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| Photo by Tarek Chemaly |
The Mashrou' Leila concert scheduled on August 9, during the Byblos Festival has been cancelled. There! Happy now? Do note, I speak not as a superfan of the band but rather one concerned about where things are going in terms of simple things like expressing opinions, singing a song, and just merely breathing in Lebanon.
Is this about the band's lead singer being openly homosexual? Is this about them tryng to "undermine religious and human values [and] attack sacred symbols of Christianity" as per the statement of the Byblos archbiship? Or them being a "danger to society" as per Lebanon's Catholic Information Center? No matter the invented reason, we now joined Jordan banning their concert, and Egypt arresting 75 people in the wake of them displaying rainbow flags at a Mashrou' Leila concert. The bar is pretty low. Speaking of bars I think I need a drink.