Mojo-jojo
Minister (2k+ posts)
[h=1]Mali: no rhythm or reason as militants declare war on music[/h] Islamist militants are banning music in northern Mali, a chilling proposition for a country where music is akin to mineral wealth
Musicians performing at the Crepissage festival in Timbuktu, Mali, in front of the Sankore mosque. Photograph: Alamy
The pickup halted in Kidal, the far-flung Malian desert town that is home to members of the Grammy award-winning band Tinariwen. Seven AK47-toting militiamen got out and marched to the family home of a local musician. He wasn't home, but the message delivered to his sister was chilling: "If you speak to him, tell him that if he ever shows his face in this town again, we'll cut off all the fingers he uses to play his guitar with."
The gang then removed guitars, amplifiers, speakers, microphones and a drum kit from the house, doused them with petrol, and set them ablaze. In northern Mali, religious war has been declared on music.
When a rabble of different Islamist groups took control of the region in April there were fears that its rich culture would suffer. But no one imagined that music would almost cease to exist not in Mali, a country that has become internationally renowned for its sound.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/23/mali-militants-declare-war-music
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- Andy Morgan
- guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 October 2012 12.29 EDT
- Andy Morgan
The pickup halted in Kidal, the far-flung Malian desert town that is home to members of the Grammy award-winning band Tinariwen. Seven AK47-toting militiamen got out and marched to the family home of a local musician. He wasn't home, but the message delivered to his sister was chilling: "If you speak to him, tell him that if he ever shows his face in this town again, we'll cut off all the fingers he uses to play his guitar with."
The gang then removed guitars, amplifiers, speakers, microphones and a drum kit from the house, doused them with petrol, and set them ablaze. In northern Mali, religious war has been declared on music.
When a rabble of different Islamist groups took control of the region in April there were fears that its rich culture would suffer. But no one imagined that music would almost cease to exist not in Mali, a country that has become internationally renowned for its sound.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/23/mali-militants-declare-war-music
