Ahmad Khatami: The 'Infiltration' Movement Holds Music Concerts in Iran

Ahmad Khatami, a member of the Assembly of Experts, stated that "holding music concerts diminishes people's religiosity," claiming that "the movement that organizes music concerts is an infiltration movement." According to Khabaronline, on December 20, Khatami said during Friday prayers in Rafsanjan: "Any movement that seeks to reduce people's religiosity, like holding music concerts, is an infiltration movement; public funds should not be spent on concerts that distract from God." He emphasized: "God does not allow public funds to be spent on concerts where God is forgotten; therefore, we oppose holding concerts that use public funds." Khatami noted that "there is political, economic, and worse, cultural infiltration," stating: "Any movement that aims to reduce people's hatred towards America is infiltrative." He further mentioned that the Supreme Leader has used the term 'infiltration' 80 times since Eid al-Fitr. Khatami remarked: "Some fear the term infiltration, and when we mention it, they say it is being used instrumentally, while others are afraid of the discussion of infiltration itself." Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly warned about America's attempts at 'infiltration' in Iran following the nuclear agreement in Vienna last summer. In response to these warnings, several journalists were arrested by the IRGC, which also announced the arrest of "members of a Western government infiltration network." In contrast, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated on November 4 that "some should not play with the word infiltration" in reaction to the news of arrests made by the IRGC. However, Khatami continued his criticism of music concerts in Iran, attributing them to the "infiltration movement." Khatami and Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, are among the staunchest opponents of holding concerts and promoting music in Iran. Khatami previously referred to some music concerts in Iran as "wrong, a quarrel with God, and an anti-cultural act" during a religious ceremony in June 2014. He also commented on a music album in April this year, emphasizing the solo singing of a female singer, stating that the release of this album and its licensing were not in line with the goals of the Islamic Revolution. Previously, Ahmad Alamolhoda had labeled music concerts as "entertainment" and stated last year in one of his sermons after Friday prayers in Mashhad that "licentiousness and solo singing by women and the promotion of music are in line with the interests of the enemies of Islam and the regime." Since the rise of Hassan Rouhani's government, the cancellation of music concerts has frequently made headlines. In this context, Pirouz Arjomand, the former director of the music office, reported on July 4 of this year, one day before his resignation, that 21 concerts had been canceled in 2014. The latest cancellation of a music performance was related to the cancellation of the symphony orchestra's performance at the closing ceremony of the Keshit competition in Tehran, which was canceled due to opposition to women performing on stage.