A concert being organized for the Lebanese band, Mashrou’ Leila, in Kuwait has triggered a massive backlash across the country.
As part of Kuwait Rising music festival, Mashrou’ Leila were expected to have a live performance in Kuwait’s capital city in March 2019.
While invitations and announcements started circulating among Kuwaitis during the past few days, many voices started rising denouncing it and calling authorities to ban the band from performing in Kuwait.
For those who do not know, Mashrou’ Leila is a Lebanese alternative band that has been stirring controversy for years now as they have been associated with the LGBT+ community, which is mainly attributed to the band’s frontman, Hamed Sinno, who is openly gay.
Lately, they have been facing struggles in organizing performances in several parts of the Middle East, on the basis that they “promote homosexuality” which is strongly condemned.
This came following the band’s latest performance in Egypt in 2017, when authorities carried out a crackdown on LGBT+ activists and community after a rainbow flag - the symbol associated with the LGBT+ groups - was raised during the band’s concert at the Cairo Festival City Mall.
Since then, Mashoru’s Leila were banned from performing in Egypt in addition to Jordan who earlier in 2016 canceled a planned concert as a response to public pressure that considered “the sexuality of the band” as a "violation of Jordanian customs and traditions."
Many Kuwaitis have taken to the internet to express their anger and opposition to having a performance by Mashrou’ Leila approved in their country.
Hashtag “#لا_لدخول_الفرقة_المثلية_الكويت” [No for homosexual band in Kuwait] was launched and saw dozens of tweets debating whether Mashrou’s Leila band should be allowed or violate the customs of the conservative society.
Translation: “What is wrong with you people? They will come, perform their songs and leave, and they have a fanbase who like their songs! You make me feel as if there are no Kuwaiti homosexuals and this band will let us be [homosexuals]? It is only about sexual orientation not a flu!”
Few hours later, the concert was reportedly cancelled and the news had many people celebrating.
Translation: “Thanks God, the homosexual band’s concert in Kuwait was cancelled. Thanks for officials, for supportive MPs, for Twitter users who jumped on the story, especially “Munasaha” group on WhatsApp. Also we won’t forget the first person who sparked the topic with his well-established words, dear brother Hamed Buyabes.”
