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“I was taken to the prison of InMashhad, in the northeast of Iran, and put me in front of a cleric and a judge that I had just condemned to a hundred lashes for offences related to satanism. I was silent, I resisted strong in front of those bastards. A few soldiers wanted to tie me to a fence so that I do not fall to the ground by the whipping, but I refused. One of them gave me 67 lashes, and when tired, a colleague of his gave me the rest until you reach one hundred. Then, the judge said that some of the lashes had been very loose, and ordered you to give me thirty more. Tried broken inside, but I resisted. When that was done, I simply looked into his eyes and I left”.

This creepy story is Meraj Ansari, a member of the group of metal iranian Master of Persia , who was convicted of satanism simply by rehearsing with your band in the basement of a gym. It is just one of the many cases that are counted in the book “Rock in a Hard Place” by Orlando Crowcroft, which discusses the bloody war of islamic fundamentalism against this style of music in all its forms, from the heavy, which is severely persecuted, to death, which directly is prohibited. Ansari fell prey to the iranian authorities after the indictment of the ayatollah Alam Alhoda, who pointed that out to them as kaffirs (infidels or atheists, in Arabic). “When a big mulah accuses you of kaffir, is that the thing is serious,” says Ansari, who has had to “develop” his musical career almost in seclusion, practicing hidden and recording video clips at a distance.

Iran will have left many kaffirs in the last few years. The most recent case is that of the band Arsames , whose members were arrested last week “for form a metal band satanic and to be against the islamic government”, and that now you are facing a conviction that can reach up to fifteen years in prison. Have paid the deposit and now are on probation or awaiting trial. But they play death metal, so I have quite crude. Although their lyrics talk mostly on Persian mythology.

In 2014 it was the musicians of the group Confess . Two of them were sentenced to 74 lashes, and twelve and a half years in prison, and were lucky: the Revolutionary Guard that stopped them in their homes had asked for the death penalty for “promoting blasphemy, insulting the Supreme Leader and stand against the system”. Saved them a sort of legal vacuum of the Sharia (Islamic Law): “If you insult Mohammed, you will be executed, because it is dead and cannot defend himself. But if blasphemous and question the existence of God, He can forgive you. That is why we will not be executed”, said the musicians, who fortunately were able to escape before being sentenced. The two paid a deposit equivalent to $ 30,000 to stay in freedom, and as were able fled the country and sought asylum in Norway, where we continue living and playing music currently.

however, there seems to be exceptions. Groups metalheads as Deathtune or Gauge rehearse in Tehran, give concerts from time to time in small rooms, and ensure that you just have to ask for the corresponding permissions and be respectful of the letters. In short, what in the world is known as to be some amazing cake.

War

Chapter apart deserves the war of islam more extreme, terrorist groups such as Isis, against music in general. Since the attacks in the room Bataclán of Paris and the Manchester Arena during the concerts of Eagles of Death Metal (a group of rock and not metal, despite its name) and Ariana Grande , the threats to the band’s california-based Allah-Las to sabotage his performance in Rotterdam, the fundamentalists have made it clear that music is his enemy, and that no artist is safe. So clear is what stopped the rapper jamaican Sean Paul , when I was sent this death threat days before a concert on new year’s Eve in the Maldives islands: “Sean Paul, if you visit the Maldives, the world will see your body burned and covered in blood. Sean Paul, who intends to join in the celebration of New Year, 2014, is the greatest infidel.” Of course, canceled the show and stayed safe in his mansion. But unfortunately, the victims are sometimes completely helpless: In Iraq, the ISIS beheading of a child of fifteen years for committing the audacity of listening to pop music on their mobile.

In the ranks of islamic terrorism is allowed only one type of music, call nasheed . According to the daily the Times, the intelligence services, americans and europeans have for years by detecting that the songs of several groups of this type are created by terrorist groups, such as Soldiers of Allah, they are acting as a vehicle of indoctrination of the young against the West. Her lyrics teach young muslims to the virtues of jihadism with songs about the war in Iraq, the oppression of the muslims and the ideal of a new islamic State. And incredibly, they are very easy to find on the internet.

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