A few months ago, Mona Haydar debuted as a rapper, with a music video entitled “Wrap My Hijab.” The video had received mixed reviews. From Muslims who were attacking the audacity behind the concept of veiled women being so exposed and in your face, to people who celebrated the idea of a woman re – presenting the ideal of the veil, and finally to people who shared very Islamophobic views, everyone had something to say about Haydar’s video and lyrics.
Haydar is back with another wrap music video called ‘DOG’ (kalb in Arabic, as indicated by the subtitles in the video). The lyrics basically condemn all sorts of sexist things Arab men do and say, in the name of Islam and under the guise of Arab culture.
Indeed, the video contains a friendly and not so subtle reminder that the very religion these men use to justify their sexism, asks of men to look away not harass women. The video additionally features Dominican–American actress, musician, and former model Jackie Cruz, singing in accordance with Haydar’s message, all while expressing a message of racial diversity and acceptance among individuals with different backgrounds.
From statements like “Say my voice is ‘haram’ because it turns you on” to “When the sun sets tryn’a hunt me down” to (my personal favorite) “Sheikhs on the DL, Sheikhs in the DM, begging me to shake it on my cam in the PM”, Haydar lyrics perfectly captures three things. The hypocrisy of sexist Arab culture. The way in which sexist Arab men often treat women like children, whilst making this look like something that comes out of a place of some sort of love.
WE SAID THIS: Thank you, Mona Haydar not only for calling out some Arab men on their sexist BS, but also for telling these men exactly what they are, ‘DOGS’.