Thursday, July 17, 2003
Junoon and the Islamists of Pakistan
Okay, perhaps I am watching too much television, but PBS has been broadcasting some really good stuff the past few days. After the program on Henry VIII's wives last night, there was a fantastic two hour special on Harry Truman (which will be concluded in another two-hour episode next week). Today, Wide Angle presented a show about the conflict between militant and moderate Islam in Pakistan -- the conflict between the Sufi rock of Junoon and the ban on music by the extremists in the NWFP. Jon Pareles reviewed the program in today's New York Times.
The confrontations shown in "Junoon: The Rock Star and the Mullahs" are mild ones: conversations between Salman Ahmad, the leader and guitarist of the Pakistani rock band Junoon, and militant Islamic mullahs and students who believe music should be banned. But this documentary, which is being broadcast tonight on PBS stations as part of the "Wide Angle" series of international news reports, sees portents of greater repression.
PS: The good thing about PBS is that they do repeat shows. I would highly recommend all three shows to anyone who can make the effort to track the repeats.
The confrontations shown in "Junoon: The Rock Star and the Mullahs" are mild ones: conversations between Salman Ahmad, the leader and guitarist of the Pakistani rock band Junoon, and militant Islamic mullahs and students who believe music should be banned. But this documentary, which is being broadcast tonight on PBS stations as part of the "Wide Angle" series of international news reports, sees portents of greater repression.
PS: The good thing about PBS is that they do repeat shows. I would highly recommend all three shows to anyone who can make the effort to track the repeats.
