![\"Mona](\"https:\/\/cdn.psychologytoday.com\/sites\/default\/files\/field_blog_entry_images\/MonaHaydar_0.jpg\")
\u201cThe more I learn, the more I recognize that it\u2019s actually everybody\u2019s job to be more kind and more loving and more generous all the time.\u201d – Mona Haydar<\/strong><\/p>\nMona Haydar\u00a0is an American rapper, poet, activist,\u00a0and chaplain.\u00a0Her EP is\u00a0Barbarican<\/em>\u00a0(2018), and she is best known for her viral song “Hijabi (Wrap My Hijab),” a protest song.<\/p>\n Poetry and Music: Mona started writing her poetry as soon as she was old enough to write. One of her first poems in a kindergarten journal went: \u201cI am mood. I am dude. I am Mona.\u201d Mona transitioned from writing and performing her poetry to rap in 2015. Her single\u00a0“Hijabi” was a ground breaking debut with millions of views which featured Mona, 8 months pregnant with her second son, surrounded by an intersectional group of dynamic women as Mona sang \u201call around the world love women every shading\u201d calling out racism and colorism. Mona\u2019s second single, Dog takes on violence against women with lyrics which call out men in positions of religious authority who use their power to prey on young (and old) people.<\/p>\n Her EP, Barbarican<\/em> was met with great reviews upon its release in 2018. The lead single, “Lifted” is a visual glory telling the story of what it is to lose and then find yourself. The song was written at a time when Mona was suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her second child.<\/p>\n She and her work have been featured on\u00a0Marie Claire, Glamour, BBC, CNN, BuzzFeed, AJ+, PRI, NPR, Mic, Psychology Today, Refinery 29, Milk, The Huffington Post, Ms Magazine, Fusion\/Splinter and many others.<\/p>\n Ask A Muslim: Mona and her husband, Sebastian, set up a stand in Cambridge, Massachusetts with signs that read ‘Talk to a Muslim,’ ‘free coffee and donuts,’ free conversation,’ and ‘Ask a Muslim’ encouraging open and loving dialogue which garnered the attention of NPR,\u00a0People Magazine, Al Jazeera, AJ+, The Boston Globe among other media outlets.<\/p>\n In 2016 Mona was featured in a campaign by Microsoft called #SpreadHarmony which featured people working towards a more beautiful world, which was covered by the New York Times.<\/p>\n Information taken from https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mona_Haydar<\/a>\u00a0 and http:\/\/www.monahaydar.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n Here is the music video for Haydar’s “Good Body,” a song to celebrate self-love and diverse bodies!<\/p>\n