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Fear of music: Afghan folk singer executed by the Taliban
In the latest among a growing number of reports on atrocities committed by the Taliban after their takeover of Afghanistan on Aug. 17, 2021, the alleged execution of a folk musician has increased fears that the Islamist group is reviving its oppressive regime of the late 1990s.
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Afghan folk musician Fawad Andarabi has allegedly been executed by the Taliban at his family farm in his namesake Andarab Valley, a mountainous region in Baghlan province, north of Kabul. (YouTube/Screengrab from a YouTube video)
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fghan folk singer Fawad Andarabi was reportedly dragged from his home and executed by the Taliban on Aug. 28 in the mountainous region north of Kabul, according to a local journalist.
The news was confirmed by his son, Jawad, who said his father was “shot in the head” at the family’s farm in Andarab Valley in northern Baghlan province, for which the signer was named.
"He was innocent, a singer who only was entertaining people," Jawad told the Associated Press, as reported by CNN on Aug. 30.
Following the execution, former interior minister Massoud Andarabi, who is from the same region and shares the same family name, briefly mentioned Fawad’s death on social media.
"Taliban's brutality continues in Andarab. Today they brutally killed folkloric singer Fawad Andarabi, who simply was bringing joy to this valley and its people. As he sang here ‘our beautiful valley ... land of our forefathers...’ will not submit to Taliban's brutality," he tweeted on Aug. 28.
The killing has reignited old fears among activists that the militant group will return to the violent and oppressive rule they established in the country 20 years ago, when they toppled the government and controlled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.
One of the regime’s strict bans was against music of almost all forms because it was deemed un-Islamic.
In an interview with The New York Times on Aug. 26, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, “music is forbidden in Islam”. He also said the Taliban hoped to persuade people not to play music.
Mujahid told AP that the insurgents would investigate Fawad’s death, but gave no other details on the killing.
Karima Bennoune, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and Deeyah Khan, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for artistic freedom, expressed grave concern over reports of the killing of Fawad Andarabi via Twitter on Aug. 28.
"We call on governments to demand the Taliban respect the #humanrights of #artists," Bennoune tweeted.
