Would be more apt to say 'celebrity naath khwani'. A key point to remember not all naath khwans are ignorant and layman's. Someone like owaise qadri is quiet knowledgeable. His got good qiraat and recitation skills too. Certain naathkhwans like Hafiz Ghulam mustafa are even completing darsi nizami and studying. Brothers won't like this but the reality is that most of naath khwans especially from Pakistan are groomed in dawate islami. many DI naaths reciters have left DI and started private programs.
Someone learned said the same to me years ago: maybe the UK gives them visas so easily because they want us to remain in a trance and delusion.
although it isn't likely to happen - I strongly second that wish. for one thing, we must remember that a lot of what goes on in the world today is a farcical enactment of what doesn't exist i.e. everything is, more or less, a drama for regaling the masses. I think it won't be too far-fetched to say that humanity as a whole is lower than it has ever been. In such circumstances, many of these celebrities and influencers perform the very desirable task of keeping people distracted from the real issues. If anything, far from banning, I expect the governments to actually sponsor more events where people can exhaust their religious fervor in swaying and waving hands and taking selfies with whoever is the latest "sensation". Keep 'em stupified, keep 'em stupid.
Just accidentally ran into this shameful, appalling talk by Owais raza where he hints at the Shar3i requirements of deserving to be on stage and very cleverly says that the stage should only be big enough for naatkhwan and 1 or 2 chief guests - all because he's agitated at the stage breaking. Why the naatkhwan? Are naatkhwans counted as equal to aalims? What about qaaris who can read the Quran beautifully? Are they more important than naatkhwans who can't pronounce Arabic letters? Of course some people have naturally beautiful voices and also train their voices, but does that make them better than a common guy (as Owais Raza implies) who reads naats in his own tune with reverence- all else considered same? As for the chief guest (mehman-e-khusoosi), what are the shar3i requirements of being a chief guest? He didn't seem to elaborate. who should the chief guest be? a cricketer? a firebrand scholar who doesn't offer any knowledge based substance? a rich businessman who funded the whole gathering? who...? This is the fault of us awam - for treating naatkhwans as halal rock stars, that they get so arrogant. Notwithstanding ulama who couldn't care less for knowledge - and now these naatkhwans are threatening their own statuses, and these sloppy ulama deserve it, for letting knowledge and learning take a back seat. I think naatkhwani should be declared a banned profession. Gatherings should only invite random people from the audiences to recite manaqib and salat-o-salam.
