Iraqi music - especially the playing of the traditional oud- is under attack in Iraq by militiamen, but, it is thriving “in exile” outside of Iraq: in Albuquerque among other places. Dhia Jabbar, a teacher and player of the oud in Baghdad, stood by last week and watched as gunmen invaded his store, destroyed an instrument, and told him to stop teaching. He said later, “Iraq is dead.” In contrast, Rahim Alhaj, who fled Iraq in 1991, performs for audiences by the hundreds, and was recently nominated for a Grammy Award.
See: Erica Goode, “A Fabled Instrument, Suppressed in Iraq, Thrives in Exile,” The New York Times, May 1, 2008, A6.
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