Update: Sadly, Mashrou’ Leila Byblos Concert Cancelled After Threats Of Attacks

Sadly, censorship wins again.

The Byblos International Festival committee has just released an official statement saying that they will be canceling Mashrou’ Leila’s upcoming much-contested concert “to prevent bloodshed and to maintain security and stability”.



This comes after an ongoing campaign filled with hatred and attacks, with religious groups accusing the local band of blasphemy and insulting religion on the one hand, and others defending their right for freedom of artistic expression on the other.

Despite the band’s clarification that the lyrics which caused the controversy were completely taken out of context, the religious groups continued to mobilize online and even escalated their threats, calling for violent confrontations to take place should the concert happen.





Unfortunately, we hoped for once that terror and censorship would not prevail. It is upsetting to see that threats of violence actually do work.

Here are some Twitter reactions to the upsetting news: