Local musicians have told a radio station that has been repeatedly accused of xenophobia that the station may no longer play their songs.
Legendary Icelandic singer-songwriter Bubbi Morthens posted a public announcement directed at Útvarp Saga – a radio station that has been repeatedly accused of xenophobia and homophobia – that the station is now banned from playing any of his songs, present and future:
“I hereby proclaim that the broadcasting media outlet Útvarp Saga is completely forbidden to play any songs by me, Bubbi Morthens, as well as all other songs that I might record in the future,” he wrote. “This ban will stay in effect for as long as Útvarp Saga continues to sow prejudice and hatred. Their shame and stupidity is total. It is awful knowing that full-grown adults, who I expect were raised to care for others, should thrive in the spiritual shadow cast by the recording booth of Útvarp Saga.”
Bubbi is not alone in his ban, either. Another band, Ljótu Hálfvitarnir, have also banned Útvarp Saga from playing any of their songs present and future, for the same reasons.
The backlash comes in the wake of a recent online poll Útvarp Saga posted on their website, which asked respondents if they trusted Muslims. For the record, the majority of respondents – 51.2% – said that they did.
This is also not the first time Útvarp Saga has made Muslims the focus of their attention. Last March, one of Útvarp Saga’s hosts, Arnþrúður Karlsdóttir, posted a photo of herself to the station’s Facebook page, dressed in what looked like a burqa (but was in fact a ski mask and a black top), along with the question, “Will radio people of the future look like this?”
Last week, she told the radio show Harmageddon that members of ISIS were directly connected to Muslim organisations in Iceland, although she provided no evidence whatsoever to back up the claim.
The show has been accused of more generalised xenophobia as well, as they repeatedly call immigrants under suspicion as having a negative effect on Iceland’s economy and culture.
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