India - Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad calls all-girls rock band in Kashmir "un-Islamic", resulting in death threats and hate mail on their Facebook page.

India - Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad calls all-girls rock band in Kashmir "un-Islamic", resulting in death threats and hate mail on their Facebook page.(NDtv). After an all-girls rock band in Kashmir has decided against live performances after death threats and hate mail on their Facebook page, across India, musicians, politicians and others are urging them not to give up.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told NDTV that he will offer security for the band, but that it is up to them to decide whether they want to play. After the head priest or Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad described the band as "un-Islamic", the chief minister tweeted: "a handful of morons who are trying to silence them". But he later deleted that post. He told NDTV that arresting the mufti, who has issued a fatwa or decree against the girls, would not help.

Pragaash (which means First Light) shot to prominence in December when the trio, who are all in school, won an annual "Battle of Bands" competition held in Srinagar, the state capital.

In recent weeks, the backlash has been unnerving for their families and the girls. Their manager, Adnan Matoo, who also runs musical academy Band Inn, said the teens broke down after seeing the abusive comments online.

Many others point out that Kashmir has a long tradition of women who write and sing poetry, starting with Lal Ded or Lalleshwari, the 14th century poet, whose verses or "vaaks" are a centrepiece of Kashmiri culture. Read the full story here.

Update: A day after fatwa, Kashmir's all-girl band calls it quits.

Kashmir lost its only all-girls rock band on Monday as its three teenage members decided to call it quits, a day after the Grand Mufti issued a fatwa terming singing as un-Islamic and asked them to abandon it. Although the girls have maintained silence over the issue, sources close to them said, they have decided to quit singing and music. The girls had defied convention by stepping into the male-dominated field but faced online threats and abuses from conservative sections of the society. The Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad on Sunday issued a decree terming singing un-Islamic. "I have said, singing is not in accordance with Islamic teachings," Ahmad told . He said, he has advised the members of the first all-girls rock band of Kashmir to abandon singing as "it is against Islamic teachings and will not help them in playing any constructive role in the society."Hmmm....Welcome to India A.D. 630?