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The Queer Arabs Posts

Episode 209 [in English]: In the Dark (Awake of Course)

Published October 17, 2023

We got to have Amina Shareef Ali back for another episode!  She was on the podcast all the way back in January 2021 (episode 147), and we now had a wonderful conversation about her upcoming album, In the Dark (Awake of Course), volume 2.

In this episode, Amina describes the throughlines of the tracks, who was involved in the making of the album (shout out to Radical Folksonomy!), and the parts of her life this album draws from. The tracks explore themes of heartbreak and redemption, and living and loving boldly with integrity.  Cristy Road made the album cover, seen here!


We also reminisce about album liner notes and CD towers of our past, talk about how one’s environment directly affects creativity/motivation, the art of journaling and texture, Amina’s parkour training, and more.

Opening for Brian Belknap, Amina’s album release party will be on Oct. 18 at the Makeout Room in San Francisco!


Visit https://aminashareefali.com/

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Episode 208 [in English]: Pride for Sarah Hegazi

Published October 1, 2023

Hey everyone! We’ve missed you, and we’re excited to return from our break with an episode we’ve had cooking for a while! 

CW: general discussion of suicide

Taim is a student from Syria in Cologne, Germany, and one of the organizers of the organization Pride for Sarah Hegazi. Taim discusses the organization’s second demonstration that took place in the summer of 2023, dedicated to the Egyptian activist Sarah Hegazi and the Saudi trans woman Eden Knight, both of whom died by suicide in conditions of structural queerphobia. 

The protest took place in an Arab neighborhood and involved 50 participants chanting queer slogans in Arabic, with the goal of creating both visibility and discomfort. Taim discusses the importance of putting queer Arabic lingo in the streets—not just in academic settings—and maintaining Sarah’s revolutionary communist ethics in protest organizing. They also discuss future hopes that the organization can work to help queer people still living in the SWANA region.  Taim’s fellow organizers are Fadi, Ahmed and Salman.

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