In their latest video, “Roman”, Lebanon’s biggest international rock band once again calls for resistance in the face of oppression.
Directed by Lebanese director Jessy Moussallem, the clip challenges simplistic approach to Middle Eastern women you can usually find in global media.
As the band explained, “This seeks to disturb the dominant global narrative of hyper-secularised (white) feminism, which increasingly positions itself as incompatible with Islam and the Arab world, celebrating the various modalities of Middle-Eastern feminism.”
The song itself could be one of the most toned-down in the bands history, with a nostalgic main theme and a darksome, yet strong one-word message in the chorus: “Aleihum”, calling for restistance and taking “oppression not as a source of victimhood, but as the fertile ground from which resistance can be weaponized.”
While you can find “Roman” as a special version of Mashrou’ Leila’s most recent album “Ibn El Leil“, this new clip has been released at the time when they were touring around Europe and America, hopefully with more dates around the world to come soon.
Stream “Ibn El Leil” LP on Spotify.
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