Ali Farka Touré
Next generation of Mali musicians face a country that won’t let them perform
Mali is in the throes of an uprising between the country’s Islamic fundamentalists and its nomadic, indigenous Tuareg people. The Islamists are on top and have banned all “non-devotional” music. And that’s totally upended what was once a vibrant music scene.
The music has died in northern Mali as Islamic extremists exert control
Northern Mali was taken over by militants and Islamic extremists and now they’re in the process of implementing a system of Sharia law in that part of the country. That’s meant an end to musical performances across the part of the country controlled by the extremists.