Copenhagen, 23. February 2015 (Freemuse): An information office of The Islamic State, Isis, in Libya has published photos of its militants burning musical instruments they said were confiscated in line with the radical group’s interpretation of Sharia law.
Instrumental music is banned according to the extreme form of Salafi Islam practiced by Islamic State.
Lignende episoder i Syrien
In Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, which is based in the northern part of the country, has banned folkloric dancing and music at public celebrations such as weddings.
On 19 January 2015, ISIL militants flogged five young men from Aleppo province after catching them playing musical instruments and accusing them of engaging in prohibited practices. The musical instruments they had seized were smashed.
Aleppo media activist Faisal al-Ahmed told Al-Shorfa that Massoud al-Mohamed “got 90 lashes for playing [his instrument] and singing, and is still confined to bed and suffers from inflammation in his vertebrae as a result of the beating, while the others received less than 50 lashes.”
The situation is the same in al-Raqa, where all forms of music have been banned since ISIL elements seized control of the city, reported Al-Shorfa.
Musik og Islam – hvad er problemet?
For several years Freemuse has stimulated research and documentation on issues of music and Islam.
You can find an introduction to the topic here: www.freemuse.org/archives/5689
“There is no ban on music in the Qur’an, and those talking about which music is haram (forbidden/bad) and which music is halal (allowed) have very weak evidence,” says a renowned Islamic scholar from The Beirut Studies and Documentation Center.
