Singing "the devil's music" will get you killed
Report, IRIN (Nov 23, 2006)
Youssef Jabry, 32, is a singer who loves western music. He sings for a living in parties, weddings and all sorts of gatherings. But what was once a dream job has become a nightmare with the rise of Islamic extremists who say western music is unreligious and must be prohibited.
Longley's Iraq in Fragments opens across US
Jeff Severns Guntzel, Electronic Iraq (Nov 9, 2006)
Michael Moore calls Iraq in Fragments (the new film by the director of the award winning Gaza Strip) "Stunningly beautiful." The film makes is debut run in US theatres this month. The films distributor is encouraging people to "PLEASE make it a priority to see Iraq in Fragments as close as possible to the dates listed below...The opening weekend of a film can make or break the length of its run."
"At a time when the Iraq war continues to be a defining issue on the American scene, it is ironic that the most powerful and uncompromising documentary on the subject remains almost entirely unknown and unseen in this country. It took Japanese filmmaker Takeharu Watai a year and a half to film 123 hours of footage in Iraq, which he managed to edit down to two unforgettable hours. The result is the stunning Little Birds..."
Children suffer from dearth of entertainment, say health experts
Report, IRIN (Jul 11, 2006)
According to health experts, the lack of entertainment is one of the biggest problems afflicting Iraqi youth. "Iraqis have to be careful in whatever they do," said Maruan Abdullah, a spokesman for the Association of Psychologists of Iraq.
Athir Shayota's Iraqi figures are guarded, showing no signs of vulnerability and displaying an intense indifference toward the viewer. They are captured in frozen moments in time. Refusing objectification with dignified and confident stances, his Iraqi subjects are positioned defiantly in front of the viewer, showing no sense of reliance on the viewer to come to his/her own conclusions. The use of Iraqi themes as subject matter serves as an act of defiance within the current political climate.
Artists become targets in rising atmosphere of intolerance
Report, IRIN (Apr 25, 2006)
"Artists are being threatened and killed because they want to change the reality of the country by helping people forget all the violence and death," said Said Kareem, senior official for the Iraqi Artists Association in the capital, Baghdad. Some fundamentalist Muslim insurgents say that music is un-Islamic, and that people should only listen to verses from the Quran, the Islamic holy book. Acting, theatre and television, they say, tend to encourage bad behaviour and irreligious attitudes.
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