Remorseful mullah seeks mediation after 'inappropriate' comments about singer

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region ⁠— A well-known Kurdish cleric has approached the uncle of a Kurdish female singer after describing the singer as “whore” for her performance in a music video in order to stop possible legal action against him. 

The mullah said he regretted his comments, but this has not calmed down the singer and her family.

“Marya is not a child to be told what to do. She is a grown up and can make her own decisions,” Jameel Hawrami said he told Mullah Halo Hama Rashid.

Hawrami is the uncle of the singer Marya Hawrami. She released the music video “Dlakam” (my heart) on Kurdmax TV's YouTube channel on August 10. The video has been watched nearly two million times in just six days. 

The family said the courts will determine what the repercussions of the mullah's remarks will be.

"The court has to decide about this issue," the family told Rudaw Wednesday.

The male Hawrami, who is a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party’s leadership, told Rudaw that Rashid called him on the phone, seeking mediation.

In an audio recording released on Monday, Rashid, a cleric known for his inflammatory rhetoric, labeled Marya a “whore” and a “prostitute” for her demeanor in the video. He said that "even a prostitute would feel ashamed” of Marya’s performance. Rashid also described the crowd of people dancing in the background of the video as “monkeys.”

Rashid confessed the usage of “inappropriate” language about the singer, but maintained that her performances are “against Sharia” or Islamic law.

Rashid said his words in the recording were intended for an unknown individual, not the public.

"The audio message was for somebody in particular, not the public. I didn’t want for it to be published,” the Mullah told Rudaw.

The cleric told Rudaw that he has approached Marya’s uncle as he wants “to resolve the issue with dialogue.”

He said no lawsuits have been filed against him so far.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) declared last week a holiday for Eid al-Adha celebrations. Fridays and Saturdays are weekends in the Kurdistan Region so courts will not open until Sunday.