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Saint-Levant, the pop star from Gaza,

caught between passionate fandom and bitter disapproval.

Written and read by Nisreen Malik.

Thank you. approval, written and read by Nisreen Malik. The first time I heard a song by Saint-Levant, only three years ago, was in a world that

does not exist anymore.

Gaza's buildings are intact, as are at schools and roads and markets and

mosques. My home city of Khartoum in Sudan was standing, as it had for centuries. Back then,

I could scroll for fun, not in dread. I could stumble, say in Lake 2022,

upon an arresting clip on TikTok of a song by an Arab artist with a pun for a name.

Saint-Levant, a play on Saint-Laurent.

The icon of Western style had been Arabized in homage to the Middle East Levant region.

I began to see the same song all over my social media. In the video, Saint-Levant 22, is in a white vest and brown trousers.

A gold pendant chain dangles on his chest, a tattoo encircles his left arm.

He starts by rapping in English, telling the woman he is wooing that he's not toxic, he's broken baby.

And then the twist, as he switches to Arabic, then French, then English again.

Like a wholesome boy next door, he tells her to send his regards to her grandmother and her brother.

...