Faith Lens: Winds of Change

Asayel Slay, a female rap artist from Saudi Arabia, currently faces arrest and punishment by Saudi officials because of her YouTube video/song “Mecca Girl.”  The work, which celebrates women in Mecca, has been condemned by conservatives as disrespectful toward the values and traditions that have long prevailed in Meccan society.  Asayel’s supporters regard her as a champion of women’s progress in that society, while her detractors view her as a threat to social norms.  Religious convictions animate both sides of the controversy.