Shahin Najafi: Musician, composer, singer, songwriter and poet

In 2012, Shahin released his most controversial song: Naghi. In it, he exhorts a Shiite Imam named Naghi to help solve some of the problems plaguing Iran. But religious hardliners called the song an insult to Imams, a crime severely punished in Iran, and used Fatwas (religious edicts) to demand his death. Around the world, politicians, scholars, musicians, and devoted fans rose to Shahin’s defence, propelling him into the limelight as a proponent of free speech.