Would these same 60 artists perform these same pieces of poetry, music and dance in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan?

In response to Satchamo, the answer is *absolutely*! All the articsts are highly acclaimed in their own countries as well as internationally.

- The vocalist for the whirling dervish group is normally housed in the great mosque of Damascus.
- A couple of the sufi groups from Pakistan, in additional to traveling internationally, do continue to pay homage to certain sufi shrines by performing there regularly also.
- Salman Ahmad, the founder of the group Junoon and the music genre 'sufi rock' has sold 25 millions albums, and most recently played at the red fort in ...

Would these same 60 artists perform these same pieces of poetry, music and dance in Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan?

In response to Satchamo, the answer is *absolutely*! All the articsts are highly acclaimed in their own countries as well as internationally.

- The vocalist for the whirling dervish group is normally housed in the great mosque of Damascus.
- A couple of the sufi groups from Pakistan, in additional to traveling internationally, do continue to pay homage to certain sufi shrines by performing there regularly also.
- Salman Ahmad, the founder of the group Junoon and the music genre 'sufi rock' has sold 25 millions albums, and most recently played at the red fort in Dehli. He is extremely famous in Pakistan, as elsewhere.
- The qawali group from Pakistan are from a long line of qawali singers there, with their uncle being the late Nusrat Fatehali Khan - a legend in Pakistan.
- The same goes for the Irani group - very popular in their home country, as well as the entire region, within which they have toured extensively.

Hope you don't mind the long comment - I just think it is so important to replace the misconceptions. This show is an awesome opportunity for doing just that!
BTW - there are more details about each group at:
http://www.theismaili.org/he2-2.htm

I think you'd be surprised at how many would actually allow this type of thing! In Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iran, Bosnia, Turkey, and numerous other predominantly Islamic countries, mixed audiences and ability to express different views is not as suppressed as it is often shown in the West.

As an example, there are many tens of thousands of Jews in Iran, with Tehran having one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Isreal. They have been there for centuries.

Most women in Iran or Pakistan don't cover themselves like you see in the news - it is just that if you walk in Karachi or Islamabad, and you see one fully covered and 99 dressed the same as in other places, the camera will go to ...

I think you'd be surprised at how many would actually allow this type of thing! In Tajikistan, Pakistan, Iran, Bosnia, Turkey, and numerous other predominantly Islamic countries, mixed audiences and ability to express different views is not as suppressed as it is often shown in the West.

As an example, there are many tens of thousands of Jews in Iran, with Tehran having one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Isreal. They have been there for centuries.

Most women in Iran or Pakistan don't cover themselves like you see in the news - it is just that if you walk in Karachi or Islamabad, and you see one fully covered and 99 dressed the same as in other places, the camera will go to the one, and that will be shown as representative on Western news!

Afghanistan, while I can see this being absolutely allowed in the NE portion, has a ways to go elsewhere. Not because a majority would not welcome it, but because there is a minority that would threaten success. It has a ways to go, but this fact is not representative of the majority of the population.