"I have seen evil from the eyes of the subversive fatwas in a time when what is lawful is confused with what is not lawful;
When I unveil the truth, a monster appears from his hiding place; barbaric in thinking and action, angry and blind; wearing death as a dress and covering it with a belt [referring to suicide bombing];
He speaks from an official, powerful platform, terrorizing people and preying on everyone seeking peace; the voice of courage ran away and the truth is cornered and silent, when self-interest prevented one from speaking the truth."
These are a few translated versus written by a Saudi poet by the name of Hissa Hilal. She read these versus on a show called Poet of Millions. Poet of Millions is said to be the same as American Idol just with poets instead of singers. The versus she read on the show had to do with the criticizing Muslim clerics in general and specifically, religious leaders in Abu Dhabi.
Hilal speaks of her country and the laws that she feels are unjust. She lives in a country where people and their ideas are suppressed by unfair laws that are justified by religious ideas. Hissa explains: "I have seen evil from the eyes of the subversive fatwas in a time when what is lawful is confused with what is not lawful...(Robert Mackey). Hissa says that the Clerics are making unjust laws.The very act of Hissa reciting her poem on national television could put her in danger of being convicted as a religious criminal, imprisoned, and even put to death.
This Poem has really opened my eyes to how lucky I am to live in a country where women are treated with equality, where the words that are written and spoken are judged on their intellectual merit rather than the sex of the person who spoke them. I am astonished by the courage of this women, who stands up and reads her poems to protest the unjust laws. Hissa states:"When I unveil the truth, a monster appears from his hiding place; barbaric in thinking and action, angry and blind; wearing death as a dress and covering it with a belt..."(Robert Mackey). Hissa explains that freedom of speech is not a right that anyone in Saudi can exercise when speaking against the Fatwas. Hilal points out: "He speaks from an official, powerful platform, terrorizing people and preying on everyone seeking peace; the voice of courage ran away and the truth is cornered and silent, when self-interest prevented one from speaking the truth"(Robert Mackey). Hilal explains that the Cleric dislike people seeking peace and they strive to get rid of anyone with the courage to speak the truth about the Fatwa (religious laws).
This poem makes me appreciate the country I live in. I feel so lucky to be treated as an equal and have the ability to express my feelings. Although Hissa was able to read her poem on television and express what she was trying to say, women every day are forced to wear cloths that cover them head to toe because men have said that women are to dress that way. Women are discriminated against.
The hope, for the people of Abu Dhabi, is the truth of Hilal's words will somehow bring about change. The fear is that these Clerics and the Fatwa have such power over the country that no matter what anyone does things will never change. My feeling is that the only way change can begin is when one persons courage speaks the truth.
Jessica: I agree that this is a very courageous act. Were there any details on the reaction to her poem?
ReplyDeleteAnd I like how you analyzed her words; the image of the "monster" is what sticks out to me most.
The idea of a program were women are allowed to express their afflictions with the current government sounds groundbreaking. The Islamic government denies women the right to wear normal clothes, because otherwise they would control men through beauty. Do you think that this poem which will be heard across much of the middle east will spark women to overcome the scruples of Islam?
ReplyDeleteJessie I really like how you read a poem because I think that poems are not a way that most people get information. Also, I think that we do take a lot of the things in our country for granted, like how much freedom we have compared to women in other countries and the fact that you are blogging about this helps Hissa Hilal reach others who can possibly help her out and work with her to create a less sexist government.
ReplyDelete