Talal

24. Palestinian.

[Talal @talalthinks]

Started my first lesson in Arabic and I feel great! Are there any shows/stuff to watch that’s actually good for the Levantine dialect? And also, any tips for becoming fluent in the language?

[Talal @talalthinks]

@GenePark He didn’t even let you breathe. 😭

[Talal @talalthinks]

@AmeerAlJinn Yup! When I saw someone flat out throw it on a pot I wanted to run away. 😭

[Talal @talalthinks]

@HelixSpear Same here actually! This is so interesting. I wonder if we are tolerated by the opposite sex more because we don’t neatly fit the gender binary.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@shyygirlmae Ugh. I was taught this too as a man. Thankfully, these notions are changing because of the bravery of women and a few men that advocate. Even some scholars challenge that nonsense. Pleasure is impossible without consent and men are not slaves to desire.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Even then it really depends which the specific denomination. In order to obtain legitimacy, flexibility was necessary after all. But I agree with your overall point. We also can’t divorce the violence and destabilization of our region from our lack of art.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 So I think it’s a problem of this strange shift in Fiqh that imposes strictness. In that sense, you are absolutely correct. Muslims around the world today find music and many forms of art haram. We need to push it forward and challenge religious understandings.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 And our poetry is crazy too, from what I’ve read. We used to produce music and art, even with faces depending on the region. That’s because in these ways, the jurisprudence of the classical scholars was actually far looser than what we have today.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Not surprising unfortunately. Pair that with the extreme vaginismus that Muslim women have because they were taught that sex is filthy for them, and you have these common catastrophes. May Allah grant your cousin freedom and justice and make us a means for granting it to her.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Aw, thanks! I’d give you the same but with a 💙.

[Talal @talalthinks]

I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Even non-religious Arab men still hold onto notions of entitlement that result in the same, but use some other BS to justify it. That, and they can still demand their religious “rights” legally in countries even if they don’t even pray. I think you mean progressive liberal men.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Some of us are progressive you know? 😭 That understanding of the Hadith is responsible for centuries of marital rape and plays a big part in the dehumanization of women. And even men actually. We’re taught to shut off our compassion and satisfy desire only through domination.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Oh, and you have a very strong understanding of who you are! That sensitivity is very rare and I also possess it. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@JuJuna5266 Hm…well your specific combination of traits are unique! You are open-minded, compassionate, straightforward (rare for us Arabs), funny, courageous, emotionally sensitive, and introspective! Plus, you are unfiltered when you want to be, which I both really like and find funny. 😭

[☽☾Hussamurabachi #TENOÍ🔻🇵🇸 @HussamAfton]

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[Talal @talalthinks]

@Morningbird_Asa Damn, I meant biological sex for both. Not gender.

[Talal @talalthinks]

@Morningbird_Asa Is it that you want to be understood by the women around you because they share the same sex, or is it not necessarily about the gender but rather a desire to be seen as normal by people who just so happen to be women? Or is it both?