#elias jahshan

[hummussexual]

Excerpt:

Pinkwashing’s relationship with homonationalism and Orientalism

The pinkwashing carried out by Israeli authorities is based on an Orientalist view that Palestinians remain “backwards” in their stance on homosexuality because apparently, we refuse to emulate the progressiveness of the west. 

To be “gay friendly,” as gender studies academic Jasbir Puar explains, is to be modern, cosmopolitan, developed, first-world, Global North, and, most significantly, democratic – something that Palestinians supposedly do not have the capability of ever achieving.

This erases the agency of Palestinians, especially the progressive forces inside Palestine – including the achievements of queer Palestinian movements. The Orientalist tropes found in pinkwashing also completely disregards the history and legacies of colonialism and modern-day imperialism in the region. It is an example of euro-centric, western exceptionalism – and a pillar of anti-Arab racism.

Pinkwashing and homonationalism also go hand in hand. First coined by Puar in 2007, the concept of homonationalism argues that western LGBTQI+ movements are often bound up with upholding the racist sovereignty of the nation state. Puar argued that neoliberal and capitalist power structures line up with the queer liberation movement by using sexual diversity and LGBTQI+ rights to peddle or maintain nationalist stances – such as anti-immigration policies which are based on prejudices that the “other” are homophobic and that western society is egalitarian.

For Israel, homonationalism is deployed to justify its own exceptionalism and violent oppression of the “other” – in this case, Palestinians. 

Israel flaunts its liberal openness to homosexuality while contrasting it to the sexual oppression among Palestinian society and neighbouring Arab countries. It therefore serves as an excuse for Israel to rationalise its occupation of Palestinians, and to “liberate” oppressed Palestinian queers. The latter is seen through Israel’s myths about “saving” Palestinian queers by “regularly” approving their asylum seeker applications to escape their homophobic and oppressive families or communities in the West Bank or Gaza.

While it’s hard to verify how often these asylum seeker approvals occur, waxing lyrical about their supposed humanitarian work plays into the homonationalist narrative. Since when are immigration authorities – not just in Israel, but any immigration (or border) authority globally – benevolent, progressive entities full of empathy and care? Let alone towards Arabs?

As Queers Against Israeli Apartheid once pointed out, “there is no pink door in the apartheid wall.” This means that like every other Palestinian, LGBTQI+ Palestinians are also at the mercy of Israel’s violent, racist settler-colonial project. This is because queer Palestinians simply do not fit into Israel’s homonationalist quest to uphold the racist sovereignty of its nation state – one where a legally-enforced apartheid system puts only Jewish people at the top of the pyramid.

[swanasource]

“Marwan Kaabour’s Takweer created an online community spotlighting queer Arab pop culture and history. Now, it’s expanded into a book exploring West Asia’s LGBTQIA+ community through language and literature.”

“We need to take ownership of our history”: Inside Takweer’s viral Instagram page

[qbdatabase]

This ground-breaking anthology features the compelling and courageous memoirs of eighteen queer Arab writers – some internationally bestselling, others using pseudonyms. Here, we find heart-warming connections and moments of celebration alongside essays exploring the challenges of being LGBTQ+ and Arab.

From a military base in the Gulf to loving whispers caught between the bedsheets; and from touring overseas as a drag queen to a concert in Cairo where the rainbow flag was raised to a crowd of thousands, this collection celebrates the true colours of a vibrant Arab queer experience.

[queerographies]

[Arabə e queer][Elias Jahshan]

Arabə e queer è un'importante raccolta di storie della comunità araba queer, evidenziando l'amore, la resilienza e i legami complessi. Le narrazioni superano la discriminazione, rappresentando un'affermazione collettiva di identità e orgoglio.

Storie di resistenza e amore: la comunità araba queer si racconta Titolo: Arabə e queerScritto da: Elias JahshanTitolo originale: This Arab Is Queer: An Anthology by Lgbtq+ Arab WritersTradotto da: Giorgia SallustiEdito da: Tamu EdizioniAnno: 2024Pagine: 264ISBN: 9791280195579 La sinossi di Arabə e queer di Elias Jahshan Arabə e queer è la radicale affermazione di esistenza di una comunità che…

[slipperymeteor]

Ohh this anthology just sings to my heart. And I really didn’t expect this, not being an Arab myself. Also I had just read a couple of good books when I picked it up so surely the law of averages would work against it. Plus with virtually any anthology, the level of quality typically varies wildly from one entry to another.

But the first essay was a really strong essay by Mona Eltahawy. “I am writing this almost exactly ten years after I died. The Mona I used to be died on 24 November 2011, on a street called Mohamed Mahmoud, near Tahrir Square, Cairo.” She wrote of coming into an understanding of herself, and much of it resonated with me. “When Y and I had penis-to-vagina sex I stopped reading the Quran. I could not stand reading the word ‘fornicators’ repeated again and again.” She wove her personal experiences with her reading of Adrienne Rich, Ursula Halligan, Bareed Mista3jil—an edited volume of women experiences in Lebanon, and June Jordan. She quoted Jordan, “Bisexuality means I am free.”

She admitted to a man in a queer club in Bosnia in 2016 that she too, is a bisexual. This after in 2013 her not using any label and did not explore her attraction to women, and in 2015 email exchange not ready to say that she is not only polyamorous but also bisexual. I felt triumphant reading her progression and my heart warmed so much.

This was followed by Salem Haddad, writing about his return to Beirut. When he learned of the explosion he was at the gym in Lisbon. “I stood in the center of the gym for a long time, examining the photos and sending messages to friends. Around me, the world continued as normal. The gym attendant scolded me for not wiping the kettlebell after I used it. It was impossible to grieve from afar.” When he got to Beirut, he hooked up with a lover. “I am reminded of why I have spent eighteen months pining for him, why I wrote and published an entire story inspired by him: because something about him — his eyes, his smile, his calves — reminds me of home, my childhood, Mediterranean beaches and hot, humid summers.”

“In this moment though I feel estranged from so many things, I feel at home in my desire; it is a return of sorts, to live in the moment, to bring the encounter to the light, devoid of shame. It is a sort of homecoming, a return to oneself.”

I can go on for nearly each and every essay. Dima Mikhayel Marta’s story of his father (‘promises to cumin are not kept’), Amrou Al-Kadhi’ clash with their mother.

Danny Ramadan’s essay paved the path for what is the most resonant essay in the collection for me: Anbara Salam’s Unheld Conversations. Ramadan: “There is a tendency among the audiences of marginalized authors to assume that every piece of writing is a reflection of real-life events that the author went through.”

Salam: “just before my second novel, Belladonna, was published, I have each of my parents an advance proof copy. They had both read my first book. But unlike my first novel, Belladonna is written in the first person, and the narrator is a queer Arab woman.

And so, as I handed over the soon-to-be-published book to my parents, it was with a certain anticipation, maybe trepidation. I left them to read the novel and waited for the conversation about my sexuality that we had always avoided. Both of my parents read the book. We never had a conversation. The special flavour of disappointment I felt is hard to express. Yes, the terror of facing this confrontation had been removed, but I’d prepared, I was ready. The fight music was playing but the match was called off, and I had to walk away.”

I’ve now used Salam’s essay as a crutch to understand and interpret my own experiences coming out to others and a public coming out of a sort that were followed with its own Unheld Conversations, which brings its identical disappointment.

This was an amazing collection, well worth the read. Maybe I needn’t be surprised that the essays were really really good, most of the contributors are themselves writers with accolades aplenty. 5/5 stars, instant recommendations.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🍉 Queer Palestinian Books for Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈

🍉 Want to add a bit more diversity to your TBR? Consider reading one of these queer books by Palestinian authors for Pride Month!

🏳️‍🌈 Fiction 🍉 The Skin and Its Girl - Sarah Cypher 🍉 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 🍉 Belladonna - Anbara Salam 🍉 A Map of Home - Randa Jarrar 🍉 Muneera and the Moon - 🍉 Guapa - Saleem Haddad 🍉 The Ordeal of Being Known - Malia Rose 🍉 The Philistine - Leila Marshy 🍉 Hazardous Spirits - Anbara Salam 🍉 From Whole Cloth - Sonia Sulaiman

🏳️‍🌈 Graphic Novels 🍉 Mis(h)adra - Iasmin Omar Ata 🍉 Where Black Stars Rise - Nadia Shammas & Marie Enger 🍉 Confetti Realms - Nadia Shammas 🍉 Nayra and the Djinn - Iasmin Omar Ata 🍉 My Mama's Magic - Amina Awad 🍉 Squire - Nadia Shammas & Sara Alfageeh

🏳️‍🌈 Non-Fiction/Memoirs 🍉 Are You This? Or Are You This? - Madian Al Jazerah 🍉 Love is an Ex-Country - Randa Jarrar 🍉 This Arab is Queer - (ed) Elias Jahshan 🍉 Decolonial Queering in Palestine - Walaa Alqaisiya 🍉 Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique - Sa'ed Atshan 🍉 Between Banat - Mejdulene Bernard Shomali

🏳️‍🌈 Poetry 🍉 To All the Yellow Flowers - Raya Tuffaha 🍉 The Specimen's Apology - George Abraham & Leila Abdelrazaq 🍉 Birthright - George Abraham 🍉 The Twenty-Ninth Year - Hala Alyan 🍉 Blood Orange - Yaffa AS 🍉 Who is Owed Springtime - Rasha Abdulhadi 🍉 Shell Houses - Rasha Abdulhadi 🍉 Halal If You Hear Me - (ed) Fatimah Asghar & Safia Elhillo

🍉 None of us are free until all of us are free. 🏳️‍🌈

[sapphic-sprite]

Something that I’m passionate about is public libraries because of all the support and resources that they provide to their local communities. I know I’ve probably spoken on here before about how important it is to get a library card and use it because of all the perks it can give you (such as free access to online books, movies, and such). For those who are lower class it can provide them with programs, free wifi, free computer use, etc… Public libraries are just so overwhelmingly good for everyone.

In terms of the Global strike, I would like to suggest that people go to their libraries and recommend different Palestinian books. I’m not sure if it differs per state/per library on how you recommend a book, but I know if you use the Libby app through your library card that you can recommend books by tagging them “Notify me”. I know my library system is quite different as it branches out statewide and so I have access to statewide books. I would suggest filling out the forms that come up to recommend a book or talking to a librarian over the phone if you notice they are missing a Palestinian book that you would like to read.

Here is a list of Palestinian nonfiction books that I’ve found:

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe

On Palestine by Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappe

Except for Palestine by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick

This Arab is Queer by Elias Jahshan

Blood Orange by Yaffa AS

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y Davis

The Hundreds Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi

Here is a list of Palestinian fiction books that I’ve found:

Where Black Stars Rise by Nadia Shammas and Marie Enger

Nayra and the Djinn by Iasmin Omar Ata

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

Trees for the Absentees by Ahlam Bsharat

Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

Muneera and the Moon by Sonia Sulaiman

I haven’t been reading a lot lately because of my health, but a lot of these came recommended from people I trust to give good recommendations. Feel free to add recommendations in the comments and please contact your local libraries about acquiring the books you see here that they don’t have!

[theultimatenonbinarynerd]

Readalong For Palestine 2: This Arab Is Queer

Introduction

We are all horrified and enraged about the vicious slaughter happening in Gaza especially in Rafah at the moment. No food, no hospitals something that breaks my heart into a million pieces over and over again. I unfortunately don't have the money but have decided instead to set up some readalongs to try combat censorship and help educate those when the media and news has become biased and unreliable. I've been reposting fund raisers but have still felt like this isn't enough so I knew I had to try set up something else. All books used in the Readalongs apart from this novel will be donated to my local library so that hopefully a few more people will be able to pick it up. I know it may seem small but I truly believe one small action can make a difference.

Censorship is becoming a rife problem with what's happening and a ton of people are getting misinformation so I believe the best way to combat that is by reading books from Palestinian Authors and fighting back against Censorship to get Palestinian Voices heard. It might not seem enough but I hope to make a little difference. There's also the issue of pink washing where tons of people are saying Palestinians deserve to be mistreated because it's not Lgtbq+ friendly, I shamefully once fell for this myself. Everyone deserves freedom and in fact that place is not as Lgtbq+ friendly as it claims. So due to this my second Readalong For Palestine will be This Arab Is Queer and Anthology edited by Elias Jahshan a Palestinian author.

This readalong will go through all the way to the beginning of May and I have several discussion boards open. I know that this Anthology is not solely by a Palestinian Author but I still found it important to include as unfortunately there is a stigma that comes from being ARAB. Most ARAB people don't feel safe with their own community but they also don't feel safe with the queer community as we like to strongly assume you can't be both queer and muslim. I believe this will be a key read for those that need to work on their internal racism and biases. I promise you this will a hundred percent be worth reading.

My Aims

My aims for doing these readalongs are pure and not for any malicious reasons. I was one of the people brainwashed by the deadly and brutal narrative that the media is pushing. So because of this I want to fight back and help educate people as there's no justification for Genocide. I also as a queer person want to fight back against the deadly narrative of Pink Washing as I'm sorry nothing justifies taking away life.

So here's all my aims and hopes with these readalongs.

1: Get more books from palestian authors out there.

2: Getting people to talk about what's happening through reading and discussing palestinian content.

3: Fight back against censorship and allow people to access to palestinian media that they want to silence.

Please be assured that these are my own intentions. I hope that for those that want to take part it's there intention as well.

Other Readalongs

This is not the only readalong I will be doing. Minor Detail has come and gone but I will also be doing Readalongs for On Palestine By Noam Chamsky Ilan Pappé and In My Mother's Footsteps By Mona Hajjar Halaby. I picked On Palestine as I've seen the book recommended a lot especially when it comes to educating those who are completely unaware of the severity of what's happening. Its a quick read but also a super important one. I then chose In My Mother's Footsteps as I realised the important of hearing from the child of a Palestinian Refuge and fully learning what it's like. If this goes well I might host some more next year doing a sort of similar thing to the Trans Rights Readathon. It'll depend how uni's going for me though.

Unfortunately I'm not out of the closet yet so this one is being kept quiet on some of my socials but I still hope to get some people involved with each readalong.

Conclusion

The dates for the other two readalongs will be posted in a separate post once confirmed but for now This Arab Is Queer is the next one on the list. I would especially recommend joining this one if you've accidentally been part of the pink washing crowd. Once I've got my hands on this one I'm definitely keeping it as it's a super important book to have as it shows queernesss from a none western lens.

-Melody-

They/Them

[samueldelany]

This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers. Edited by Elias Jahshan. (2022)

This ground-breaking anthology features the compelling and courageous memoirs of eighteen queer  Arab writers – some internationally bestselling, others  using pseudonyms. Here, we find heart-warming connections and moments of celebration alongside essays exploring the challenges of being LGBTQ+ and Arab.

[whatevergreen]

"I can’t stand the mentality of Arabs saying that queerness is not part of Palestinian culture, that it is a Western import. We queer people have grown up everywhere and have existed forever. It is a big mess, and it should not have to be that way."

-

"Israel definitely tries to drive a wedge between queer Palestinians and the wider Palestinian community. And they have a well-oiled propaganda machine doing that every year, especially around Tel Aviv Pride. It is not even something that is insidious, but is rather quite obvious.

One thing that is really important to acknowledge is that queer liberation for Palestinians is tied up with liberation from Zionism. A lot of people try to separate and compartmentalize them, and to some extent you can — like when we talk about the homophobia and transphobia within our community, which is something we have to deal with ourselves. But in terms of real liberation, we cannot achieve that until we have a free Palestine."

[hummussexual]

"In addition, to place the blame solely on the colonised (the Palestinians) for not meeting the standards of the coloniser’s (Israel’s) “civility”, reeks of racial supremacy. And to use it to justify Israel’s occupation and oppression of Palestinians – because apparently queer Palestinians are better off accepting all the supposed benefits that come with living under the Zionist settler-colonial project – is a hallmark of pinkwashing."

[swanasource]

“I wanted to show that we have agency and can tell our stories in our own way. We don’t need people speaking over us all the time,”

Inside a Groundbreaking Anthology That Sheds Light on 18 Queer Arab Voices

[libraryleopard]

February reads

asterisk = reread

Wren Martin Ruins It All by Amanda DeWitt

After the Forest by Kell Woods

Here in the Night by Rebecca Turkewitz

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond

Naked: On Sex, Work, and Other Burlesques by Fancy Feast

The River Has Teeth by Erica Waters

Wherever is Your Heart by Anita Kelly

Too Bright To See by Kyle Lukoff

Look No Further by Rioghnach Robinson and Siofra Robinson

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells*

Palestinian Walks: Forays Into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh

The Mythmakers by Keziah Weir

The Apple-Tree Throne by Premee Mohamed

The Hills of Estrella Roja by Ashley Franklin Robinson

This Arab Is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers edited by Elias Jahshan

The Wild Fox of Yemen by Threa Almontaser

[Wednesday Books title, not mentioning what specifically because of the ongoing SMP boycott]

Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night by Morgan Parker

If Tomorrow Doesn’t Come by Jen St. Jude

Inverse Cowgirl: A Memoir by Alicia Roth Wiegel

I Hope This Doesn’t Find You by Ann Liang

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells*

The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells*

Belladonna by Anbara Salam

Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll

Blackouts by Justin Torres

Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

[otterjpg]

went to gays the word yday and told myself i would only get one (1) book

so anyway i got:

the backwater sermons by jay hulme

the sun isn't out long enough edited by tatevik sargsyan

this arab is queer edited by elias jahshan

[imsiriuslyreading]

📖 okay so i’ve been asked what books i bought and sol has endorsed my dirty little habit so.

SHAME NO LONGER here are the books i bought the last week and a bit. spoiler alert, most of them are queer:

- the great believers by rebecca makkai

- close to home by michael magee

- that green eyed girl by julie owen moylan

- this arab is queer by elias jahshan

- bored gay werewolf by tony santorella

- pride & prejudice by jane austen

- little women by louisa may alcott

- the fiancée farce by alexander bellefleur

- delilah green doesn’t date by ashley herring blake

- royals by emma forrest

- the foghorn echoes by danny ramadan

- green dot by madeline gray

- a love story for bewildered girls by emma morgan

- her majesty’s royal coven by juno dawson

- the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid

- the secret history by donna tartt

- iris kelly doesn’t date by ashley herring blake

- circe by madeline miller

- a marcellus light by freya marske

- the talk of lean town by joanna nadin

i accidentally bought 11 books in the last week knowing full well the only thing i’m reading rn is wolfstar fanfiction with the occasional drarry thrown in

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: October 18, 2022

New Releases: October 18, 2022

Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne In this funny, feminist, and queer middle grade debut, seventh-grader Hazel Hill is too busy for friends. No, really. She needs to focus on winning the school-wide speech competition over her nemesis, the popular and smart Ella Quinn, after last year’s embarrassing Hyperbole/Hyperbowl mishap that cost her first place. But when Hazel discovers Ella…