So this youth orchestra dropped in at an all-girls’ tech college….

I see a podium but no conductor. What happened?

It seems true that some or many Muslims don’t listen to music (maybe except their own music), or more precisely, they are forbidden to listen to it, but not all.

I have had some friends who or whose parents are originally from Middle Eastern countries, so they were born to Muslim families, but they have got no problems to live in Europe at all.
One of them is even a true opera lover.

They are so much ashamed of those extremists and people who support any bit of the ideas of them.
In fact, they are not really Muslim now.
One has converted to Christianity (Protestant) and the other is always called himself a so-called Muslim, but never ever really been ‘that’ Muslim.

He just pretends to be, because of his mother.
His mother lost her husband when the children were so young and all the money was taken by her late husband’s brother.
She tried so hard to keep her children.
At the time, she thought the only thing she could lean on was her religion, nothing else, so nobody can break her belief(?) in the religion.

That’s why he can’t say anything to his mother, but he’s never ever said or done anything against the common belief and thoughts that are shared by most Europeans and me.
He was born and grew up in England and almost everything he enjoys is international.

It’s not that I’m writing this to defend all the Muslims, and to be honest, I really don’t like the religion because it has many elements against my thoughts and belief, but I’m writing this to say that they can change if they have a will.

Threats?
I understand it very well, because the one who became Christian was worrying about it, too.
At that time, he was too young and not in a good state, but after getting married, he became Christian because his wife wanted him to be, and he has had no problems since then.

I know they, the two cases don’t represent all the Muslims’ cases, and of course I know about the victims who were killed by their families when they refused to live according to the Muslims’ custom and law.

But we all see that there is an orchestra playing Western classical music in Qatar, and we all know that how the Chinese government’s policy has changed since they banned the Western classical music during the Cultural Revolution.
Now they are even using their classical musicians as cultural envoys to make the country’s image better.
They are currently pouring loads of money into Western classical music.
Nowadays, many children in China are taking piano lessons and enjoy the music.

What I want to say is that if they are given a chance, just give it a try.
No one needs to lock him or herself into the trap of the old and fixed ideas, especially if the ideas are against human rights.

I’ve heard a very interesting word when watching an Indian film.
God is not truth, truth is God.
( It seems it was said before, by Gandhi. )

The one thing I really can’t understand is that many Western countries accept those ideas as a freedom of expression and thoughts.
I think this is the time we all need to think about what is really freedom and what is just self-indulgence.

Are they sure that they are giving them freedom? or allow them to take license for liberty?
It’s not only happening in Europe, it’s been happening in Korea, too.