Famous across Iraq for their mesmerising sea shanties, musicians in southern Iraq's Basra port who have endured conflict and poverty under Saddam Hussein are facing a new threat from Islamic radicals who want to silence their instruments.
Grenade attacks blamed on Shiite extremists have already targeted the cluster of shops crammed with drums, lutes and trumpets in the backstreets of old Basra's Semar district, where musicians meet to practice and take bookings.
Concert halls and clubs in the city have also been shuttered by religious leaders in the city, which lies in Iraq's Shiite Muslim heartland, flexing their muscles after years being held back by Saddam's largely secular regime.
"Two weeks ago, someone threw a hand grenade at my shop. The situation is very unstable and we feel restricted," said Nasrat Nasir, cleaning a battered old trumpet largely held together with sticky tape.
Denied public performances, Nasrir's 15-man Al-Suror, or Happiness, band and some 130 other singers and musicians in Basra must now rely for business on weddings and birthday parties held in private homes.
Although there have been no official proclamations to stop their work, the performers fear the worst, with several closing down their businesses.
But others say they will defy any attempts to silence them, whatever the cost.
"No one has told us to stop playing yet, but it is probably coming. We will refuse it though, we are artists, music is our job, our passion and our lives," said lute player and singer Wagoud Ali.
"Basra was famous for its artists. It is a port city with connections to the rest of the world, a cosmopolitan city with longstanding creative traditions. Music is part of Basra."
Under Saddam, Basra's musicians were regularly conscripted without payment to perform patriotic songs at celebrations to honour the former dictator's regime and military might.
Following the US-led offensive which toppled Saddam in spring 2003, the performers enjoyed a surge in popularity as the heavily-oppressed southern regions rejoiced at their new found liberties.
Western pop, jazz and traditional Basra melodies that reflect the shifting tides of the sea were all in demand.
"After the war, times were good, I even played for Iranian television," said Ali. "But now our music movement is dying, it is not like the old days when we would perform in five-star clubs. Now we play in private, it is safer."
"We are still Muslims, we believe in God and the prophet, we believe in Islam and respect the shrines and holy men - we even lend our public address systems for mosques to broadcast prayers.
"We also respect the holy months. During the Ramadan fast and other periods we earn no money as we cannot play."
Since the fall of Saddam, Shiite confidence has been steadily increasing. Mass protests organised by senior Shiite clerics have prompted the United Nations to investigate calls for snap polls to replace US power-transfer plans.
Dozens of Shiite movements have sprung up in and around Basra, which has remained largely free of the violence still gripping much of Iraq.
The Shiite political groups have taken much of the credit for maintaining law and order, with several deploying their own militias to deter criminals and ensure the will of the newly-powerful clerics.
Abdullah al-Faisal, general secretary of the Organisation of Islamic Bases, one of the most feared Shiite political militia groups in Basra, denied that intimidation tactics were being used, blaming "enemies of Iraq" for attacks on musicians and minority Christian alcohol vendors.
"As Muslims we refuse to accept certain things, but we respect that Christians and others should have their freedoms.
"Anyone who needs our help, they can call on us at any time."
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