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İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
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8 Mar, 4 tweets, 1 min read
The idea of having kings and queens in 2021 is fucking stupid. Absolute monarchs are basically tyrants, meanwhile most constitutional monarchs are a symbol of past tyranny and present inequality.

Sincerely,

Someone living under protection
because of a Crown Prince
PS: There is nothing "romantic" about princes either, you fucking morons. You want to know what a "real" prince does in real life (not fairy tales)? Look at MBS
Also I'd rather die than call another human being "your majesty", "your highness", or "your excellency" based on nothing other than their ancestry. That concept is plainly wrong and stands opposed to all values we hold in a civilized society. This is 2021 ffs.
Or as the Arab poet Ahmad Matar put it:

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More from @iyad_elbaghdadi

İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
9 Mar
Once in a while someone completely but honestly disagrees with me on matters of basic principle. When that happens I become really fascinated with how we, both human beings, came to such opposite convictions. What was his background, his experiences? How did we get here?
I'll be honest, this curiosity and the search that follows it have never seen me change my own convictions. But they always give me a deeper understanding for how deeply we are shaped by our experiences. We are all of the same essence, despite our selfish, self-centered egos.
Not everyone engages btw. Some people really hate it when in response to a statement, I ask about them, their backgrounds, etc. They'd rather debate ideas than question how we got by our ideas. That's fine, but to me people are more interesting and more essential than their ideas
Read 4 tweets
İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
6 Mar
Talk to me when British or Brazilian people are being harassed and spat on in the streets because the media has named a virus after them. This is "all lives matter", or yet another demonstration of how white people can be.
Every time I feel a wee bit of sympathy for these people, their anxiety, their mediocrity, their disorientation in a changing world... I come across something like this that reminds me who to center.
Reminds of Farida's tweet. They can only see double standards in one direction
Read 6 tweets
İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
5 Mar
Can someone recommend books, lectures, movies, etc on the history of Liberia?
Liberia, that country which was founded by newly emancipated African Americans "going back home"; when they got there they established a plantation economy that exploited and even enslaved the natives all the same. Emancipation and independence do not equal decolonization.
Liberia, whose history shows you that even "returned natives" can be colonizers; and that systems of injustice can become so deeply impressed into our souls that even when we escape them, we replay them, just with us on top this time around.
Read 5 tweets
İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
4 Mar
There's this binary conversation around Clubhouse and other social media tools and their impact on the MENA. This conversation seems to only entertain two extremes - either these tools are emancipatory or they're a nothingburger. I'm finding this extremely annoying
When we say these tools are an opportunity, we're told we're "romanticizing" them (wtf?) and if we say the regimes will *always* find ways to fight free expression we're told we're giving up. I honestly want to understand where this lazy mode of thinking comes from
Tools are opportunities, not saviors. We don't need to be reminded of the brutality of our regimes or the failure of the world to stand up to them. We also don't need to be lectured about the resilience of our people and their pent up need to express themselves freely.
Read 4 tweets
İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
2 Mar
Thread: Revealing important information about link between the pro-MBS online disinformation network and the pro-Trump disinformation ecosystem
BACKGROUND: In May 2019, due to recent action by Twitter, a number of large Saudi disinfo accounts were removed from the platform for state-sponsored manipulation. This was a hit to MBS's disinfo efforts, and led to a Saudi state-manipulated campaign against Twitter.
The Saudi campaign included insults and harassment against Twitter MENA employees, but also importantly, calls to delete Twitter and install Parler. Some of these tweets are still online, but I don't want to link directly to them. Here's some screenshots (Arabic):
Read 11 tweets
İyad el-Baghdadi | إياد البغدادي Profile picture
2 Mar
IMPORTANT: MBS's disinfo machine is now producing propaganda videos targeting @DAWNmenaorg and its members, including @sarahleah1. These videos are being distributed here on Twitter. This kind of output has in the past been coupled with hacks and other forms of state action.
We have said repeatedly that MBS cannot take a hint. If you are silent about his actions he takes it as permission. Here he is feeling empowered to go on the offensive, just days after the ODNI report. This is the result of impunity, @POTUS.
Campaign also targets @marcowenjones, @aalodah, @Hala_Aldosari and others. I repeat these campaigns in the past went hand in hand with state action including hacking, intimidation and physical threats. MBS is advertising his impunity.
Read 4 tweets

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