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The Queer Arabs Posts

Episode 191 [in English]: Amara on Presencing Ourselves

You might remember Amara Ahmed from one of our very first guest episodes–and we were delighted to have her back! Amara is a researcher and PhD candidate based in the CA Bay Area. A trans Muslim of Mexican and Pakistani background, she is involved in queer Muslim community organizing in the area including the organization Queer Crescent

She joined us to talk about a research survey she’s co-conducting in partnership with Queer Crescent: Presencing Ourselves: A Survey of LGBTQI+ Muslims in the U.S.

**If this applies to you, you can take the survey here!!**

We discuss the confidentiality and security of the survey, why other surveys of Muslim Americans have likely underreported queer identity, defining Muslim identity broadly, and why it’s politically and economically important to have quantitative data about a community. 

We also talk about Amara’s more qualitative PhD research on similar themes, the challenges and racial divisions within Muslim community organizing, and cool specialty keyboards (check out her queer Muslim keyboard).

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Episode 190: Where Do Flat Earthers Think the Edge Is?


Photo attribution:
Trekky0623, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Just the hosts this week here with an unedited personal catch-up episode (Do y’all like these? Let us know!) 

Ellie talks about getting COVID (finally) and lots of things wrong with the world: from the overturning of Roe v. Wade to Mohammed Bin Salman’s continued financial takeover of the video game industry (this leads to a conversation about which countries are the best at glossing over shit, and we wonder if we’re all in a Dubai-based replica of our lives). 

Nadia talks about their time in Turkey and Lebanon, and how time functions differently off the New York grid. They also talk about previous projects they were working on, including immortal jellyfish, “Gawd” as a middle manager, and dabke at pride.

Alia discusses leaving a “queer” orchestra group due to transphobia and unchecked white privilege among leadership, and finding other music opportunities. She also talks about her trip to London following a death in the family. 

We all talk about being deeply burnt out – which is one reason we’re not publishing as much lately – but it is good to be back!

(By the way, just a cute little update: 3 days after recording this, Alia tested positive for COVID.)

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