election in Iran has led to the flowering of the arts, because “art is the language of protest.”
Shajarian, 69, has composed and performed several songs in recent months critical of the Iranian regime. During a concert tour in Europe last year, the Iranian-born musician performed “Brotherhood in Arms,” a call to his fellow Iranians to unite and stand up against the brutal crackdown and repression of the government.
Since the post-election crackdown, thousands of Iranians—many of whom are artists, directors and musicians—have reportedly left the country to avoid imprisonment. But Shajarian told the Associated Press that political repression has resulted in a flowering of the arts.
“Arts is the language of protest. The enemy became a blessing. That is, arts grow when there are pressures, political suffocation and tyranny,” Shajarian said in Lebanon, where he recently performed.
During the early days of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Shajarian sang in support of the movement that toppled Iran’s monarchy; but he denies having had any close links with the revolution or its leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
“I was never interested in getting involved in politics…. I didn’t like politicians…. I was never a member or a supporter of a political party…. But when the revolution happened, we were unwittingly taken by the wave,” Shajarian said.
There was a re-birth of Iranian classical music following the revolution; many credit Shajarian with the re-emergence. But about seven months after the revolution, Shajarian quit his job working for state radio and TV, and began focusing on improving classical Persian music—teaching classes and performing concerts.
Since the June 2009 elections, thousands of opposition activists have been arrested and some have reportedly died under torture, or have been executed. The regime has also accused artists who are members of the opposition party of having fallen under the control of western “enemies.” According to an AP report, more than 100 artists have had their work censored or banned, while other have been prohibited from leaving the country.
Shajarian, who grew up in a religious family, began his singing career in 1959 and sang publicly for the first time on a state radio station in his hometown of Mashhad when he was 18.
In a show of opposition to last year’s crackdown, Shajarian demanded that state radio and TV stop broadcasting his music. Shortly after the June elections, Shajarian was interrogated by the regime’s intelligence agents. “They asked the usual questions. And I put them in their place, telling them the election was nothing more than a coup,” Shajarian said.
The musician felt his prominence made it likely—but not a certainty—that he would be immune from arrest. “It won’t be so easy for them to jail me…. But if they do something like that, there’s nothing one can do,” he said fatalistically.