Anyone who has seen Mona Haydar’s music videos has something to say about them, but with lyrics that play with feminism, faith and love — emotional terrorist / boy you need a therapist — the Syrian-American activist and rapper gets her most extreme and critical feedback from two very specific types of people.
“It’s really entertaining to me that the music has created this bridge between the alt-right white and conservative Muslim communities,” says Haydar divulged to Marie Claire in a recent profile.
“The alt-right says ‘she’s a terrorist, a mouthpiece for ISIS, we hate her.’ Conservative Muslims say, ‘She’s not even Muslim, look at this liberal feminist, she’s watering down everything we believe in, she’s pandering to heathens, we hate her!’ Suddenly, these communities have this shared love of hating me,” she says. “I think it’s fabulous.”
Not only does she think it’s fabulous, she also think it’s effective, telling Marie Claire that the reactions wouldn’t be so strong if it weren’t.
“I talk directly to the predators. You know what, patriarchy? This is your mess to clean up.”
Listen to her song Hijabi, which discusses the multitude of ways hijab burdens and liberates women, above.
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