TEHRAN -- The organizers of the 1st International Music Festival of Muhammad, the Prophet of Kindness (S) elaborated on the event during a press conference held in Tehran on Sunday.

The festival, which opened on Friday, has been organized by the Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality to promote folklore music on Prophet Muhammad (S).

The organization plans to hold the festival annually to celebrate the birth anniversary of the Prophet of Islam (S).

“Performing the ritual musical compositions, which are being forgotten, is out priority,” said Reza Mahdavi, a member of the policymaking council for the festival.

“Due to groups coming from various regions of Iran and the Muslim world, the festival can be deemed a beautiful dimension of unity among Muslims in the world,” he added.

“This festival can be considered an appropriate example based upon which ulema can begin to view music from a different angle,” he stated.

Iraj Naeimai, another member of the council, said, “Due to takfiri groups’ role in causing disunity among Muslims, we fully recognize the need to organize this festival to reinforce unity among Muslims.”

“Therefore, we decided to invite music groups from those countries, which play a key role in Islamic unity in the world,” he added.

Numerous musicians from Afghanistan, Iraq, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Morocco and several other countries are participating in the festival, which ends today.

French composer Maurice Jarre, mostly known for his composition for Syrian-American director Moustapha Akkad’s “The Message”, Oscar-winning Indian composer A. R. Rahman, the composer of Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s epic on the Prophet of Islam “Muhammad (S), the Messenger of God”, and Iranian maestro Loris Tjeknavorian are scheduled to be honored at the closing ceremony.

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