Prosecutor of Mashhad: Holding concerts in Mashhad is not appropriate given the consensus of scholars

Gholam-Ali Sadeghi, the prosecutor of Mashhad, announced that there are "conditions and guarantees" for holding concerts in the cities of Razavi Khorasan province, and if these are observed, "permits will be issued." He emphasized: "Holding concerts in the city of Mashhad is not appropriate due to the consensus of scholars and their recommendations regarding the proximity to the holy shrine of Imam Reza, and artists are better off choosing other cities for their concerts." The holding of concerts in the cities of Mashhad and Qom has been a contentious issue for Hassan Rouhani's government. On June 4, Hassan Rouhani reacted to the prevention of cultural events in various cities by stating: "Iran has only one leader and one constitution." He stressed that he does not accept that "anyone, in any city, claims to lead the people and wants to play with the lives of people according to their own preferences." Nevertheless, Gholam-Ali Sadeghi emphasized that "everything we have is from the scholars, and the revolution and the sacred defense were also based on their recommendations" and advised that "the respect for scholars should be maintained and no opposition should be made against them." The prosecutor of Mashhad identified "not engaging in immoral acts and mixing of non-mahrams" as one of the "conditions" for holding concerts. Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, who has opposed the holding of music concerts in this city, stated on April 30 that he is fundamentally "against holding concerts across the country." However, he tried to assure that he is a supporter of art, even more than the artists themselves. The Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, reported on April 30 that Ayatollah Alamolhoda said in a gathering of university students in Mashhad: "I oppose holding concerts across the country because concerts kill art." The Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, however, later stated that he, like Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, does not consider music to be haram and listens to some songs. The strong reaction of the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad to the holding of concerts came at a time when Ebrahim Raisi, the custodian of the Astan Quds Razavi and a candidate in the twelfth presidential election, met with Amir Hossein Maqsoudloo, known as "Tataloo," one of the controversial underground singers in Iran. During this meeting, which was widely shared on social media, Tataloo expressed his support for Mr. Raisi's candidacy in this election cycle. This issue, especially as Tataloo had been arrested multiple times by judicial authorities, had significant repercussions in Iranian society and, according to some, even led to a decline in Ebrahim Raisi's votes among religious and conservative forces. Tataloo, with millions of fans in Iran, is considered one of the most popular Iranian figures in cyberspace. Meanwhile, the opposition to holding concerts in Mashhad has led to the city being deprived of concerts in recent years. This issue prompted reactions from officials of Hassan Rouhani's government, but ultimately, Ali Jannati, the former Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, repeatedly stated that he had succumbed to this demand and that no concerts would be held in Mashhad anymore. Meanwhile, some religious experts believe that there is "no conclusive evidence" in Islam against the permissibility of music. For instance, Hassan Farashtian, a religious expert in France, previously told Radio Farda: "Music is not forbidden in Islam, and in other religions, even some prophets and divine saints were musicians. Among the prophets, we had prophets like David who played music." According to Mr. Farashtian, in the past, among jurists and scholars, especially scholars were familiar with musical scales. Even religious singers often try to sing in scales.