The Yemeni Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism (and you know what a tourist hotspot Yemen is) has declared July 1 Yemeni Song Day, but the Houthis are countering by claiming Qur’anic authenticity, an appeal that will resonate with many people in Yemen.
Whenever I note that Islamic law forbids music (aside from nasheeds, a cappella songs encouraging jihad), I am excoriated as a greasy Islamophobe, but it’s nonetheless true:
Hadith Qudsi 19:5: “The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance.” (The Hadith Qudsi, or holy Hadith, are those in which Muhammad transmits the words of Allah, although those words are not in the Qur’an.)
Muhammad is also depicted as saying:
(1) “Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.”
(2) “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”
(3) “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.”
(4) “This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” Someone asked, “When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?” and he said, “When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.”
(5) “There will be peoples of my Community who will hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful ….” — Reliance of the Traveller r40.0
“Houthis borrow a page of ISIS fanaticism as they ban song and music in Sana’a,” by Saleh Baidhani, Arab Weekly, June 29, 2021 (thanks to Henry):
ADEN – Yemeni activists have launched a counter-offensive to celebrate Yemeni music in defiance of the decision by the Houthi militias to ban music and songs at social functions in the areas under their control, based on religious fatwas criminalising popular art in a practice similar to that of Islamic State (ISIS) extremists.
The Yemeni ministry of information, culture and tourism joined the activists’ campaign and announced the adoption of the first of July of each year as Yemen’s Song Day.
The ministry called for celebrations on this day in Yemeni governorates. It also invited “artists, poets, writers, journalists, broadcasters, activists and all groups of people in all governorates to participate in the celebration of the Yemeni Song Day … with the aim of promoting Yemeni culture and Yemeni heritage.”
Commenting on the campaign launched by Yemeni activists, the Yemeni government’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Muammar al-Eryani tweeted, “In response to the initiative launched by a number of artists, intellectuals and activists, in order to strengthen the Yemeni identity and protect Yemeni heritage and art, in the face of the fierce campaign waged by the Houthi militias against art, the ministry of information, culture and tourism, announces that July 1 of every year will be celebrated as Yemen’s Song Day.”
During the past few days, Yemeni journalists and intellectuals posted on social media a copy of an official document by the Houthi authorities, containing instructions that prevent male and female artists from attending weddings and other social functions held in Sana’a and other areas under the control of the Iran-backed militias.
The document issued by the Houthi governor of Sana’a, Abdul Basit al-Hadi, confirmed that directives were issued to heads of directorates and local councils to “curtail the phenomenon of artists and artists performing at events and weddings by promoting Quranic awareness within the community.”
The decision is just part of measures and practices enforced by the Houthi militias in their areas of control, which include the closure of public places, such as cafes and restaurants, detention and arrest of activists and artists on moral charges and restricting artistic and creative activities, through measures that Yemeni media and activists likened to ISIS practices in Iraq and Syria during the period of the extremist group’s control of large swathes of the two Middle East countries….
Yemen has recently seen a wave of departures by contemporary Yemeni singers, especially from the younger generation, who have left the Houthi-controlled areas and emigrated outside Yemen, to flee the restrictions imposed by the militant group.
gravenimage says
Yemen: Houthis ban song and music as part of ‘promoting Qur’anic awareness’
………………
There is no joy in Islam. This is perfectly Islamic.
As for tourism. I checked out wikiTravel’s Yemen page:
WARNING: Do not travel to Yemen under any circumstances. The country is embroiled in civil war and the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. Terrorist groups continue to plot and conduct attacks in Yemen and may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and local government facilities. No part of Yemen is safe from violence. A nationwide cessation of hostilities deteriorated after August 2016, and since then high levels of violence, to include armed conflict, artillery shelling, and air strikes, now persist in areas throughout the country. Attempts at independent travel are near suicidal and will most likely result in your death.
https://wikitravel.org/en/Yemen
mortimer says
The joy of music is robbed from Muslims by the mentally ill Mohammed of the 7th century.
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
― Albert Einstein
“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC”
― kurt vonnegut
Peter Burrows says
Thanks, Mort.
IanB says
I cannot imagine life without music.
I can, however, imagine life without Islam. That would be a blessing.
One can hope.
CogitoErgoSum says
Imagine if God worked as a cosmic composer and we are melodies of God played out on vibrating strings resonating across a universe consisting of 11 or maybe 12 dimensions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW6JFKgbAF4
Ruislamicky? says
I Can’t Dance: Genesis on u tube. Watch it it will help..
Michael Copeland says
Saleh Baidhani, of Arab Weekly, asserts that “criminalising popular art” is “a practice similar to that of Islamic State (ISIS) extremists”.
This is not “extremist”: it is basic Islam.
The Manual of Islamic Law, “Reliance of the Traveller”, has a section entitled:
“Commanding the Right and Forbidding the Wrong”.
This includes “Righting the wrong by hand”, such as
“breaking musical instruments” (q5.6).
OLD GUY says
Islamic rule of the world will set mankind back thousands of years in progress and humanity.
Goofy says
For those who believe that Allah and Jehovah is one and the same god please compare:
“On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”
and
Revelations 21:4
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away.”