{"id":31,"date":"2014-05-08T00:36:45","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T00:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/?p=31"},"modified":"2014-05-08T00:37:28","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T00:37:28","slug":"what-i-wish-you-knew-somewhere-in-america-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/2014\/05\/08\/what-i-wish-you-knew-somewhere-in-america-response\/","title":{"rendered":"What I wish you knew: Somewhere in America Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Click here for Youtube Video) Somewhere in America RAP VIDEO RESPONSE<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mipsterz “Somewhere in America” video controversy set off a fire within my insides as I saw individual criticizing innocent muslim women for expressing themselves. I agree that some themes in the videos may be drawing too much attention, but again these women are free to express themselves through creative outlet and embody the strength of female figures such as Aisha and Khadijah. I chose to express my beliefs through a rap song, since the video is set to Jay Z’s song “Somewhere in America.” I wrote my own original rap song response in support of gender equality in Islam and as a response to the bigoted and close minded critiques of the original video. I also videotaped the performance so viewers could see my energy and passion behind the message, while at the same time enjoying the musical elements of hip hop music. I also chose to incorporate a rap video because we ended the course with a focus on the emergence of Islamic hip hop and hip hop in general as a very influential art form, thus I believe this medium could potentially have a huge impact. My audience is not just the critiques of the video, but also the average american of any faith and cultural background, in order to educate them on the Islamic view toward women and openly show that Muslim men in American support muslim women. By focusing on this broad audience I am trying to incorporate an educational interfaith element; a message for all peoples who have viewed the “Somewhere in America” video. I am also attacking the societal patriarchs who view women as inferior to men and expressing an uplifting idea of a gender equal society across the globe. I believe that my piece highly represents the issue of gender inequality in society and the support of strong empowered women across the globe. I state specific examples of Muhammad’s support of feminine figures and the historical accounts of Aisha and Khadijah, both of whom were wives to the prophet. I also try to place myself within the shoes of a young muslim girl viewing this video and feeling empowered, then being struck down by societal confines or oppressive criticism. I want women around the world to know that men are here to support them in their endeavors and have their back against oppressive figures. I am also able to comment on the ignorance toward others in society as well as the unnecessary drama associated with attacking a video while poverty, rape and corruption go untouched.<\/p>\n

Lyrics to song:<\/p>\n

Somewhere in America,<\/p>\n

There is a hijabi dressed in make up and mascara<\/p>\n

Trying to figure out the image in the mirror<\/p>\n

A princess in the making<\/p>\n

Fighting the temptation<\/p>\n

Of this god-forsaken cultural placement<\/p>\n

Debating the double standard creation<\/p>\n

Praying she can one day express her true self<\/p>\n

Raising her hands to the sky asking God for help<\/p>\n

As her heart melts at the cards she was dealt<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Somewhere in America there\u2019s a Muslim girl sitting in her bedroom<\/p>\n

Scrolling through videos on YouTube<\/p>\n

Not knowing what to do, then they see you<\/p>\n

Boom inspiration, but wait here comes the hating<\/p>\n

So let me get this straight then<\/p>\n

Its ok for men to dictate them<\/p>\n

But as soon as a Muslim girl feels empowered<\/p>\n

You criticize and critique like a coward<\/p>\n

Understand strength is represented through expression<\/p>\n

The prophet never judged. He focused on protection<\/p>\n

So why you trying to hate on their attempt at self reflection<\/p>\n

Stop judging on a first impression, and focus on self perfection<\/p>\n

Hijab, no hijab, whats in the heart is all that matters<\/p>\n

We choose to judge, now the whole ummah is scattered<\/p>\n

Over all the contradictory issues<\/p>\n

Because we choose to misuse<\/p>\n

The way we interpret and view and others views<\/p>\n

When in fact we have no clue what they\u2019ve been through<\/p>\n

Men have some respect,<\/p>\n

Just because a girl skateboards and is fashionable in dress<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t mean she lacks intellect<\/p>\n

Dwell for a sec and dissect the true meaning<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Every Muslim woman is a unique human being<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m dreaming of an equal society<\/p>\n

Where individuals are not judged on gender, but instead piety<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t say the girls are trying to stand out<\/p>\n

They\u2019re taking initiative, and not looking for a hand out<\/p>\n

Anyone can become a doctor, teacher or lawyer<\/p>\n

But to challenge culture and image takes a true warrior<\/p>\n

What these women did was different<\/p>\n

Instead of confining themselves like a prison<\/p>\n

They broke free and left a social imprint<\/p>\n

Choosing to rivet all these cultural standards<\/p>\n

Man it hurts, to see all these negative responses<\/p>\n

How can one live with hate on they conscious<\/p>\n

Seems like now a days everyone is a misogynist<\/p>\n

Problem is Muslims love to argue on and make no sense<\/p>\n

Creating false concepts, so they can control the other sex<\/p>\n

It\u2019s complex and can perplex any type of cortex<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t say its Islamic, its mainly the culture and will falter Like not giving her a choice at the alter<\/p>\n

These girls aren\u2019t trying to fit in<\/p>\n

They\u2019re breaking barriers like a space mission<\/p>\n

Executing the stereotypes of our religion<\/p>\n

Driving to add addition to the way we are living<\/p>\n

Whether it be Jewish Muslim or Christian<\/p>\n

The world needs more empowered women<\/p>\n

Remember this, the hijab is her decisions<\/p>\n

That rests in her heart, is between her and the lord<\/p>\n

Just like its her decision to rock tom ford<\/p>\n

Our women shouldn\u2019t be ignored,<\/p>\n

They should be the forefront of our identity<\/p>\n

And not be forced into dependency or have to pretend to be some unknown entity<\/p>\n

With Aisha like force lets eliminate the discrepancies<\/p>\n

Agree or disagree I think we need to break free<\/p>\n

Because my mother raised me better than that<\/p>\n

And devoted her life to giving back<\/p>\n

So to every beautiful Muslim girl I tip my hat<\/p>\n

Continue to be strong, because we brothers have your back<\/p>\n

By- Aoss<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Click here for Youtube Video) Somewhere in America RAP VIDEO RESPONSE\u00a0 The Mipsterz “Somewhere in America” video controversy set off a fire within my insides as I saw individual criticizing innocent muslim women for expressing themselves. I agree that some themes in the videos may be drawing too much attention, but again these women are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6350,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6350"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31\/revisions\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/zaossey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}