For one violinist, the sounds of war will not stop him from playing. Even if it means going against ISIS.
ISIS
Ameen Mukdad had a rude awakening from ISIS a few years ago. They broke into his house in Mosul and stole his musical instruments, because entertainment goes against their extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam.
Mukdad wasn’t deterred, though.
#PicOfTheDay: Ameen Mukdad, a violinist who lived under ISIS's rule performs at Nabi Yunus shrine in eastern Mosul, #Iraq pic.twitter.com/EO5KyX12Ba
— Islamic Finance-IFG (@IFGateway) April 24, 2017
After escaping to Baghdad, the Iraqi violinist wrote music with the windows closed. After two years of enjoying his masterpieces behind closed doors, he decided it was time to share it with the world.
Tomb Of Jonas
The Tomb of Jonas is considered sacred by both Christians and Muslims. For that reason, Mukdad decided to use that as his venue.
It wasn’t easy, though.
He had to get permission from soldiers fighting nearby. Even though they couldn’t guarantee his safety, he advertised his concert on social media and 20 people showed up.
Given the tense situation in Mosul, that’s a big turnout.
About playing at that location he said:
“i want to take the opportunity to send a message to the world and send a strike against terrorism and all ideologies which restrict freedom that music is a beautiful thing.”
Explosions and gunfire were heard in the background as he played for the small crowd. One woman, Tahany Salem, was especially grateful for the concert. ISIS made her drop out of college simply because of her gender.
About the concert she said:
“i wanted to come to give the message that war has not stopped life in mosul. You can see all this damage but still we want to be happy, we want to listen to music.”
Mukdad had a strong message for ISIS::
“everyone who opposes music is ugly.”
Watch this video to hear him talk about his music.
Feature Image Source: Screenshot Via Twitter.