"ZEALOTS ASSAULT ON METAL"
"A Malaysian state recently announced plans to ban black metal, which Islamic authorities say has a negative influence on young people. The government and Muslim clerics fear that the music has encouraged some to dabble in the occult, and even the prime minister is said to be taking the issue seriously, and has called a special cabinet meeting for August 8 to discuss the alleged involvement of youth in anti-social activities. State-run radio and television networks have been ordered to play less metal and begin requiring foreign bands to submit videotapes for approval before gigging in Malaysia. Reports say some schools have started strip-searching students to look for metal-related tattoos, a move thankfully denounced by the country's Bar Council. Islamic authorities say they have found evidence that some young people are involved in a Satanic cult, citing skull necklaces and references to animal sacrifice in fanzines. An annual meeting of government-appointed clerics in the predominantly Muslim country also called for a blanket ban on black metal and associated images at the beginning of March, while the south-western state of Negri Sembilan announced that it would issue a fatwa, or Islamic edict, banning the music. The degrading body searches are intended to uncover evidence of participation in the metal underground, but some parents are said to be angry that their children are being subjected to them and Bar Council Chairman Mah Weng Kwai told the New Straits Times newspaper that the searches are "a gross violation of the individual's privacy". "The Bar Council is mindful that school authorities have to maintain good conduct and discipline among students," he added, but warned that even police are not entitled to conduct random searches without suspicion that the law had been broken.
In an unrelated but equally worrying move, more than a dozen metal musicians and fans were recently jailed in Casablanca, Morroco for moral and religious crimes, according to local media reports. The 14 men, all aged between 22 and 35, were convicted of "acts capable of undermining the faith of a Muslim" and "possessing objects which infringe morals". Their sentences of between one month and one year followed inflammatory newspaper pieces which dubbed them "Satanists" involved in international devil-worship. Nine of the convicted men were in three Moroccan metal outfits - Nekros, Infected Brain and Reborn. Local magazine TelQuel rallied to their defence, criticising the judge in the case for saying that "normal people go to concerts in a suit and tie, not the more usual metal garb of symbol-laden black t-shirts. The judge also branded as suspicious the fact that one of those convicted preferred to write his lyrics in English. TelQuels editor Driss Ksikes hit back saying "Morocco's young people will not feel at home in their own country. Our judicial system needs psychologists if they don't understand that young people are by essence subversive and like to shock." The sentences were also condemned by friends, families and teachers, who said older establishment figures were unable to understand this particular area of youth culture. The harsh punishments will also raise concerns among many in Morocco at a time when there are fears that Islamist politicians are gaining the upper hand."
What are your opinions on this?
"A Malaysian state recently announced plans to ban black metal, which Islamic authorities say has a negative influence on young people. The government and Muslim clerics fear that the music has encouraged some to dabble in the occult, and even the prime minister is said to be taking the issue seriously, and has called a special cabinet meeting for August 8 to discuss the alleged involvement of youth in anti-social activities. State-run radio and television networks have been ordered to play less metal and begin requiring foreign bands to submit videotapes for approval before gigging in Malaysia. Reports say some schools have started strip-searching students to look for metal-related tattoos, a move thankfully denounced by the country's Bar Council. Islamic authorities say they have found evidence that some young people are involved in a Satanic cult, citing skull necklaces and references to animal sacrifice in fanzines. An annual meeting of government-appointed clerics in the predominantly Muslim country also called for a blanket ban on black metal and associated images at the beginning of March, while the south-western state of Negri Sembilan announced that it would issue a fatwa, or Islamic edict, banning the music. The degrading body searches are intended to uncover evidence of participation in the metal underground, but some parents are said to be angry that their children are being subjected to them and Bar Council Chairman Mah Weng Kwai told the New Straits Times newspaper that the searches are "a gross violation of the individual's privacy". "The Bar Council is mindful that school authorities have to maintain good conduct and discipline among students," he added, but warned that even police are not entitled to conduct random searches without suspicion that the law had been broken.
In an unrelated but equally worrying move, more than a dozen metal musicians and fans were recently jailed in Casablanca, Morroco for moral and religious crimes, according to local media reports. The 14 men, all aged between 22 and 35, were convicted of "acts capable of undermining the faith of a Muslim" and "possessing objects which infringe morals". Their sentences of between one month and one year followed inflammatory newspaper pieces which dubbed them "Satanists" involved in international devil-worship. Nine of the convicted men were in three Moroccan metal outfits - Nekros, Infected Brain and Reborn. Local magazine TelQuel rallied to their defence, criticising the judge in the case for saying that "normal people go to concerts in a suit and tie, not the more usual metal garb of symbol-laden black t-shirts. The judge also branded as suspicious the fact that one of those convicted preferred to write his lyrics in English. TelQuels editor Driss Ksikes hit back saying "Morocco's young people will not feel at home in their own country. Our judicial system needs psychologists if they don't understand that young people are by essence subversive and like to shock." The sentences were also condemned by friends, families and teachers, who said older establishment figures were unable to understand this particular area of youth culture. The harsh punishments will also raise concerns among many in Morocco at a time when there are fears that Islamist politicians are gaining the upper hand."
What are your opinions on this?
