After fatwa, Kashmir loses its only all-girls rock band

Kashmir on Monday lost its only all-girls rock-band as its three teenage members decided to call it quits, a day after the Grand Mufti issued a fatwa terming singing as un-Islamic and asked them to abandon it.

Although the girls have maintained silence over the issue, sources close to them said, they have decided to quit singing and music.

The girls had defied convention by stepping into the male-dominated field but faced online threats and abuses from conservative sections of the society.

The Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad yesterday issued a decree terming singing as un-Islamic.

‘I have said, singing is not in accordance with Islamic teachings,’ Ahmad said. He said, he has advised the members of the first all-girls rock band of Kashmir to abandon singing as ‘it is against Islamic teachings and will not help them in playing any constructive role in the society.’

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was among large number of people who came out in support of the girls. Omar even reportedly dismissed the decree on his Twitter page but removed the Tweet later.

The teenage girls who came to limelight in December last year after their scintillating performance at the annual ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition here, received online threats and absurd comments, forcing them to keep a low profile.

    
SINGERS CAN’T BE SILENCED BY MORONS: J&K CM

Jammu & Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah has come down heavily on those threatening the three young girls who have formed the Valley’s only rock band, Pragaash, and Monday promised police investigations into the threats.

He encouraged the girls, saying their talent should not be stymied by ‘a handful of morons who are trying to silence them’.

Late Sunday evening, Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Bashiruddin had issued a ‘fatwa’ against the singing of the girls, and criticised the government for ‘trying to encourage a shameless act’.


FATWA AGAINST ROCK BAND MOTIVATED: BJP

The BJP on Monday described the ‘fatwa’ against the all-girl rock band in Kashmir as an attemptby certain fundamentalist groups to ‘Talibanise’ society.

BJP chief spokesperson Jitendra Singh said: ‘These (fundamentalists) who are uncomfortable with the return of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir want to keep the Kashmir pot boiling for their vested interests.’

The BJP chief spokesperson added: ‘These are elements which do not want the youth of Kashmir to be a part of the national mainstream in democratic India.’