Mullahs and music in Morocco

LOS ANGELES: This is with reference to Fawzia Afzal-Khan’s article “Mullahs and music in Morocco” (July 6). Ms Khan says that she is no fan of monarchies and monarchs. However, when she visits a foreign country, particularly a Muslim monarchy, there would be no harm to inform the readers, only very briefly, whether the good monarch is feeding his subjects on music alone. Cultural pursuits become relevant after the rulers have provided basic needs for the common man. Music cannot be an effective antidote to extremism. Ignorance, hunger and absence of an equitable and fair political structure breed discontent and resultant violence. I am sorry for this discordant note on Ms Khan’s musically vibrant piece.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2010.