TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO TAKE A CHORAL GROUP TO TEHRAN – AT 11:39 P.M. ET:  From Britain's Guardian, which we rarely quote:

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said today that music is "not compatible" with the values of the Islamic republic, and should not be practised or taught in the country.

In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic."

Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "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," he said.

COMMENT:  Now, of course, the edict doesn't include those rousing toe-tappers like "We Shall Grab the Imperialist Americans by the Neck and Stomp Them Into the Ground," made famous by Little Mohammed and his Singing Ayatollahs.

And certainly Khamenei wouldn't ban that mega-hit, "We Will Defeat the Christian Crusaders and the Zionist Pigs Who Finance Their Surly Aggression."  You can hear that one whistled in the streets of Tehran and the psychiatric wards at Berkeley.

I'm sure that, when clarified, the edict will allow the music that all revolutionaries love.

August 2, 2010