Louna, co-founder of the space be’kech (a queer, Muslim, women-led community space in Berlin, Germany), joined us for this episode. Be’kech combines the words “Berlin” and “Marrakech” to reflect the cities of origin of the co-founders (Louna’s roots are in Marrakech, Morocco and Nina’s are in Berlin). We also talked about Noon Festival, which is happening in Berlin in that space until May 31. We talked about be’kesh and the many beautiful ways it is utilized, and we discussed a project that Noon Festival is supporting. The project is led by the organization Masjid al-Rabia, and it’s called Black and Pink Crescent. The Chicago-based organization supports access to spiritual care and community to incarcerated queer and trans Muslims. During our episode, we talked about the broken prison system in the U.S. and how the system affects mainly folks who have identities that are marginalized.
See more about Noon Festival: https://www.facebook.com/events/370757770206900/
Follow be’kech: https://www.facebook.com/bekech.berlin/
Read about Black and Pink Crescent: https://masjidalrabia.org/the-black-pink-crescent
A thread mentioned at the end of the episode (please read this!!): https://masjidalrabia.org/the-black-pink-crescent
Mentioned in episode as well:
Hammam Talks cohosts: Rasha Hilwi & Abir Ghattas
Noon Festival in Berlin has begun! This is Germany’s first festival centering queer, of colour and Muslim identity. It started on May 15 and will continue until the 31st! Erkxn Affan has been organizing this along with be’kech Berlin, and Erkxn curated the festival. It was wonderful talking to them and hearing about their background, about the importance of having a festival like this in Berlin specifically, and more.