|
Iraq War Propels Hate-U.S Songs to Top of Pakistani Charts
In Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), the U.S-led war on Iraq has fuelled the growth of a thriving music industry, based on rabble-rousing, anti-American audio cassettes, which analysts fear will give a fillip to Islamism. As during the 1991 U.S. attack on Iraq, and ten years later in Afghanistan, this time too poets in the local Pashto language, are working overtime to arouse anti-Western sentiments among the province's orthodox Pashtoon tribes. Not that the locals need much incitement. Just to get the measure of the province's already strong anti-American sentiment, two years ago thousands of volunteers went to bordering Afghanistan to fight against U.S troops alongside the Taliban. As most people in far flung areas of this Islamist province lack access to sources of entertainment, audio cassettes churned out by a host of local musicians and poets are effortlessly filling the void. All these songs contain a common thread â they express solidarity with Iraqis and equate America with Satan. As one song goes, "A devil has emerged from his filthy den and has endangered humanity's peace. Alas, there is no one to stop his cruelties." Despite a ban imposed in NWFP by the ruling Islamist alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), on playing music in public transport and places, many drivers listen to cassettes about Iraq in their vehicles. Passengers aren't complaining. "People hate America for its attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, so they like it when we play cassettes containing anti-American sentiments," says Ahmad Gul, a coach driver in Peshawar, the capital of NWFP. Part of their appeal lies in the fact that they stress the immediacy of the threat to Muslims. Take a prime example â "Today Baghdad and Karbala are burning, tomorrow you will be deprived of Mecca. O Muslim, why have you let your sword rust?" Though they have little in common, Saddam Hussain and Osama Bin Laden, are regular favorites among songwriters. So some of these poems contain panegyrics in their honor. As one songwriter says, "People are not concerned with the political and religious status of these two, they just regard them as heroes of Islam." Says singer Hidayat Shah, whose new album hit the market recently, "I write poetry to awaken the Muslims from their deep slumber. During the U.S. attack on Iraq in 1991 we released several albums which encouraged us to produce more this time," he says. Shah says his object is not pecuniary. "It is not my business. I consider it a jehad and a religious obligation," he maintains. I have sung and written more than 1,000 revolutionary poems since the American invasion of Iraq last time," he claims. Cassettes filled with hate speeches have also proliferated. Speeches by religious leaders condemning America and its allies are fast gaining popularity. The most popular of these is religious scholar Maulana Muhammad Amir, popularly known as Maulana Bijli Ghar (Cleric Electricity Dept) for his firebrand speeches. Political analysts say these cassettes cannot be taken lightly. They believe they will impact Pashtoons for a long time to come. Renowned political analyst and lawyer Barrister Baacha says the emotional nature of the lyrics will make people â especially Afghans â more pro-Taliban and pro-Osama. "The Afghans consider the attack on Iraq the start of another crusade. They will become prey to pro-Taliban elements, thus blocking the way for reformation of the orthodox Pashtoon society," Baacha comments. He says the American attack on Afghanistan acted as a catalyst to bring together religious parties to form the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). The alliance won the October general elections in the Pashtoon-dominated NWFP and Balochistan provinces. He predicts, "Just as Ayatullah Khomeini's messages on audio cassettes paved the way for an Islamic revolution in Iran, the revolutionary poems and lyrics being disseminated today would inculcate a revolutionary sentiment among the Pashtoons." Posted by: Paul Moloney 2003-04-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=13533 |