Hossein Alizadeh: If Someone Responds to Insults, They Belong in a Corner of Prison

Hossein Alizadeh, a prominent Iranian musician, states that no official has the right to insult Iranian music artists, but the issue is that if someone responds to these insults, they will end up in prison. According to ISNA news agency, Mr. Alizadeh said on Tuesday, December 22, during a press conference for the 'Ham Avayan' group at the Vahdat Hall in Tehran: 'If the law says no musician should leave their house, that's one thing; but now, regarding music, which is a cultural element with a long history in the world, decisions are made easily.' This musician expressed dissatisfaction last September about the status of music program permits, stating that the concept of 'guidance' means nothing but 'censorship' to him. He emphasized: 'A large part of our energy and effort for the existence of music is spent on this ongoing war for years. The concept of 'guidance' means nothing but censorship to me. An artist should guide the people themselves and does not need the guidance administration.' Mr. Alizadeh, in his remarks on Tuesday about his new concert tour in small towns, said: 'I thought the decision we made to perform concerts in small towns was very interesting. Of course, many were surprised that despite the problems, we are doing this. Problems that even Mr. Rouhani's keys could not solve.' He added: 'Many times I see and read in the newspapers that there are individuals in various corners of this country who have raised the flag of music, and we must appreciate them.' These remarks from Mr. Alizadeh come after Ahmad Khatami, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, stated on December 20 that 'any movement that seeks to diminish people's religiosity, such as holding music concerts, is a movement of infiltration; public funds should not be spent on concerts that distract from God.' The Tehran Friday prayer leader explicitly opposed holding concerts in the country and stated that public funds should not be spent on concerts. On December 8, a concert by the symphony orchestra conducted by Ali Rahbari was canceled by unnamed officials due to the presence of women in the orchestra's performance. Since the rise of Hassan Rouhani's government, the cancellation of music concerts has repeatedly made headlines, and in the meantime, Pirouz Arjomand, the former director of the music office, reported on July 4 this year, one day before his resignation, that 21 concerts had been canceled last year. Last year, the performance of women in the 'Erfan' music group was also prevented during a concert in Isfahan, leading to the cancellation of the concert. Additionally, some concerts were canceled due to what was called 'failure to comply with gender segregation plans.'