THE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OF MUSICIANS IN AFGHANISTAN (1978-2014)
THE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OF MUSICIANS IN AFGHANISTAN (1978-2014)

Summary/Abstract: This lecture outlines the movements of musicians in Afghanistan during the period of turbulent conflict that started with the Communist coup of 1978, followed by the Coalition government of the mujahideen in 1992, the rise to power of the Taliban in 1996, and the post-9/11 era of Karzai. The data show that music is a sensitive indicator of broader socio-political processes; music making in Afghanistan varied widely in frequency and intensity according to the dominant ideology of the time, fluctuations that often involved the movement of musicians from one place to another. Underlying these movements was a deeper conflict between ideologies of traditionalism and modernization in Afghanistan that started at the beginning of the twentieth century.

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