Kafka by the Nile
The fact that you can still find plenty of music in northern Sudan
might give the impression of freedom, but it's a system that Kafka
would recognise for its arbitrariness, in which repression can
descend at any moment. It is still possible to find, for example,
cassettes of Mohammed Wardi on open sale despite the probability
that the singer himself would be imprisoned if he returned because
of his outspoken role in opposition to the National Islamic Front.
In this schizoid atmosphere, nothing is straightforward. Cab drivers
can be punished for playing unacceptable music, too. But since
they thrash their car stereos until everything sounds like comb-and-paper
or kazoo, how can anyone tell? The NIF both fears and seeks to
manipulate music and musicians. Any references to past freedoms
in Sudan prior to the 1989 coup are unacceptable. Periods of repression
are alternated with periods of coercion; officials differ in their
interpretation and application of the 1990 Public Order Acts which
regulate performances. Hostile to art that it cannot control,
the NIF has introduced an "Islamisation of Art" programme
in an attempt to dictate the terms of the discourse. All performers
and works of theatre, cinema and music are supposed to be approved
by religious jurists. Songs in praise of the para-military Popular
Defence Force and jihad are broadcast all the time. Sporadic prohibition
is enforced on "low grade" Western music. More important,
the diverse range of folk music and dance within Sudan itself
often fails to meet the criteria, or is relegated to condescending
"ethnological" broadcasts.