Mashrou’ Leila, the much adored Lebanese Band, has been informed by the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism that their concert on April 29th 2016 has been cancelled. They have also been told that they will not be granted the necessary permits to hold any future concerts anywhere in the Kingdom.
A venue that has drawn thousands of fans has been cited as the reason behind the Ministry’s decision. What seems odd to us is that the Roman Amphitheater, historically created for entertaining large groups of people, has done so through Mashrou’ Leila!
Cultural censorship creates stigma around topics tackled in Leila songs, ones produced with a love of people. When fans imagine the concert experience, it is filled with positivity. This is intelligent Arabic music that we can all connect with. Previous concerts have seen thousands of people dance to the beautiful creativity of youthful critique.
We the fans of innovative culture, respectfully ask of the Ministry of Tourism to repeal this decision, and allow for the concert to continue as planned.