Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that music is incompatible with the Iranian revolution, and hence he is not available to dj at weddings, baptisms or bar mitzvahs. Shame.
In response to a question from a student, the “supreme leader” commented: “Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic.”
Which makes now probably as good a time as any to tell you that the next issue of Index on Censorship magazine will focus on censorship of music and musicians.
Russian authorities have been criticised for giving permission to a sports car federation to hold an event in Triumfalnaya Square, St Petersburg, on July 31, the same day that opposition protesters had applied to use the square. Two weeks after the protesters applied to use the square it was announced that car racing would take place instead. Angered by this, hundreds of protesters arrived at the square on July 31 to be greeted by police. In total around 95 were arrested in similar protests across Russia, including well known Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov. Reports state that many of those arrested had facial injuries.
