Blog on all-girls Kashmir band: hey, preacher, leave those girls alone

Blog on all-girls Kashmir band: hey, preacher, leave those girls alone

Mangaloretoday/NDTV

Kashmir, Feb 5: The mullahs have struck again and this time with the support of online Ayatollahs. A rock band of teenage girls in the strife-torn valley of Kashmir has been forced to lie low because a grand mufti and some self-proclaimed caretakers of Islam see their music as "un-Islamic."
 
The grand mufti has paraded a blatant lie in the name of religion. Music is not un-Islamic.

 

 

Plain and simple. Let’s see where music is placed in the Islamic scheme of things. Allah sent one lakh twenty four thousand prophets, prophet Muhammad (PBUH) being the last one. Of these, Allah bestowed his divine word on only four in the form of Books - Muhammad, Moses, Jesus and Dawood (PBUT). So it’s clear, the grand mufti would agree with me here, that these four were dearer and closer to Allah than the rest. And Allah bestowed miraculous powers on all of them. What did Allah give Prophet Dawood? The answer, grand mufti, is music.

A voice that could move mountains. The Zubur (the book of psalms), the book revealed on Prophet Dawood (PBUH), even lists ragas that Prophet Dawood sang in praise of God. There are also a number of hadiths, only if the grand mufti would care to quote, about how prophet likened anyone with sweet voice to Prophet Dawood. Would Prophet Muhammad have praised Dawood’s singing if it were "un-Islamic"?
 
Islam doesn’t prohibit music. In fact, as is the case with most things, Islam only defines limits. So abusive language and vulgar lyrics are not allowed.
 
But there’s nothing as yet to suggest that these Kashmiri kids were indulging in any sort of vulgarity or anti-social acts through their music. They are in fact only taking forward the illustrious sufi and musical tradition of the Valley. Further the Almighty has blessed these young girls with a talent and interest. They have every right to pursue it. Banning art or individual talent cannot be the Islamic way.
 
So, dear grand mufti, don’t drag in Islam into your patriarchal, perverse world view.
 
Pragash girl, you rock on. You are truly the light.