She also says that she is a part time reporter at the Saudi Gazette.
She is reporting on a story here. Notice the same name, and she is also the only female employee on this news paper. Apparently they held a rock concert in the capital city!
So am totally confused, music is banned on TV for children programmes, but rock concerts are allowed?
I have copied the story below and also have a screenshot if required! :)
UPDATE: See here for an interesting take on fatwa's
All this to be taken with a grain of piquant salt!!!
| Rock Concert Wows Crowd |  |  |  |
| Saturday, 08 September 2007 | |
| By Suzan Zawawi HALFWAY through what its organizers called the first heavy-metal concert to be held in Riyadh, the music stopped for Isha prayer. A solemn silence washed over the crowd that had just listened to thrashing rock and roll from bands with names like Deathless Anguish and Creative Waste. An announcement was made that a prayer room was available nearby. Thirty minutes later, hard rock poured from the stage amps and 250 people went from rocking to reverence and back again. Such is the reality of live music in Saudi Arabia.Despite the obvious controversies, organizers and concertgoers said the event, dubbed "The Clash of Irons," was a resounding success. "It was great," said Riem Farahat, a Saudi young lady who attended the concert. "I didn't expect the bands to perform that good, but they were amazing." The majority of attendees were Saudis, and all were 16 or older. "It was nice seeing so many young people passionate about something," Farahat said. "What I really liked about the gig was that the people attending were not there to be seen but to really enjoy the music." To cover all their bases, organizers interviewed anyone who asked about buying a ticket. Still, tickets were sold out ahead of time, by Wednesday morning. Those who passed the interview saw nine Saudi rock bands - the cream of the crop in the Kingdom's underground music scene. Thursday night's performance was a rare opportunity for the bands to perform in front of a large live audience. "Most of the bands play for each other in our friends' houses or for small gatherings, but there are a few bands that have taken rock seriously and are trying to branch out," said 26-year-old organizer Fawaz Kurdi. "It was a blast." Organizers expected The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice to shut down the event, but instead officials mainly monitored from a distance. One organizer said Commission members did take into custody five young men who were waiting at a local mall for a chartered bus to take them to the venue. "The men were asked a couple of questions then released," the organizer said. "Other than that, the concert went well." Thursday night's gig also gave Saudis the chance to learn more about some of the local bands and for their music to be distributed to the public. "I was glad to buy three of the CDs that were on sale," Farahat said. Despite the success of the show, however, organizers said they will no longer sponsor or set up rock concerts inside the Kingdom. "We will be sponsoring other gigs for Saudi bands but in Beirut and Bahrain," one organizer said. "It was just too complicated, and the risks are too high." |
5 comments:
Music is not banned in Saudi Arabia. There are no laws prohibiting it and, as Saudi law is based on Sharia law, this means that the Saudi government cannot find Quranic support for banning it.
This does not mean, however, that very strict fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia do not view music as suspect. Many would like to see it banned as they believe it leads to sinful behavior, if not sinful in itself.
Sort of like those jokes about Baptists condemning dancing, I guess.
I blog about Saudi Arabia and the changes it's going through at Crossroads Arabia, if you'd like to keep track.
What is the confusion is all about? I think the writer of this is making a fool of him/her-self by trying to make a story out of nothing. Suzan is a Muslim reporter who follows Islam which prohibits Music and she said it clearly in the video. Her Job, however, required her to write about a concert “Music concert”. As a writer and reporter, she wrote in a way that attract readers (as part of her Job) even though she, as many Muslims are, would not allow her children to attend such a concert.
I think this would make what is called “confusion” clear. Got it.
The confusion is thus, Susfan. If Islam prohibits music, then how come Saudi Arabia (which one would hope follows Islam) allows music concerts to be held?
Music isn't banned in Islam. That's a lie propagated by the leadership in Saudi Arabia and Iran and by conservatives here.
so everyone here is a scholar of islam who gives verdicts that its haram or not? what are scholars for. their hadn't come a single scholar from the past or present who are accepted, who makes music permissible as a whole.. but as we have been taught that "duff" is permitted. but how can the bells of satans.. the HEAVY METAL or DEATH METAL of now which calls for satanism be allowed in islam.. whether in saudi arabia or not.. never will they be a part of islam.. but only a part of ones self which has the greed to follow the outcasted one.
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