Would the governement of a Muslim county allow U2 to play?

[Hitman]

OK, this is a strange question. I know U2 played Israel during Popmart. But, if U2 wanted to play a country such as Iran, Pakistan, Jordan or the United Arab Emirates.... would they be allowed to? And further, would anyone come? Do they know about U2 in these countries?

 

[UV2001]

I don't know if they know about U2 in those contries but in Burma they know enough about them to ban ATYCLB so they are pretty much known world wide

 

[Foxxern]

In Iran, kids my age trade tapes illegally and even bust out the guitar when no one is watching. They get satellite TV and VHS tapes without the government's knowledge, and I'm sure that a certain portion of it must be U2 material. If U2 ever was to play in one of those countries, they would probably sell out a huge stadium very quickly, and it would be a great advance in relations between Muslim countries and the Western nations. But who knows if it'll ever happen.

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Change is the only constant

 

[Hitman]

Originally posted by Foxxern:
In Iran, kids my age trade tapes illegally and even bust out the guitar when no one is watching. They get satellite TV and VHS tapes without the government's knowledge, and I'm sure that a certain portion of it must be U2 material. If U2 ever was to play in one of those countries, they would probably sell out a huge stadium very quickly, and it would be a great advance in relations between Muslim countries and the Western nations. But who knows if it'll ever happen.

Ok, please forgive if this sounds ignorant but are instruments banned in Iran as they were in Afghanistan? I didn't think they were. Do people really have to play guitar only when no one is watching? Do they have thier own 'rock music' in Iran? For some reason I am fascinated by these countries....

 

[Foxxern]

Well, music there isn't exactly banned, but its under very strict control. Here's a great article that helps explain the situation. It's almost 2 years old, but should be mostly relevant.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/02/24/iran_culture/index.html

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Change is the only constant