{"id":10220,"date":"2026-01-17T14:25:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T12:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twistislamophobia.org\/en\/?p=10220"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T11:34:20","slug":"saint-levant-as-a-cultural-voice-against-islamophobia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twistislamophobia.org\/en\/2026\/01\/17\/saint-levant-as-a-cultural-voice-against-islamophobia\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Levant as a cultural voice against Islamophobia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saint Levant\u2014whose real name is Marwan Abdelhamid<\/strong>\u2014has become one of the most influential voices in contemporary Arab music, not only for his multilingual musical style and genre fusion, but also for his way of reconfiguring narratives about identity, culture, and politics. Born in Jerusalem, raised in Gaza, and educated across several countries, Saint Levant uses his art to raise awareness of the Palestinian experience and to counter cultural and Islamophobic prejudices from an international perspective.<\/p>\n

Roots and Cultural Identity<\/h3>\n

Marwan\u2019s story is marked by a complex trajectory of displacements: his father is Palestinian-Serbian and his mother Franco-Algerian. He spent much of his childhood in the Gaza Strip before moving to Jordan in 2007 due to the region\u2019s political circumstances. Later, he relocated to the United States, where he continued his studies in International Relations. He grew up speaking Arabic on the streets, French at home, and learning English in academic settings, which early on shaped a multicultural and trilingual perspective in his artistic development.<\/p>\n

This plural background not only defines his sound but also challenges simplistic narratives about what it means to \u201cbe Arab\u201d or \u201cbe Muslim\u201d in today\u2019s global art scene.<\/p>\n

Musical Career: From TikTok to the Global Stage<\/h3>\n

Saint Levant is known for his musical style, which fuses contemporary pop, R&B, hip-hop, rap, and traditional rhythms from the Arab world, allowing him to connect with diverse international audiences. The distinctiveness of his artistic approach\u2014mixing Arabic, French, and English in his lyrics\u2014is not merely aesthetic: it is a conscious strategy of cultural representation that counters stereotypes and highlights alternative narratives that challenge the stigmatization of Muslim and Arab communities.<\/p>\n

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Saint Levant in Billboard Arabia<\/p><\/div>\n

He began his career in 2020 by publishing content and his first politically themed songs on the TikTok platform, before fully venturing into music with tracks like Jerusalem Freestyles<\/em> and Nirvana in Gaza. <\/em>His international breakthrough came with the 2022 release of the single Very Few Friends,<\/em>\u00a0which gained millions of plays worldwide on platforms like Spotify and TikTok.<\/p>\n

Since then, he has released the EP From Gaza, With Love<\/em> (2023), the album DEIRA<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2024), and Love Letters<\/em><\/a> (2025), projects that combine classical elements of folklore and Arabic instruments with modern music production techniques.<\/p>\n

Deira<\/em>, for example, is an album centered on the right of return and the longing for freedom, integrating sounds from Algerian chaabi while honoring the memory of the Palestinian land and Marwan\u2019s own family history.<\/p>\n

We left our city behind, heartbreaking exile<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Say hello to Jericho<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

and the old medina for me\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

oh, you travelling bird<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

on this generous land\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

they can\u2019t take what\u2019s inside us\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

between the river and the mountains\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I find my belonging\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

between the shore and the sand\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Is where my life began<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

oh, my homeland\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

so much joy, so much sorrow\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

oh my precious homeland\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

our beloved Palestine is calling<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deira <\/em><\/strong>(2024)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saint Levant – Deira ft. MC Abdul (Official Video)<\/a><\/p>\n