iran, if one band exceeds the limits, all the others pay the price. So this diploma may offer them some hope.”, For Iranian musicians, a great deal of staying power is needed to achieve their goal of performing on stage or making a name for themselves on the international scene: “We are at the bottom of the ocean. From left to right, Shirin Vaezi, Amir Kharrazi and Amir Shahab, from the group AtriA, after a re-hearsal in their private studio, on 15 September 2018 in Tehran. “Every time a rock or metal gig has been cancelled for crossing the red lines, at least 20 other gigs have been cancelled or banned afterwards,” he notes. This phenomenon, as well as very limited knowledge about this kind of music, can be attributed to the restrictions that followed the 1979 Revolution. Authorisation has to be obtained from a whole host of authorities in addition to the Ministry, some of which are indirectly linked to the Guardians of the Revolution. Democracy and health: how citizen participation can also contribute to better health care. Music in … Iranian musicians have proudly named this style "Combined Music".