Exclusive: Taliban carrying out music's 'genocide' in Afghanistan, says Afghan music saviour Ahmad Sarmast

Two days back, the world saw the Taliban burn musical instruments worth thousands of dollars in the western Herat province of Afghanistan, calling the art form a major reason for causing “moral corruption".

The torching of musical instruments added to the list of atrocious measures taken by the rulers of Afghanistan in the past few months, as the deafening silence of the world leaders continued to screech the ears of Afghanis waiting with hopeful eyes for a new dawn.

Amid the escalating crackdown by the Taliban, the founder of the country's only music school, Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and ethnomusicologist Dr Ahmad Naser Sarmast said that the Taliban have been carrying out a “genocide” of the music.

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“Destroying and burning musical instruments are part of music's genocide carried out by the Taliban and is a crackdown on the musical rights, artistic freedom and cultural rights of the Afghan people by the terror group. They are not just burning the musical instruments, in fact, the people of Afghanistan and musicians have been deprived of all five musical rights as identified by the International Music Council (IMC),” Dr Sarmast said while speaking to WION.

Fleeting happiness, darkening future

The bonfire of musical instruments included a guitar, a harmonium and a tabla along with amplifiers and speakers, as seen in the images posted online.

Speaking about the dying hope of youth in Afghanistan, the ethnomusicologist said, “Afghan children and youth have been deprived by the Taliban of their basic human and music rights to learn music and chase their dreams of becoming a musician and to make a name for themselves through the beauty of music. The only music school in the country, Afghanistan National Institute of Music, which is often called the happiest place in Afghanistan, is shut down though it operates in Portugal.”

Keeping Afghan music alive

Dr Sarmast, who is recognised and respected internationally for his educational work in Afghanistan, has been living in Portugal and running his institute there after surviving a suicide bomb blast in which he lost his hearing ability.

Explaining why it is important to keep Afghan music alive and thriving, the music saviour said, “Music always was an integral part of Afghan culture, social life and identity. In the 20 century, music played a significant role in keeping the Afghans united while promoting important messages of social and political importance at far distances of the country with the help of radio broadcasting and recording industry.”

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'Tyrants fear the ability of artists to unify people'

Speaking about why culture comes under the hammer when tyrants take over the seat of power in nations, Dr Sarmast said, “The oppressive regimes and tyrants are afraid of the power and abilities of arts and artists in unifying people and spreading the messages of resistance and unity among the people in their struggle for freedom.”

Expressing his dismay at no united action taken by the music fraternity for reinstating the music rights of Afghanis, he said, “While there is a lot of sympathy from the music community for the total denial of the music rights of the Afghans by the Taliban, until now there has not been a united action taken to demand the restoration of music rights and lifting of the ban on music in Afghanistan.”

Several restrictions have been imposed by the Taliban in Afghanistan in the past two years under their strict interpretation of Islamic law which is being perceived by the world as a denial of basic human rights to the citizens.

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