Kashmiri girls end their affair with music after chief priest's fatwa

05 February, 2013

Kashmir's all-eves band called it quits after the chief priest Mufti Bashir-u-din issued a fatwa saying that the music was bad for the development of society. He said the music is banned in Islam and girls should learn Islamic values, instead of becoming a source of entertainment to thousands of people.

“Yes, I issued the fatwa. All the bad things happening in the Indian society are because of music,” the priest said, adding, “They (girls) should stop from such activities and not get influenced by the support of political leadership.”

The three teenage girls –Farah Deeba at drums, Aneeka Khalid at guitar and vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir - performed at the Indoor stadium in December last year. After receiving abuse and hate emails on their Facebook Page, the band decided to stay low for some time. But after the chief priest’s fatwa, the girls announced an end to their affair with music.

Earlier, the state chief minister Omar Abdullah had extended his support to the band and lashed out at a handful of ‘morons’ who had posted the online abuse. He also took on chief priest’s ruling in a tweet: “Given the importance people attach to the fatwas of the Grand Mufti the less said the better.” But the minister removed the tweet after online media started to report it.

Kashmir has a history of recognizing public singing and dancing of women on festivals, marriages and cultural programmes, according to NNIS.