Taliban ‘brutally’ kills popular Afghan singer days after it said ‘music is forbidden’

The killing follows an interview with a Taliban spokesperson who said, "music is forbidden in Islam."

The Taliban have reportedly killed a popular Afghan folk singer days after the group's statements in an interview in which it said it hoped to ban music from being played in public. According to Masoud Andarabi, Interior Minister under former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, folk singer Fawad Andarabi was 'brutally killed.' Reports suggest Mr Andarabi was dragged from his home in a village near Andarab before being shot dead. https://twitter.com/andarabi/status/1431649980394127369?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1431649980394127369%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fafghanistan-taliban-kills-popular-folk-singer-days-after-music-ban-2021-8 Masoud Andarabi wrote on Twitter: "Taliban's brutality continues in Andarab. Today they brutally killed folkloric singer, Fawad Andarabi who simply was brining [sic] joy to this valley and its people. As he sang here 'our beautiful valley... land of our forefathers...' will not submit to Taliban's brutality." On Wednesday last week, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban said that 'music is forbidden in Islam.' Mr Mujahid told the New York Times that the Taliban aims to 'persuade people' not to perform music as it strengthens its grip on Afghanistan. According to The Guardian, the Taliban banned all music under its previous ruling period of the country, during which musical instruments were forbidden, and even songbirds were outlawed.