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15 February 2007

Denmark:
Focus on arguments against religious music prohibition

Two national tv stations and several newspapers interviewed
the Pakistani rock musician Salman Ahmad about his
viewpoints on music prohibition in Islam

Salman Ahmad was visiting the Danish capital Copenhagen to present the documentary film, 'The Rock Star and the Mullahs'. After screening the film, Salman Ahmad answered questions from the audience of approximately 130 persons who had found their way to the Copenhagen cinema Grand Theatre.  

 Wimpy Wasp Video Preview

Salman Ahmad's presentation took place on a late Saturday evening, 10 February 2007. He spoke not only about music and Islam, but also about how religion is used for political purposes, and about Pakistan's future



The video report was recorded and edited by Mik Aidt. It contains three clips from the film 'The Rock Star and the Mullahs' which is produced by October Films (Angus MacQueen / Ruhi Hamid) and Wide Angle (Stephen Segaller). 


Left: Salman Ahmad on TV2 News: "Music is a very strong force"

Right: The audience in the cinema Grand on Saturday evening, 10 February 2007
 Listen to audio track in mp3 format

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Related reading

See video interview
with Salman Ahmad about music prohibition among Islamists, and about music censorship in Pakistan.

John Lennon's 'Give Peace a Chance' featuring Voices of Asia Music video on youtube.com where Salman Ahamd sings a snippet of Bulleh Shah's 'Masjid Dha Dey' for John Lennon's anthem for peace:
    You may destroy the mosque
    tear down the temple
    break all that can be broken
    but never break anyone's heart
    because that is the true house of God



Articles in Danish language

Article in the Danish magazine Djembe, February 2007:
'Music is not a curse'

CLick to read article (in Danish)Click to read article (in Danish language)    Click to read editorial

Editorial in Djembe no 59, February 2007:
'Smokescreen of the respect'
 
 

 
 
 

Click to read article


Continued debate (in Danish language) about the subject, the film and about the evening event on Desinet.dk:
'Kommentar til: Debat Med Salman Ahmad'

Berlingske Tidende – 27 February 2007:
'En musikalsk oprører' ('A musical rebel')

Kristeligt Dagblad – 14 February 2007:
'Magt og musik' ('Power and music')
'Hjerterne taler samme sprog' ('The hearts speak the same language')

Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR2 tv channel, 'Deadline' (2:09 + 8:41 minutes) – 10 February 2007:
'Må gode muslimer spille rockmusik?'
 ('Are good Muslims allowed to play rock music?')

Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR – 8 February 2007:
'Sydasiens svar på Bono er snart i København'
 ('South-East Asia's answer to Bono is soon in Copenhagen')

Berlingske Tidende – 6 February 2007:
'Film om rock i Pakistan' ('Film about rock in Pakistan')

Desinet.dk – 2 February 2007:
'Pakistans svar på Bono' ('Pakistan's answer to Bono')

Politiken – 26 November 2006:
'Den farlige musik' ('The dangerous music')

BBC News – 15 December 2003:
'When the rock star met the mullah'

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