Mauritanian artists rally against discrimination and speech of hate

Asmaa El-Batakoushy

An anonymous recording, which has gone viral, labeling artists as infidels angered artists in Mauritania last week.

Mauritania’s Union of Artists and Musicians has called for a rally on October 15 outside the Mauritanian presidential headquarters to condemn what they called takfiri speech of hate against artists and musicians on the social media.

A number of Mauritanian artists took part in the rally along with journalists, politicians and MPs, who all showed solidarity with artists.

The demonstrators urged Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani to put an end to the hate speech in the African country.

Earlier, a Muslim preacher in Nouakchott refused to pray for a deceased singer. The same happened 6 years ago, when the same preachers refused to pray for a female singer.

On January 9, the government along with some political parties and civil society organizations organized a rally in Nouakchott in rejection of hate and extremism. Thousands of Mauritanian people took part in the rally, which was boycotted by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Earlier this year, Mauritania passed a law against discrimination, penalizing those whom are conceited of extremism and hate charges.