“Maybe I am naive. But I’m a musician, brother. I was a kid when I discovered the qanun in the house. They said, ‘Children can’t touch it, it’s more than a hundred years old.’ I wouldn’t stop crying unless they let me hold it. I didn’t sleep properly until I learned to play it. Now they invite me everywhere. Why? Because people need songs like they need bread and water. People need poetry, beauty, love! So long as the sun rises and rivers flow, there will always be weddings and celebrations and music. Even fanatics cannot change that.” — Silence settles in the room, curling itself around the
...more
