The participants
at the First Conference on Music in the World of Islam held in
Assilah within the framework of the 29th Cultural Moussem at the
initiative of the Assilah Forum Foundation and the Maison des
Cultures du Monde, stress the importance of the systematic study
of all music in the world of Islam - whether traditional or contemporary
creation - for the life and dynamism of culture in these societies.
The participants
at the Conference:
express
their satisfaction and thank the Assilah Forum Foundation and
the Maison des Cultures du Monde for their decision to make
available on the Internet the papers from the Assilah Conference
and to publish a large share of them in a document accompanied
by a DVD. All of this material will be kept in a special room
devoted to the Assilah Conference at the Prince Bandar bin Sultan
Library;
decide
that the Conference on Music in the World of Islam will be held
every three years and ask the Assilah Forum Foundation and the
Maison des Cultures du Monde to take charge of its organization;
recommend
the establishment of a documentation center and archive for
music in the world of Islam; in this regard, they stress the
extreme importance of establishing and protecting musical archives,
especially when they are in areas of conflict and may be at
risk (in Iraq today for example);
decide
that annual colloquia will be held for more in-depth thinking
on particular topics covered by the Conference. A first set
of two subjects for colloquia are recommended:
- The transmission of musical traditions in the world of Islam.
- Sufi music.
recommend
the organization in Assilah of an exhibition on music in the
world of Islam to bring the general public an awareness of the
diversity of musical production, instrument making, distribution
circuits, etc;
recommend
the preparation and publishing in a printed and/or digital edition
on the Internet of a directory of institutions and specialists
in the field of music in the world of Islam as an essential
tool for the building of a network to facilitate exchanges of
information between researchers in this field;
stress
the importance of oral tradition music in the world of Islam
which represents an essential and irreplaceable part of the
cultural heritage of humanity, but which is particularly fragile
because of the economic, technological and media upheavals of
globalization. They call on the competent authorities to seek
and implement technical and policy solutions for their preservation.
The participants
of the Assilah Conference express their deep gratitude to the
Municipality, the Authorities and inhabitants of the City of Assilah
for their warm welcome.
