Minister of Culture: If a concert is canceled, I am constantly questioned about it

Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, stated on September 7 during a special news program on Iran's state television that when a concert is canceled somewhere, "I am constantly questioned about it by myself and my deputies, and it is being exacerbated." He attributed the factors exacerbating this issue to "websites" and mentioned that there is no reference to "dozens of other areas" where his ministry has "acceptable cultural activities." According to Jannati, areas such as "the promotion of the Quran and Ahlul Bayt" or "computer games" are among the fields that are not mentioned regarding his ministry's efforts. His remarks follow a written notice from a group of Iranian parliament members requesting an explanation about the "reason for retreating" from conducting "cultural activities" in Mashhad and "excluding" this city. The issue of concert cancellations in Iran and the pressures from Friday prayer leaders for this has made headlines several times in recent weeks. Jannati stated, "Negotiations are being held with the esteemed Friday prayer leaders and judicial officials, but because they are not publicized, the people do not become aware." He did not provide details about these negotiations but mentioned that the "objections raised by the Friday prayer leaders" regarding concerts in Iran are "the side issues." According to the Minister, "some spectators come to concerts with inappropriate appearances and do not observe the limits they should." Security and law enforcement officials confront a group of citizens every year due to what is described as "improper hijab" or "bad hijab." The Minister stated that the number of canceled concerts is "not large," but "in some cases, concerts of artists who are approved by us and whose voices are broadcast on national media are canceled, which creates controversy." In another part of his remarks, he noted that permission for pop music performances is generally not granted in many counties. This is the latest reaction from the Iranian Minister of Culture regarding the issue of canceled music concerts in the country; the status of concert performances in the entire city of Mashhad remains uncertain due to the pressures from the Friday prayer leader of that city, and several other Friday prayer leaders have also called for adopting the same approach in the cities they lead. Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, had previously criticized the Minister of Culture for retreating on concert cancellations in Mashhad.