Saudi housewife attacks hardline Muslim clerics on live TV in Arabic X Factor
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A courageous Saudi housewife has recited her way into the final of "The Million's Poet", the Arabic version of the X Factor for poets, after lashing out at hardline Muslim clerics on live TV.
According to Daily Mail, the burkha-clad, mother-of-four Hissa Hilal presented a poem criticizing Muslim preachers 'who sit in the position of power' but are 'frightening' people with their fatwas, or religious edicts, and 'preying like a wolf' on those seeking peace.
'I have seen evil in the eyes of fatwas, at a time when the permitted is being twisted into the forbidden,' she said in the poem.
She called them 'a monster that emerged from its hiding place' whenever 'the veil is lifted from the face of truth'.
She described hard-line clerics as 'vicious in voice, barbaric, angry and blind, wearing death as a robe cinched with a belt,' in an apparent reference to suicide bombers' explosives belts.
The three judges gave her the highest marks for her performance, praising her for addressing a controversial topic.
Her poem was also cheered by the audience. She received votes from people in the audience of 2000 and text votes from viewers putting her through to the final round on April 7.
However, the poem also brought her death threats, posted on Islamic militant websites.
"My poetry has always been provocative,' she said. 'It's a way to express myself and give voice to Arab women, silenced by those who have hijacked our culture and our religion."
Read more in Daily Mail...