THE TELEGRAPH: Elton John is to headline Morocco's biggest music festival despite calls from Islamist opposition that he should be turned away.
Religious conservatives argued that the gay singer would tarnish the image of the north African kingdom were he allowed to perform at the Mawazine World Rhythms festival in the capital Rabat.
Despite the opposition, the singer will head the festival, beginning on May 21, which brings together musicians from 50 countries and is backed by King Mohammed.
"Elton John is one of the best artists in the world. He is great and extraordinary when he appears on stage. That's why we invite him and welcome him to the Mawazine festival," festival director Aziz Daki said.
"The private life of a singer is not our business. We do not invite singers and artists after assessing their private lives." >>> | Monday, May 17, 2010
abcNEWS: RABAT (Reuters) - Elton John will headline Morocco's biggest music festival this week despite calls by religious conservatives for the gay singer to be turned away, the event's organizer said.
Allowing the British singer and songwriter to perform at the Mawazine World Rhythms festival in the capital Rabat would tarnish the image of the north African kingdom, say powerful opposition Islamists.
The writer of "Candle in the Wind '97"', the best-selling single of all time, according to the Guinness Book of Records, has championed sexual freedom and campaigned against the spread of AIDS during a four-decade musical career.
"Elton John is one of the best artists in the world. He is great and extraordinary when he appears on stage. That's why we invite him and welcome him to the Mawazine festival," festival director Aziz Daki told Reuters.
"The private life of a singer is not our business. We do not invite singers and artists after assessing their private lives." >>> Lamine Ghanmi | Monday, May 17, 2010
AFP: RABAT — Morocco's main Islamist opposition party has called for gay singer Elton John to be banned from performing at a festival in Rabat later this month, a party leader said Friday.
"We categorically reject the appearance of this singer because there is a risk of encouraging homosexuality in Morocco," the head of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) parliamentary group, Mustapha Ramid, told AFP.
"The problem is not with the singer himself but the image he has in society," another leading party member, Lahcen Daoudi, added.
"Moroccan society has a negative perception of this singer and we must take it into consideration." >>> | Friday, May 07, 2010
AUJOURD’HUI LE MAROC: Festival massif de Mawâzine, qu’un paranoïaque quelconque, travaillé au corps et à l’esprit par la campagne indigne de notre pays en cours d’exécution, se jette sur notre invité anglais à coup de slogans vengeurs et rédempteurs. >>> Khalil Hachimi Idrissi | Mercredi 24 Février 2010
AUJOURD’HUI LE MAROC: Les festivals, on le sait, dérangent les islamistes. La musique, et ils le savent, est le seul domaine où ils perdent pied.
En dehors des chants religieux qui restent à audience limitée, tout ce qui est notes, rythmes, percussions ou vocalises prompts à s’emparer de l’âme et des cœurs, doit être, à leurs yeux, détesté et maudit. Ils n’ont donc jamais aimé «Mawâzine» pas plus qu’ils n’aiment «L’Boulevard» ou le Festival d’Essaouira. Et à la limite, c’est leur droit le plus strict et le plus absolu. Mais ce que, en revanche, on doit leur refuser, c’est de parler au nom de tout le peuple marocain. Nous aimons Elton John. Non pas pour son homosexualité, ses provocations ou pour ses accoutrements et lunettes excentriques. Nous l’aimons parce que c’est un grand, très grand artiste. … >>> Par Driss Ajbali | Vendredi 14 Mai 2010
