Helly Luv's Use of Music as her Weapon Against ISIS

As a woman who faced discrimination for her Kurdish heritage, achieved fame as a pop star, and became one of ISIS’ most wanted people, Helly Luv is a political activist and artist who is helping to unite the world against terrorism. Utilizing her voice as her weapon, Luv refuses to back down on her campaign against ISIS by motivating people to fight for justice, liberty, and equality in a war-torn region.

Helly was born as Helan Abdulla in Urmia, Iran in 1988. Since her parents fled from Dohuk, Iraq during the Persian Gulf War, she was a refugee at birth. During this war between Iran and Iraq, Iraq targeted not only Iranians but also Iraqi Kurds, forcing Luv’s family to seek safety. Soon after she was born, the family fled to Turkey, where they struggled to survive without any basic necessities nor money. Luv’s family eventually immigrated to Finland, where her parents raised her throughout her childhood.

Drawn to the arts, Helly learned music, dance, voice, and theater with the support of her parents. By 2013, she signed a deal with G2 Bracy II and G2 Music Group, allowing her to create pop music infused with melodies and rhythms from her Middle Eastern culture.

Helly Luv posing during a photo shoot for "Revolution"

In 2015, Helly Luv released her latest single, “Revolution,” a call for people to unite against ISIL, which sparked mixed reactions of praise and outrage. While people around the world applauded Helly for her courage and creativity in releasing her video, others, including people in the Middle East, criticized her fashion, modern dancing, and the idea of a woman making a political statement.

Helly Luv decided to create the “Revolution” music video after visiting a village near Mosul, an area that is an important target for ISIS. As the daughter of a former soldier of the Peshmerga, the Kurdish military force that is combating ISIS, Helly Luv spent time with Peshmerga soldiers while hearing their stories and witnessing some of the trauma and injuries they confronted daily. She recounted watching ordinary men and women running from their village to fight on the front lines. After visiting Erbil, a Kurdish town where many Yazidi refugees fled from ISIS, Helly Luv resolved to bring awareness to ISIS’ enslavement of Yazidi women. After conversing with innocent victims, Helly Luv discovered that ISIS destroyed their homes, murdered their relatives, and raped them. Helly explained that there is no more fear left in her and that the only way to defeat ISIS is with courage, which she exhibits throughout her music video.

The opening few minutes of “Revolution” video depict a peaceful village scene in which children are walking into a school with a Kurdish flag, indicating Helly’s Kurdish roots and support for the Peshmerga. Women buy produce from the local market, children run along the streets, and people sit outside shops, having casual conversations. However, in a split second, ISIS’ bombs blast the village, injuring or killing villagers. The chaos that ensues depicts a realistic experience of victims under attack. Amidst the melee, Luv enters, wearing a red keffiyeh, or scarf, draped around her face and walks up to the ISIS military tank that comes to a halt after she raises a sign that says “Stop the Violence.” This scene was filmed in a small village named Kazr nearby Mosul. At that time, Helly and her crew were 2.5 kilometers away from ISIS troops, as the courage she displays in her music are evident in her real life.

A scene from "Revolution" in which Helly leads a group of women

Throughout the video, scenes of the Peshmerga fighting ISIS troops interchange with moments of Helly dancing and leading villagers into revolt. The people are real villagers including Shingali and Yazidis who are often targeted by ISIS, and the tanks are actually those used by the Peshmerga. Displaying real weapons and victims of ISIS’s attacks allows Helly to communicate her political message, which is to fight for liberty, equality, and justice. Helly uses Kurdish lyrics such as the words serbesti, meaning “free,” and azadi, meaning “liberty,” to bolster her political message as well as lines such as “Different religions, we share the same blood” and “long live to every nation” to call for unity among the rest of the world.

Not only does Helly create a sense of solidarity, but she also calls for the support of the Kurdish troops. In interviews with FOX, she explains that while the Peshmerga can handle the fight themselves, they need more weapons and supplies from countries such as the United States. Furthermore, through her video, she explains how her intention was to bridge the gap between victims who are affected by ISIS each day and people from other countries who may feel that they do not have a responsibility for fighting ISIS since they are far from the war. By promoting a sense of camaraderie and humanity, Helly encourages people to take action or to bring awareness to the truth of people’s experiences in countries such as Iraq. Towards the end of the video, a crowd with people of various nationalities raise flags from countries all around the globe, showing a world that is backing the Kurds in their fight. In the last few scenes, the Kurds win the fight, depicting Helly’s hope for the future that the whole world will be victorious in the fight against ISIS.  

Helly in a Peshmerga uniform in a scene from
"Revolution"

Luv’s fashion and pop style add another dimension to her video. Luv wears a Peshmerga uniform to both convey how she comes from a Peshmerga family and to show her support for the Peshmerga. While some may question why she chose to wear bullets strapped to herself as well as rings in the shape of guns when she is promoting peace, she explains how a war is ultimately won through weapons and resources. In terms of her pop style, Helly’s modern moves and melodies are what truly capture the younger audience. Thus, Helly achieves a balance between communicating a political message and creating a song that is catchy and enjoyable. Her mixture of modern music, style, and dance are used to target the younger generation, who can also become cognizant of the issues in the Middle East. Furthermore, she uses her pop music as a vehicle to promote women’s rights by displaying confidence when dancing or leading a group of people towards ISIS tanks. Helly explains how women, especially those in the Middle East, must stand up for their rights and demand more equality.

Overall, Helly successfully uses her art and music to bring attention to the impact of ISIS’s attacks as well as the need to support the Peshmerga in order to win the fight against the terrorist group. Based on an interview with NBC, she states, “As an artist, my weapon is not guns, my weapon is my music. If I can fight against them with my music, then my song is as powerful as or more powerful than their weapons." Helly’s music will continue to live forever, inspiring people to unite and take action against terrorism.

Below is an interview I conducted with a Rutgers student named Caroline, a student who is currently taking a course titled "Knowledge & Power: Issues in Women's Leadership," who was asked to watch the music video "Revolution" and analyzed some of the roles of feminism, fashion, as well as other elements of Helly Luv's music video.

Raji Pillai is a freshman at Rutgers University and is a member of the Honors College, Douglass Residential College, as well as Rutgers Business School. Her interests include writing poetry, doing pilates, and attending Broadway shows.