Ferrucio Busoni, a famous Italian music composer, once said that music was born free; and to win freedom is its destiny.’
What is destiny? Destiny means the force that controls what happens in the future.
But Mr. Busoni actually missed one thing. How can music have its freedom if the people who made it are not free?
Going back in time and talking about the painful birth of Blues and Jazz between the 17th and 19th centuries, we can see that music created freedom in a non-freedom context. The music created, named and, helped enslaved people synchronize their movements in teamwork. These songs were sung by people with no freedom to escape reality, to never completely forget where they came from.
The same situation is repeatedly happening, but in a different context, in the Arab world.
The forms of repression practiced in musical art differs. It can be prohibition, restricting, or combating musical renewal. Plato believed that music was a danger that forces the state to change laws.
Plato is not the only one to reject music because of its ability to influence.
The Arab Spring revolution produced a new generation of artists and musicians who used their artworks to express pain and hope. They also dared to criticize their leaders, the state, and the system through their songs. They were enabled by their music to deliver their messages and reach the people, and that’s precisely what made the governments afraid and made them act decisively towards some behavior that they considered insulting.
Some Arab leaders find music insulting, but their actions towards their people are typical.
Syria 2011:
Ibrahim Kachouch was a Syrian man who created the protest anthem ‘Yala erhal Ya Bashar, which means Resign Bashar, the Syrian president. Kaichou was found dead, his throat cut, and his vocal cords ripped out.
Lebanon 2019:
Mashrouh Leyla, a famous Lebanese band, composed a satirical song criticizing society and religion to the tune of one of the ‘Christians hymns,’ which made the government stop their concert under the pretext of preventing the shedding of blood between the people and to maintain security and stability.
Egypt 2019:
Chirine Abdel Wahab, a famous Egyptian singer, faced charges of insulting Egypt after spreading a video of herself from her concert in Bahrain joking with her audience, saying: Here I can speak about political subjects, but in Egypt, they can imprison me.
Yemen 2021:
Houthis banned songs on social occasions in the areas under their control based on religious rules criminalizing art.
The irony here is talking about Extremists Islamic groups that use music and some songs to brainwash people and make them want to join them. So music for them is a way of expressing themselves while suppressing others.
Therefore basically, music is liberal and free until you touch their thrones.
In another context, Rima Rahbani, the daughter of the great Lebanese singer, Feirouz, attacked her media the artists who re-performed the songs of her mother Feirouz, saying that she would pursue them legally—knowing that Feirouz was one of the people who appreciated the music.
Music does not corrupt countries; politicians do. Music does not kill people; your bombs do. Music does not incite the people, and it just triggers them. Music is a liberal art, a moderate art, a peaceful art; it’s a way to express, it’s a way to impress and to send messages; instead of ignoring and stoping the music, listen to the music, listen to the lyrics, listen to what your people are telling, listen to their pain, listen to their fears, listen to their existence, after all, music will always be free, that’s the destiny, Mr Busoni.