The Queer Arabs

CW: Suicide, self harm, queer killing, queer death, honor killing, sexual abuse, rape, firearms. On the June 14, 2020, LGBTQ and human rights advocate Sarah Hegazi took her own life. Sarah first came under the public eye following the notorious September 2017 Mashrou’ Leila concert where Sarah, alongside two friends, waved a rainbow flag. Despite the shadow of a state that actively quelled all sexual freedom, for that moment Sarah was unabashed in her identity as a queer woman. In the months following, the Egyptian state executed a mass witch-hunt of hundreds of queer youth with the aid of the…

Zaina Arafat is a journalist, fiction writer and teacher based in New York City.  We talked to Zaina about her new novel You Exist Too Much, which was released on June 9!  The novel centers a queer Palestinian American character who grapples with the effects of inherited trauma, her position within in-between spaces that come with being part of the diaspora, and her sexual identity. Our conversation touches on the importance of the “messy” character (versus unrealistically aspirational) when bringing representation to any form of media.  We also discuss Zaina’s teaching and other writing she has done. You can order…

[Content warning: Instances of state violence in Egypt; general references to familial violence/abuse; general references to instances of suicide] —- Tarek Mohamed is an Egyptian feminist and queer activist, scholar and writer.  He is working on his PhD in Anthropology, and is based between Egypt and the United States.  During this episode, Tarek discussed how his activism grew from personal to public, highlighting 2010 as a year when many people in Egypt started to feel safe mobilizing visibly. He also highlighted how leftist spaces, when led by cis herero men, are wrought with homophobia and misogyny. Tarek explores intersectionalities that…

This is part 2 of a 2-part episode; check out part 1 also released on June 5. Composer Nebal Maysaud discussed the ingrained racism within the classical and new music world.  We also continued our conversation about artists’ panels that just so happen to be all, or mostly, white, even when the topic is literally about diversity and inclusion. Subscribe to Nebal’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nebalmaysaud Visit Nebal’s website here: https://nebalmaysaud.com/ Read Nebal’s article: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/its-time-to-let-classical-music-die/ Listen to Nebal’s piece: Decolonized Arabesques Follow them at: https://twitter.com/postarabesque https://www.facebook.com/nebalmaysaudcomposition/

Composer Nebal Maysaud joined us to talk about the ingrained racism within the classical and new music world.  We also talked about (white) panels that profess to be about diversity and inclusion.  Maybe that should be demonstrated by being inclusive and diverse within the panel itself, but what do we know? Subscribe to Nebal’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nebalmaysaud Visit Nebal’s website here: https://nebalmaysaud.com/ Read Nebal’s article: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/its-time-to-let-classical-music-die/ Listen to Nebal’s piece: Decolonized Arabesques Follow them at: https://twitter.com/postarabesque https://www.facebook.com/nebalmaysaudcomposition/ —- As referenced in the intro of this episode in light of what is happening this week:  https://thequeerarabs.com/addressing-anti-blackness-arabic-language-resource/

We spoke to Karam, communication officer of Mawjoudin.  We talked about the work the organization does in Tunisia, the increased visibility of Tunisia in recent years surrounding queer activism, the importance of not relying solely on western media to gain understanding of in-country issues faced by the LGBTQI+ community, and more. From Karam: “WHO ARE WE? MAWJOUDIN WE EXIST is an officially registered not-for-profit NGO that is based in Tunisia, and works towards achieving equality, human rights, bodily rights and sexual rights for the LGBTQI+ community and other marginalized groups and individuals through advocacy, documentation, capacity building, awareness-raising, safe spaces and…

Bita Bell is an international multimedia artist-activist working in contemporary dance, music, and film. Born in Iran and educated in Hong Kong and the United States, she creates audio-visual performative experiences that question contemporary issues. Just prior to the current lockdown, she was choreographing for the Russian feminist punk band PussyRiot’s US tour. Bita joined us for a wonderful conversation on engaging audiences through interactive performance, maintaining mental health and creativity in quarantine, and what it means to belong to many places and none. Check out more of her work at bitabell.com.

Lisa Luxx is a queer poet, essayist and activist of mixed British Syrian heritage. Published in journals, newspapers and anthologies internationally including with publishers such as Hatchette and SAQI. Her work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, VICE TV and TEDx. Luxx was winner of Out-Spoken Prize for Performance Poetry and nominee for the Arts Foundation Fellowship in Poetry. Founder and host of The Sisterhood Salons, a feminist literary gathering. She splits her time between the English countryside and the city of Beirut. We were so excited to have her on the podcast to discuss and read some of…

Wake Island duo Phil Manasseh and Nadim Maghzal joined The Queer Arabs to discuss the new music video for their track “Last Ruins,” featured exclusively on Cold Cuts Magazine! We talked about the significance of pop music and the ability of artists to use the genre to push boundaries, the thought processes that led to the making of this music video, Wake Island’s original development of the track, and more. Video produced by Cold Cuts Magazine Directed by Mohamad Abdouni Art Direction by Roula Salibi Edited by Krystel AK SFX: Jad Taleb Starring Anya Kneez and George Torbey Special thanks…

Episode 27 in Arabic: Haneen Maikey and Omar Al Khatib from AlQaws! الحلقة 27 بالعربية: حنين معيكي وعمر الخطيب من القوس! Photos from the last Hawamesh events in Jerusalem and Haifa This week, Adam had a conversation with Haneen Maikey and Omar Al Khatib from AlQaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity within Palestinian Society. We talked about the history of Al-Qaws as an organization, the unique challenges of working in the Palestinian context under occupation, the phenomenon of pinkwashing, and the recent governmental backlash against LGBTQ communities in Palestine. You can learn more about Al-Qaws or seek their services through…