Published: 1 february 2013
Country: UK, Worldwide
Hip Hop Hijabis is upcoming documentary film on two best friends who are, through the language of music, fighting for gender equality and women’s rights.
Born in Bristol to Jamaican parents, two girls converted to Islam in 2005, started wearing the hijab and changed their names.
They are Sukina Abdul Noor and Muneera Rashida. Together they are known as the Hip Hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage.
Danish-born London-based filmmaker Mette Reitzel has made a documentary about them, their beliefs, their music and everyday lives.
“By gaining insight into the mindset and daily lives of two outspoken female Muslim converts, Hip Hop Hijabis aims to dispel some of the misconceptions that cause such polarised views, especially around the issue of gender equality, which was a major concern for Sukina and Muneera when they initially felt drawn to the religion.
Researching the question further they found that in historical terms Islam was radically egalitarian, – condemning the common practice of female infanticide and introducing rights of inheritance, divorce and education for women at a time when they were generally considered their husbands property. They also learnt that customs such as female genital cutting and honour killings predate Islam and are not sanctioned by the Quran.
By speaking out against these cultural traditions from within an Islamic framework, Poetic Pilgrimage is part of a growing number of Muslim artists, activists and intellectuals reclaiming their religion”, wrote Reitzel.
By singing about gender equality and the rights of Muslim women and by doing that through the language of Hip Hop, Sukina and Muneera have already made a statement in itself, as some interpretations of Islam consider music and female performance to be forbidden.
It is estimated that there are a total of 100,000 British converts to Islam, a majority of them women and a growing number are black youth from the inner cities. Combined with immigration this has made Islam the second largest religion in the UK. Yet Leveson Report on British press culture recently described to be biased in their coverage of Muslim stories.
“The Hip Hop Hijabis project is an attempt to redress the balance and contribute to a more nuanced debate. It will include creative workshops, lectures and public debates to encourage constructive dialogue and counter religious extremism as well as Islamophobia”, wrote Mette Reitzel.