30/05/2012 / IRAN
A screen grab from an online video game in which players have to shoot Najafi, who is called "the assaulter of the Prophet', before he shoots them.
Iranian rapper on getting death threats: “There should be no limits in art”
Shahin Najafi, an Iranian rap artist living in Germany, had put out four albums before he rose to fame overnight. “Naghi,” a sardonic song he wrote in the form of a prayer, shocked many people back in his home country. Today, he receives death threats from those who view his song as blasphemous, and is even featured in an online video game where the goal is to shoot him dead.
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When Najafi posted his song on YouTube on May 7, he had no idea it would have such a huge impact. His lyrics take the form of a prayer addressing the tenth imam of Shia Islam, Ali al-Naghi, in a bid to denounce what he sees as hypocrisy in Iranian society. He gives many examples, such as the prevalence of plastic surgery in a country where women wear veils, and the importation of religious objects from China.
Just three days after being posted online, the video had already been watched 130,000 times. Though it wasn’t officially condemned by the Iranian regime, the song’s sarcastic, joking tone quickly sparked outrage among leading religious figures. Ayatollah Safi Golpayegani, notably, accused the rapper of committing blasphemy by citing Naghi. The conservative Iranian website Asr Emrooz called for the rapper to be hanged; another radical website, shia-online.ir, offered a reward of 100,000 dollars (about 78,000 euros) to whoever would kill him.
Contributors
"Having left my country to come live in Germany, I should be able to express myself freely"
Shahin Nafaji, 31, was born in a little town in southern Iran. In 2005, he fled to Germany. He has been living under police protection ever since he began receiving death threats earlier this month.
Having left my country to come live in Germany, I should be able to express myself freely. What I say in my songs doesn’t directly insult anyone. Putting aside for a moment those back in Iran who have condemned me, and who I see as messengers of the Iranian regime, no other religious experts have said that these lyrics directly insulted Islam. It’s true that they are provocative, but everything I do is provocative – there should be no limits to art. Social and political considerations should never put constraints on art.
When I was in Iran, there were limits to what I could say, but I had never been persecuted like I am now. Today, a Western nation is in charge of protecting me. This limits me in another way – for example, if I wanted to go down in the streets to protest, I would not be allowed to. Ever since I’ve been put under police protection, I spend my time reading, watching movies, playing guitar and reading poems.
Some people have accused me of writing this song just to become famous. That’s not true. The lyrics are directed at Iranians; I never thought anyone else would listen to them and try to understand them. In fact, when people tried to translate the lyrics into German, I had to lengthily explain the meaning of each line!
Comments
Reply to comment | The Observers
Submitted by beazty clinic (not verified) on Thu, 04/04/2013 - 16:29.It's an awesome post for all the internet users; they will get benefit from it I am sure.
just briefly, some
Submitted by Anonymea (not verified) on Thu, 31/05/2012 - 22:58.just briefly, some ideas:
some words within the lyrics are qite intriguing,
some nevertheless might be offensive. some are not very tasteful.
still, if you are interested in a feedback: I think these lyrics cannot be the reason for desiring to kill the artist.
it's a kind of projection. sorry, man. a lot of trouble, if you cannot even leave home without protection.
don't know, but some Iranians I got to know were all but religious fanatics.
so, maybe "Naghi" is somewhat instrumentalized and manipulated.
yet, what I don't understand: if you know that the hidden Imam and specific religious aspects are quite sensitive and delicate an issue, why don't you try to approach things more cautiously?
Meaning: why not address religious/and/or societal issues in a more subtle way, like famous Persian poets in the past.
Then, meaning, intention and impact might be the desired ones.
cheers
khush bash
Have you ever played GTA IV ?
Submitted by ehsan (not verified) on Wed, 30/05/2012 - 19:33.Have you ever played GTA IV ?
Jacob (in jamaican accent):
YOU'RE A DEAD MAN .. DEAD MAN!!!!!