Gaza: When the oud plays, the war falls silent for a moment – DW – 08/17/2025
Gaza College, a school in Gaza City. The walls of the building are riddled with shrapnel, the windows blown out. Three girls and a boy sit in guitar class with their teacher, Mohammed Abu Mahadi. He believes that music can help the residents of the Gaza Strip heal psychologically from the pain of bombing, loss and deprivation. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
At the beginning of 2024, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher, was one of the first of the scattered teachers and students of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music to offer evening classes again to those displaced by the war in southern Gaza. Now he lives in Gaza City in the north again. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
"Music gives me hope and alleviates my anxiety," says 15-year-old Rifan al-Qassas, who began learning to play the oud, an Arabic lute, at the age of nine. Al-Qassas hopes to be able to perform abroad one day. People are deeply concerned about being uprooted again following the Israeli cabinet's decision on August 8 to take control of Gaza City. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
In front of the music teacher's tent lies Gaza City in ruins. Almost all residents are crammed into emergency shelters or camps; food, clean water and medical aid are scarce. Students and teachers are weakened by hunger, and some find it difficult to attend classes. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
Palestinian Youssef Saad poses with his oud in front of the destroyed school building. Only a few instruments survived the fighting. At 18 years old, Youssef already has a big dream: "I hope that I can teach children music so that they can see beauty despite the destruction." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
No matter the dire conditions, learning to play instruments still calls for a performance in front of an audience. In a tent, the music students show off their skills and receive loud applause. The musical repertoire is wide-ranging. A 20-year-old guitar student says, "I love discovering new genres, but especially rock. I'm really into rock." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
Singing also plays an important role. The harmonies of the children's voices on the improvised stage are a welcome contrast to the rhythm of the deadly explosions that the people in Gaza live with every day. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS
Osama Jahjouh plays the ney flute, which is used in Arabic, Persian and Turkish music. He says, "Sometimes I rely on breathing exercises or playing silently when the shelling is intense. When I play, I feel like I can breathe again, as if the ney is releasing the pain inside me." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Culture Palestinian Territories 08/17/2025 August 17, 2025
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3 days ago
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Gaza: When the oud plays, the war falls silent for a moment – DW – 08/17/2025
Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Gaza College, a school in Gaza City. The walls of the building are riddled with shrapnel, the windows blown out. Three girls and a boy sit in guitar class with their teacher, Mohammed Abu Mahadi. He believes that music can help the residents of the Gaza Strip heal psychologically from the pain of bombing, loss and deprivation. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS At the beginning of 2024, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher, was one of the first of the scattered teachers and students of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music to offer evening classes again to those displaced by the war in southern Gaza. Now he lives in Gaza City in the north again. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS "Music gives me hope and alleviates my anxiety," says 15-year-old Rifan al-Qassas, who began learning to play the oud, an Arabic lute, at the age of nine. Al-Qassas hopes to be able to perform abroad one day. People are deeply concerned about being uprooted again following the Israeli cabinet's decision on August 8 to take control of Gaza City. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS In front of the music teacher's tent lies Gaza City in ruins. Almost all residents are crammed into emergency shelters or camps; food, clean water and medical aid are scarce. Students and teachers are weakened by hunger, and some find it difficult to attend classes. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Palestinian Youssef Saad poses with his oud in front of the destroyed school building. Only a few instruments survived the fighting. At 18 years old, Youssef already has a big dream: "I hope that I can teach children music so that they can see beauty despite the destruction." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS No matter the dire conditions, learning to play instruments still calls for a performance in front of an audience. In a tent, the music students show off their skills and receive loud applause. The musical repertoire is wide-ranging. A 20-year-old guitar student says, "I love discovering new genres, but especially rock. I'm really into rock." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Singing also plays an important role. The harmonies of the children's voices on the improvised stage are a welcome contrast to the rhythm of the deadly explosions that the people in Gaza live with every day. Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Osama Jahjouh plays the ney flute, which is used in Arabic, Persian and Turkish music. He says, "Sometimes I rely on breathing exercises or playing silently when the shelling is intense. When I play, I feel like I can breathe again, as if the ney is releasing the pain inside me." Image: Dawoud Abu Alkas/REUTERS Culture Palestinian Territories 08/17/2025 August 17, 2025
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Int'l Business Times
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Turkey Opens Spotify Probe After 'Provocative Playlist' Complaint
Turkey's competition authority has launched an investigation into Spotify for anti-competitive practices as a deputy minister demanded legal action over "provocative" playlists allegedly offensive to the president's wife and disrespectful of Islam. In a statement released on Friday, the competition authority said it had opened an investigation into "various allegations that the strategies and policies implemented by Spotify... in Turkey has caused anti-competitive effects in the music industry". It said the probe would seek to establish whether Spotify gave more visibility to some artists and engaged in unfair practices in the distribution of royalties, thereby violating the competition law. The investigation was announced the same day as deputy culture minister Batuhan Mumcu called for legal action against Spotify in a post on X, citing its "refusal" to respond to requests to remove playlists with names deemed offensive. "Spotify persistently refuses to take the necessary steps despite all our previous warnings," he wrote. "Content that targets our religious and national values and insults the beliefs of our society has not been corrected," he added, saying Turkey had been "closely monitoring content on Spotify for a long time". He pointed to content published "under the guise of 'playlists'.. that disregards our religious sensitivities toward our Prophet Mohammed, deliberately and unacceptably targeting the beliefs, sacred values, and spiritual world of our people". He also singled out playlists allegedly targeting Emine Erdogan, wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were "insidiously provocative and morally unacceptable". "This irresponsibility and lack of oversight, which disregards the sensitivities of our society, has now become a legal matter.. I call on our competent institutions to take action," he wrote. Attached to his post was an animated graphic showing a string of playlists with names referencing either Erdogan's wife or the life of the Prophet Mohammed. In a statement, Spotify, which launched in Turkey in 2013, said its operations complied with "all applicable laws" but it would cooperate with the investigation although it lacked "details on the inspection's scope or focus". "We are cooperating with the investigation, are actively seeking to understand it, and will work toward a swift, constructive resolution with the Turkish Competition Authority," the statement said, without making any mention of the playlist allegations. It said in 2024, it had paid "over 2 billion Turkish lira ($25 million) to the local music industry" with its service playing a "pivotal (role) in growing Turkish artists' royalties globally".
