Alie Islam’s Poem “Colours of Love” has been nominated for the “Best Poem/Spoken Words” of the year in the National Islamic Awards 2024. The poem, released in 2023, is part of an album the award-winning poet is working on. 

The “Colours of Love”  poem talks about the moral binary of good and evil ever-present in the world. In the poem, Alie Islam calls for humanity to steer clear of evil while hastening towards good. 

Lines from the poem such as, “Kill him; there’s homicide, kill them all, they are the problem, kill ‘em, there is genocide” highlight the presence of animosity in a growing volatile world.  

“Cherish my people, cherish this land” are lines the poet says call for love for humanity and the environment.  

This is the second time the Turkey-based spoken word artist is being nominated for the National Islamic Awards. In 2022, he won the same award for his poem titled “SHE”. 

Alie Islam dedicated “SHE” to muslim women. The poem addresses the historical misconception of women in relation to religion. With the belief that religion oppresses women, the poem praises muslim women and portrays them as being beautiful, honoured and possessing innate power.

Voting for the NIA awards can be done here.

Who is Alie Islam?

Alie Islam, born Alie Bangura, is an Islamic poet/spoken word and nasheed artist.  His motherhood and upbringing nurtured his love for music and songs of poetry. In his early years in high school, Alie Islam engaged in rap battles after a friend introduced him to writing verses and rhyme schemes. 

In 2020 he made a mid-career switch from rap to poetry when he joined the Hikmah Brothers. Following this, Alie Islam released his debut poetry piece in the same year.

This pushed him into new heights and paved the way for more soul-stirring poems such as “Thorns on the Throne”, “Golden Chapters”, We are colourful and a host of others. He currently has two albums.

To date, Alie Islam continues to use his poetry to touch lives and transform communities through his educative and entertaining poetic verses.

Alie Islam during a studio session
Photo credits: Alie Islam

About the National Islamic Awards

The National Islamic Awards (NIA) is an annual islamic event that recognises people with a clear footprint in propagating the Islamic faith. The event is organised by the Youth in Action for Development of Islam (YADI) which was founded in 2014. 

The organisation presents awards to Islamic leaders, entertainers, communities, students and other individuals. From each category one individual, group or community walks home with an award.