You haven't heard of Hissa Halal? What's wrong with you? Hilal is a Saudi woman who's one of the finalist in the Persian Gulf reality television show called "The Million's Poet" [THINK AMERICAN IDOL FOR POETS]. She recites her poems weekly for a voting television audience and guess what? Her poems are pretty revolutionary, considering her stance. What stance does this woman whose only visible body part is a slit on her face take? Well, she is against violent arab extremism (YAY!), she's against the oppression of women (can't hear you under all that heavy wool, honey!), and she's against censorship! While the extreme members of Islam have issued numerous Fatwas against her (all in a day's work for some no-lifer Arab extremists.... I picture lazy extremists sitting on their couches scratching their balls, issuing fatwas at a blank wall and an uncooperative remote control....). No but seriously, having death threats made on one's life is no joke, and needs to be taken seriously. Halal is standing up for all the NORMAL non-terrorist members of Islam who are saying "Listen, hey - you know those guys who ran that whole 9/11 business-- hell we think they cray-cray too!"
Wow Halal is super important! She's living [for now...] proof that poetry is necessary, it has a message, and has pulled its head out of the oven/ass. Think there should be an American version of "The Million's Poet?"
Read more on Halal here and here.
See ya!
Love,
Amy
