Hizballah student group 'bans' Fairouz music at Lebanese University

A Fairouz song played at the memorial ceremony of a student at the Lebanese University's Hadath campus caused controversy after Hizballah-affiliate students protested on religious grounds.

Narrated

2 min read

��

06 Dec, 2016

A song played by iconic Lebanese singer Fairouz caused controversy [AFP]

Lebanon's Hizballah party sought to distance itself on Monday from a controversial incident that took place at the Lebanese University in al-Hadath earlier this week.

Lebanese university students affiliated to Hizballah disrupted a ceremony marking the death of a fellow student after a song by iconic Lebanese singer Fairouz was played.

Security rushed to the scene to calm students down after the pro-Hizballah students erupted in anger when music was played, objecting on religious grounds.

Hizballah said the incident was between the student council and the faculty.

"This university has an administration and regulations that we seek to respect," the statement said according to the Lebanese daily The Daily Star.

"What happened is merely an implementation of an agreement between the student council, faculty administration and student groups to organise activities and venues," the statement added.

Hizballah, which has a political bloc in the Lebanese parliament, adopts an interpretation of Islam that bans certain types of music.

The Shia movement is currently majorly engaged in fighting in Syria on the side of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad against anti-regime rebels.

In response to the incident, Lebanon's education minister Elias Bou Saab called for everyone's freedoms to be "preserved as stipulated by the law".

"Students who object to a certain activity must refer to the faculty administration as they are entitled to enforce the law," Bou Saab told al-Jadeed TV channel.

The incident drew criticism on social media users who felt the values of Hizballah were being imposed on the nation.