Rock 'n' Roll no longer banned in Iran
ABC World News Tonight
April 5, 2000, Wednesday
ANCHORS: PETER JENNINGS
REPORTER: GILLIAN FINDLAY
PETER JENNINGS, anchor:
Finally this evening, change, but ever so carefully. The Supreme Court
in Iran has taken another very careful step today to expand social freedoms
in the Islamic republic. The court says it will no longer be a crime to
have immodest pictures or videos, as the court put it, if they're for personal
use. And not used to promote corruption or prostitution. Change, but careful
change in a nation of 65 million people. As Gillian Findlay reports, the
next thing you know, there will be rock 'n' roll.
GILLIAN FINDLAY reporting:
(VO) For more than 20 years, it was sinful, immoral, a symbol of Western
corruption. But, now, two decades after the Ayatollahs banned it, rock
'n' roll is back. This is Paradis Iran's first legal post-revolution rock
band.
Unidentified Man: People used to exaggerate this kind of music. Rock
is always with alcohol and drugs. So we came when we came to the stage,
and started singing and playing this kind of music we wanted to show them
that this is not the way that you think.
FINDLAY: (VO) They learned the music from smuggled tapes, from radio
and satellite TV. Western music is now so popular in Iran that officials
decided they could no longer fight it.
Man: I've got something to say.
FINDLAY: (VO) And, so, with the blessing of the Mullahs, Paradis is
on the concert circuit.
Man: It just like the feeling of being viewed on MTV.
FINDLAY: (VO) Today, for only the second time, they will play publicly
at an art school in downtown Tehran. Everyone is nervous.
Man: Maybe we're in danger doing such a thing.
FINDLAY: (VO) Some people might object to the music and try to stop
it. A government delegation has come to listen. There is the obligatory
reading from the Koran, and then the music begins. As rock concerts go,
this one is pretty tame. The band members were ordered not to dance, too
un-Islamic. The audience didn't dare. And yet there was an excitement here
that even the frowns of the officials could not extinguish.
Man: I assure you that a year later we will have so many concerts just
like this. Not only rock and roll, but other kinds of music.
FINDLAY: (VO) Perhaps. But it's going to take time. After just two songs,
the officials at this concert decided the audience had heard enough. A
signal was sent to wrap it up. Change in Iran still has limits. Gillian
Findlay, Tehran.
JENNINGS: But fewer limits as of today.
That is our report on WORLD NEWS TONIGHT. This evening on "Nightline,"
how viewers helped a young girl whose legs were destroyed by a mine in
Kosovo walk again.
I'm Peter Jennings. Hope you have a good evening. Good night.