Repeated concert cancellations over the past year have turned into a real headache for moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who in his 2013 election campaign pledged that he would address cultural issues.
In August, Mashhad’s ultra-conservative Friday prayer leader, Ahmad Alamolhoda, defied the Rouhani administration as he prevented singers from performing in the holy city. Amid strong opposition from the hard-liners, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati folded and stated, “Considering the existence of the [8th Shiite] Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, the holding of concerts has some opponents, including the dear representative of the supreme leader to [the province of] Khorasan Razavi. We respect his opinion, and despite the fact that the concerts posed no problem, we are dissuaded from holding concerts there.”
