Is there any conflict between religion and cultural music?

 

Is there any conflict between religion and cultural music? The answer cannot be given as yes or no. The question should be asked in this way: Is there any conflict between Islam and cultural music? But no one will ask this question. Everyone will be hypocritical. Let me explain a little bit where Tahsan's problem lies.

There is a famous movie called Ben-Hur. Many have seen this movie made about Jesus Christ. The Pope blessed the movie after watching this movie. If movies and acting were sins in Christianity, would the Pope bless it? Imagine a movie made about an Islamic story and a Mufti of Al-Azhar or Deoband or Hathazari blesses the movie after watching it - doesn't it make you laugh?

First of all, if any Islamic character - be it a prophet or a companion - is shown in the movie, that Mufti will issue a fatwa to behead the director. Even if they are made heroes in that movie. But the Pope blessed them. Surely you don't know more about Christianity than the Pope? Do you know that plays are performed in churches? Did you know that all the famous paintings in the world were painted in churches? Michael Angelo's famous sculpture (of a naked man) is the Christian prophet David (Daid)! Also, do you know that all the famous dancers in the world worship and then go on stage?

Having said this, a group of people came and named Muslims among the legends of Indian classical music. What do they really mean by this? Many Muslim singers have sung songs all their lives. They did not bother about the fact that singing is prohibited in their religion. Or they interpreted religion in the same way. Again, the legendary Sanai player Bismillah Khan was a worshiper of Vishwanath!

Take the hero Ilyas Kanchan. He considers acting a sin. Once, when he was thinking of quitting films for this reason, actor Darashiko told him that he would not be able to remain 100% Muslim even in business. So he may think of acting in that way. I cannot remember the exact words. Heard from Ilyas Kanchan's interview. Almost all Muslim film actors and actresses in Bangladesh have built madrasas and mosques in their village homes. They believe that the sins they have committed throughout their lives will be forgiven by the recommendations of the scholars who graduated from these madrasas. Then when the market falls, many of them announce that they have given up acting, dancing, singing. But they do not give up the house, car, bank balance earned by sin!

This problem is exclusively for Muslims. Behind this, the prohibitions of Islam make them psychologically double-minded. Even ordinary Muslims who just watch movies and listen to songs do it knowing that they are sins. That is why old Muslims do not listen to songs. They do not watch movies. They do not dance. Because then, as a tradition, they keep a beard, pray and think about the afterlife. Young Muslims are advised to stay away from these. From an old Muslim to a Hindu, an old Christian, an old Jew, an old Buddhist, they should be opposites in culture, music and art. I am not saying that only non-Muslim old people or young people are good. It's just that they don't consider music, cinema, and art as sins because their religion doesn't have any specifics. Only Muslims do it. Tahsan is not the only one to blame. There are more upcoming artists in the pipeline who will make an announcement in the future. And this trend will continue.

(To buy Sushupta Pathak's new PDF book "Bangabandhu Sotho Nathali" and send him a writer's honorarium, send a message to Sushupta Pathak's PDF book page)

©Sushupta Pathak