Religions and faiths across the world, down many millennia, have experienced, defined, redefined and even defied sins of all dimensions, ranging from simple enough gossiping to felony to avarice to aggression to animosity. But, nowhere in the history of man is a story or an instance in which human beings are barred from singing - whether it is for fun or for freedom or for personal gratification and/or for someone's well-being and happiness; or say, just for the sake of music itself.
It is not an exaggeration to say that, even if the planet happens to last hundreds of thousands of millennia, there is not going to be a human civilization in which all human beings would follow a faith that bars its followers from singing a few songs. Rendering some musical notes in such a way as to make the listener feel her/his life worth living is nothing short of making an ardent prayer requesting God Almighty to render one with the courage to face the difficulties so that one would feel like living, even if their life is in abject penury and misery.
God, let Him be of any faith, blesses people in several different ways, and His most favourite subjects are blessed with music. Therefore, it is fair to say singing a few songs is like saying aloud the words of God. Millions of followers of extremely different faiths across the human spectrum believe so, and such a belief is getting stronger and stronger when we understand that music heals the sick and suffering. We call it a kind of therapy. But all therapies repose a little faith in some beliefs.
Nowhere has the world seen a group of three girls with their blessing from God sabotaging the tenants, teachings and traditions of any religion. We have seen now. We are seeing it now, and we are going to see a much more heinous face of religious fundamentalism in the form of defying God for the sake of religious outfits and their henchmen or henchwomen.
Now intolerance has come to such a pass that a politico-religious outfit called Dukhtaran-i-Milat (Daughters of faith), founded by one Syeda Asiya Andrabi, finds it right to slap a social boycott on an all-girls-music-band trio. There is a kind fatwa against these three girls - Noma Nazir, Farah Deeba and Aneeka Khalid - hailing from Bemina, Rajbagh and Chanapora areas of Kashmir Valley. Needless to say, their band now stands dismantled.
These three girls would have been the ambassadors of peace across all parts of the world. Jammu and Kashmir could have had one more feather in its already beautified cap with the three girls singing the songs of sinless love, happiness and peace. I would like the three to sing…
“If music be the food of love, play on,
And even if it is the food of hate, play on…and on and on
It isn’t sin singing, but it is sin not singing… the Gesture of Gods called music.
