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"Although music is halal [permissible under Islam], promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic," Khamenei said.
His pronouncement came in response to a request from a ruling by a young man who asked the religious leader whether he should start music lessons, The Guardian reports. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," Khamenei said.
When he served as president, Khamenei banned Western-style music, causing local pop stars to leave the country. Today it's rare that Iran permits concerts, believing they could be used by the opposition. Popular vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian explains:
Read more at The Guardian.They are afraid of my concerts because of those moments before the concert is begun, when the whole hall is in silence and darkness when someone suddenly shouts "death to dictator" and everybody accompanies and they are unable to identify that person.
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