Minister of Culture Reiterates 'Concessions' on Concerts in Mashhad

Despite Hassan Rouhani's verbal directive to the Minister of Culture not to retreat against 'illegal' pressures, Ali Jannati once again announced that the Ministry of Culture has made 'concessions' regarding the holding of concerts in the Razavi Khorasan province and 'more' specifically in the city of Mashhad. According to Mehr News Agency, on Thursday, September 25, Jannati denied the existence of a 'dual authority' in music and added, 'The necessary coordination regarding music and the holding of concerts and the process of music activities in the country is satisfactory.' Jannati stated, 'Only in Razavi Khorasan province and more specifically in Mashhad, due to the sanctity and respect for the holy shrine of Imam Reza, we have made some concessions.' He added, 'However, in other cities of Razavi Khorasan province and in other cities of the country, music programs exist.' The Iranian Minister of Culture has made contradictory statements regarding the holding of concerts in Mashhad and Razavi Khorasan province in recent months. On Tuesday, August 26, referring to the opposition of Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Friday prayer leader of Mashhad, he said that the Ministry of Culture would refrain from holding music concerts in this city. Following these remarks, several other Friday prayer leaders also called for the cessation or limitation of music concerts in their cities. In contrast, Hassan Rouhani, the President, criticized the Minister of Culture's retreat on Monday, September 1, stating, 'Anyone who wakes up in the morning and finds a podium cannot legislate, and the minister should not comply because the minister must be subject to the law.' Subsequently, 32 members of parliament issued a written notice protesting the Ministry of Culture's 'retreat' from cultural programs in Mashhad. Following these protests, Jannati on Saturday, September 13, rejected the issue of 'retreat' regarding the holding of concerts in Razavi Khorasan, stating that for about 11 years no concerts have been allowed in Mashhad, and this is not something that started a few days ago. Nonetheless, on Thursday, contrary to his superior's directive, he once again emphasized making exceptions for the city of Mashhad and even predicted that concerts in the country would face obstacles again. In another part of his remarks, the Minister of Culture indicated that the cancellation of concerts in other cities is also 'not unexpected' for him and added, 'Of course, we may witness the cancellation of concerts in some parts of the country, but the number of these cancellations is very low.' He emphasized, 'The necessary coordination in some provinces that have specific issues has been made with the judicial system because in some provinces, prosecutors and judges raise points and issues to observe the principle of prevention.' In addition to Razavi Khorasan province, in recent years, some concerts have also been canceled in other cities of Iran. The Minister's recent remarks coincided with a day when Bahman Reyhani, the commander of the IRGC in Kermanshah, warned about the holding of music concerts in this province, stating that 'the tolerance of immoral acts' occurring in these concerts is 'unacceptable' and 'the patience of revolutionary youth has its limits.'