Censorship In Afghanistan

“A human society deprived of music is likely to become to some extent dehumanised, lacking the personal emotional expression that comes from composing, performing and listening to music, and missing the joining of people in a common experience which makes them feel closer together” (Baily 44). Music is extremely powerful. There is nothing else on the planet that can build nations, then tear them apart. Life without music means the loss of individuality, tradition, culture, but most importantly freedom of expression. Musicians are a force to be reckoned with because they can influence thousands in just a few minutes. When a nation loses music, musicians hold the key to rebuilding what was lost.
The most notorious case of musical censorship
Take for example the Koran, in which to a western ear sounds like a song. However, the recitation of Koran according to Afghanistan isn’t music. In Afghanistan “the concept of music is closely linked with musical instruments….Unaccompanied singing in itself is not labelled as “music”(Baily 21). There cultural representation of music varies from the westernized interpretation of music, however music is still an important aspect of their lives that was lost. While they still recited the Koran under Taliban rule, there was no musical expression for Afghan people because to them music was something completely different. There were many problems when Afghanistan lost music, especially when looking at how important the radio was in creating an Afghan identity. “...As long as the ban on music continues Afghans will be denied a very important force for bringing about reconciliation, both inside and outside the country,” creating only more problems for the future (Baily 45). While this may seem like an enormous problem, it can be fixed without much difficulty. Music cannot be censored anywhere, otherwise cultures will be lost in the process. In places such as Afghanistan where traditionals are spread orally the only way to bring back music is bring back