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Kashmir girl band provoke fatwa by singing in front of men

By C. J. Refsland on February 6, 2013 • ( 0 )

This is the story of three teenage girls who wanted to sing popular music, but were born in the wrong place. After participating in a music contest in the largely Mulsim Indian Kashmir, Aneeqa, Noma, and Farah received third place — plus insults, rape threats and a fatwa (public condemnation by a Muslim cleric) against them.

The girls banded together to form the band “Praagash”, which means “from darkness to light”, in India’s only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir. Such a feat is unheard of in their region. The girls, whose music they describe as strongly influenced by heavy metal, started gaining local fame after playing live during a music contest organised by a club in Srinagar.

While their performance won them many fans, the girls were also attacked by radical Muslims for daring to play in front of men. On their Facebook page, negative comments abound. Some commenters even called them prostitutes, threatened them, and said they would end up getting raped.

The scandal ended up getting the attention of religious authorities. On Sunday, the grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad, the highest Muslim officer in the state, issued a fatwa condemning the young women’s performance. He also took the opportunity to announce that all women and girls should only sing at home — and only in front of the female members of their family, at that. Later that day, the band announced that it was breaking up on its Facebook page.

The story also took on a political dimension when the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdulla, publicized his support for the girl band and demanded an investigation of the threats made online.

Read the Rest via Kashmir girl band provoke fatwa by singing in front of men | The Observers.

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