The Day the Music Died—in Iran

Iran’s Islamic government has long had a fairly dodgy relationship with music, but just in case the crackdowns and dearth of public performances weren’t making things clear enough, the country’s supreme leader announced that teaching and promoting music is “not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic.”

The Guardian:

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is “not compatible” with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.

In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: “Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic.”

Read more

Flickr / shaho (CC-BY-ND)