Ashiq Hussain
SRINAGAR: The row over a rock band comprising only girls in Muslim-majority Kashmir refuses to die down, as the region’s chief priest on Sunday took a dig at the group’s most-prominent ‘supporter’, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah himself.
Abdullah, who Saturday lashed out at the “handful of morons”, hurling online abuses against the all-girl-band, faced the ire of valley’s grand-mufti, Molvi Bashiruddin.
The mufti has openly castigated the “political leadership for expressing unnecessary support” to a “shameless act”.
“Such trivial acts (singing and playing instruments) never develop a society but are a first step to demolish its moral fabric. I am happy that the new generation has attained a pro-development and pro-religion stance but there are some girls treading on the path of destruction,” Mufti, quoted in an advisory (not official decree or fatwa) issued by his office, said.
“They should stop from such activities and not to get influenced by the support of political leadership,” he said.
Why now?
The band ‘Pragaash (morning light)’ comprising three school girls, vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir, drummer Farah Deeba and Guitarist Aneeka Khalid, performed their first live performance at Srinagar’s music festival, Battle of the Bands in December last year.
After their performance, some facebook users uploaded a picture of the performance which generated praises from some and abuses from others on the social networking websites.
Kashmir has decades’ old history of recognising public singing and dancing by women on festivals, marriages and cultural programs, although considered un-Islamic by the clergy.
But Mushtaq Ahmad Lone, an Imam of a mosque in Old city said, “The grand-mufti, who termed the girl music band un-Islamic and trivial, has never come out with a statement when women perform traditional dancing like Rouf on government functions like Independence Day and Republic Day, or when radio and TV broadcast traditional songs. Why now?”
“The pointless debate won’t help anybody but those who want to portray us what we are not,” he said.
Men and women would enjoy the songs of women singers like Zuna Begun and Raj Begum for the past five decades. Among modern singers Shamima Dev, wife of union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, has become a household name.
The band girls have refused to quit but said that they won’t be performing live for some time.
Also Read: Kashmir’s all-eves band says won’t quit
(Hindustan Times)
