Minister of Culture: The Problem with Some Concerts is the 'Audience'

While Hassan Rouhani recently stated that there should be no opposition to people's happiness from listening to music, the Minister of Culture of his government has attributed the cancellation of some concerts to the audience present at the events. According to ISNA, Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of the 11th government, mentioned on Sunday, June 14, in Yazd that regarding the recent cancellations of some music concerts, "In some cases, mistakes do occur, but sometimes the problem is not with the concert and performance, but rather with the audience present at the event." This comes as Hassan Rouhani stated in his speech today in Bojnourd that there should be no opposition to people's happiness. According to ILNA, the President of Iran on Sunday, June 14, pointed out that when the name of the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims is mentioned in the stadium where he is speaking, "there is so much enthusiasm and joy," adding, "These same people also feel happy when they listen to music, and there is nothing wrong with that; are we against people's happiness?" Rouhani also referred to the cancellation of concerts during his press conference with the media on Saturday, June 13. According to ISNA, the President stated that when an authority is designated as a legal reference for granting permits, it is inappropriate for others to interfere in these matters, saying, "Everyone must adhere to the law and not seek personal interpretations." He further added, "If we leave interpretations to the religious seminaries and everyone adheres to the law, and every authority that is supposed to issue permits respects its permit, the law will be implemented." Regarding the interference of some institutions in the cancellation of concerts, Rouhani stated, "When a concert is granted a permit within the framework of the law and people buy tickets, such interventions not only violate the rights of cultural figures but also violate the rights of the people." In this context, Hossein Ashtari, the commander of the Iranian police, stated on Saturday, June 13, that this law enforcement agency has acted in accordance with its "inherent and religious" duty by canceling some music concerts. Recently, concerts by the Masta group featuring Parvaz Homay, Vahid Taj in Rasht, and Kayhan Kalhor in Tehran were canceled despite having permission from the Ministry of Culture. Following these cancellations, Pirouz Arjomand, the head of the music office, and Hossein Nooshabadi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Culture, criticized the intervention of law enforcement and the places administration in preventing concerts.