Church communication experts say music has submitted to rising fundamentalism in the country.

Archbishop Emeritus Lawrence Saldanha expressed these concerns at the launch ceremony of the album Kehkashan (Galaxy) on July 15 at WAVE (Workshop Audio Visual Education) Studio in Lahore. More than 100 people including nuns and professional singers attended the event at the only Catholic recording studio of the country.

“It has become very difficult to hire a Muslim singer for singing Christians hymns. Fundamentalism and extremism, which have risen this decade, were unheard of in the past”, said the chairman of the National Commission for Social Communications. The prelate played a vital role in developing the facility which was founded in 1977.

The studio has so far produced 128 audio cassettes, 32 VCDs and six DVDs. Many of these albums were recorded by influential singers of South Asia, all of them Muslims.

WAVE Studio director Father Nadeem Shakir described that artists used to perform gospel music at subsidized rates. “Those albums were a unique example of interfaith harmony and a source of encouragement for the Christian minority. Now the trend is almost over”, said the priest who has been running the projects for 13 years.

“Poetry was changed on few occasions after some singers objected that it contains certain biblical phrases (like son of God, O Holy Father) which contradict their religious beliefs. Many were threatened not to perform in Church productions”, he said, adding that he avoids sharing information regarding Muslim musicians with secular media “to protect their careers”.

But Muslim singer Humaira Arshad, who began her career at the studio, cited an increase in the number of recording studios as the reason behind her departure from Christian music.

“Now every artist has a studio, which has lessened the importance of this (WAVE) studio,” she commented in a Pakistani newspaper.

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