
Meet Luai.
He is the living embodiment of what happens when someone’s preconceptions are challenged. He is proof that deradicalization and humanization are the way forward for the Middle East, and the world at large.
Luai was born and raised in Yemen City, Yemen, a tribal country where the rule of law is based on Sharia. “The entire institution of Yemen is based on what Prophet Mohammad said in Luqman and the Hadiths. It is an ultra religious traditional form of law which basically kills gay people, people who leave Islam, people who criticize or doubt Islam. This is all set in stone in the law, and is an actual practice. They actually do kill people. It is something that is ongoing in Yemen.”
Luai reflects on his life in Yemen with a mixture of emotions. He still holds beautiful and fond memories of his life in Yemen close to his heart. “There are many beautiful things about Yemen – how connected the culture is, how people are very warm and loving and sweet and kind and generous and funny.” At the same time, however, “there is the other side which is religious extremism that permeates every part of society. There’s no open life for gay people or women, not to mention the extreme level of antisemitism. Not only are people brainwashed into hating Jewish people, but that it is a religious duty to kill Zionists.” It is worth noting that in these environments the terms Jew and Zionist are used interchangeably. “In the Friday prayers in the Mosque, I would say ‘kill the Jews and the Zionists,’ so both of them are the same thing.”
He moved to Sweden in 2014 when he was 20 years old and has not been able to return to Yemen since. “I learned Swedish, I became Swedish you could say. I went to university and became a journalist and started writing about controversial subjects like Islamism, migration, how uncontrolled and unregulated migration in Sweden is feeding the fires of Islamism, and how dangerous it is to the Swedish public. I was called ‘racist’ a lot because I was talking about an ideology, and most Swedes are ignorant about what Islamism is.”
“In Swedish and white circles, they are critical of Israel as a state. The antisemitism I was raised with was more like ‘kill them’. Swedish people will defend Islamic extremism, they are as brainwashed people are in the Middle East. Swedish people will criticize the right wing political parties and call them homophobic and Nazi and racist and wouldn’t even find themselves in the same rooms because they don’t want to be affiliated with Nazis and far right fascists. And then they take a plane and fly all the way to the Islamic Republic in Iran and shake hands with a terrorist organization that kills women, kills gays, and stands in stark contrast to the values they claim to uphold.”
It is infuriating to witness. “I’m very anti Western ignorance. I don’t beat around the bush when I talk about Islamism and how idiotic Western policies are, and how they pave the way for radicalization to thrive.”
In 2016, Luai’s worldview shifted. He met his first Jewish person. “I realized that Jewish people are not evil. I made meaningful connections with Jewish people and coworkers. It was meeting them and realizing that they are human beings.” He has been speaking out against antisemitism that is so pervasive in Yemeni – and other Middle Eastern – cultures since. “I get called a genocidal Zionist Arab hating person now just for saying that Jews are normal human beings. I am a Muslim, and I still get called Islamophobic and racist. I get called a terrorist because I support Israel. I don’t care what people say about it, it doesn’t affect me one bit.”
Growing up, he never had debates or discussions about Israel or Jews. To him, Israel was an occupier, an apartheid state where Arabs have no rights. He was taught that Jews and Zionists hate Arabs and stole their land and it is their job to get it back. “It was like saying ‘water is wet’. That’s the main narrative.”
“When October 7th happened, I decided to come to Israel, and I fell in love with Israel, Israelis, and Jewish people.” October 7th made everything click for the first time. “They are really trying to destroy the Jewish state and the Jewish people and Israelis. Let me go and meet the people and see what’s going on.”
Luai has since been back to Israel many times. “I’m still doing research. I’m interviewing Palestinians to understand the situation more. I’m a journalist and content creator. I don’t claim to know anything. When I talk it’s mostly about the human beings. I think people who are not well versed in things should not be speaking up as if they know. I don’t claim that I know, and don’t speak like I know, but I do talk about the things that I do know. And that is that you shouldn’t kill Jewish people or Israelis. There are 56 Muslim countries, 63 Christian countries, and the Jews aren’t allowed to have one? Give me one reason why.”
Luai describes himself as pro-humanity. “All my life I have only ever known the Palestinian narrative. I don’t consider myself pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian. I am pro-human.”
In his stance as being pro-human, he knows that the way forward is deradicalization of the Middle East. He stands by this from his own lived experience. Luai could have been Hamas, or a Houthi, or Hezbollah. “That’s the programming I went through. I wanted to get a tattoo for Palestine when I was younger. My deradicalization happened on October 7th, but I had already paved the way by having Jewish friends and colleagues. When October 7th happened I saw my friends getting killed for just existing. And then seeing people celebrating October 7th – for me that was even worse because who celebrates the murder of innocent people? And why? That made me understand antisemitism on a deeper level.”
October 7th also helped Luai understand the reality of the Holocaust. “I didn’t believe the Holocaust. I have read about it and the figures say 6 million Jews were murdered. But it’s hard to fathom something so unfathomable. It’s hard to imagine a world where people would be ok with or celebrate exterminating all the Jews. Intellectually I knew it was real, there is evidence for it. But emotionally and on the human level I was too brainwashed to actually believe that it happened. And then on October 7th I saw, in real time, my friends and family saying that Hamas’ attacks were right, and this is resilience. It’s 1930, except its 2023. Now I get it.”
Luai began making videos on social media in September 2023, one month before October 7th. He made videos about Sweden that went viral. After October 7 his content was mostly about Israel. He was invited by Sharaka, an organization that builds bridges in the Middle East to come to Israel to witness the aftermath of Hamas’ attack in November 2023.
What were his first impressions of the country he was taught to hate? Love. “I fell in love with Israel. It’s literally the best country in the world. I didn’t know that a country like Israel existed, where there’s warmth, there’s community, there’s resilience, there’s beauty, people are funny. Israel has the heart of the Middle East, and the mind of the West. When it comes to human rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, Israel is Western. When it comes to the warmth of the people, it’s very Middle Eastern.” Israel’s Yemeni community has welcomed Luai with open arms, hosting him at the Yemeni Cultural Centre. “Yemeni families keep inviting me all the time for Shabbat and stuff like that.”
Having spent a lifetime being told that Israelis are white Europeans who colonized and stole the land, he was surprised to find that most people “look like me. People are super diverse, a lot of Arab looking Jews. A lot fewer “white” faces than I expected.”
Given his stance as pro-human, Luai leaves room for everyone to have their opinions, and does not cut off those whose perspectives differ from his. “It’s important to not have your social media turn into an echo chamber. About 70% of the content I see is pro-Hamas. It’s important for me to remain in touch with people that I don’t agree with. I am not going to hate people for being pro-Hamas. It’s their life, their thoughts, their programming. I would have been like them if I didn’t go through what I went through, so I can understand them.”
Luai hasn’t been able to return to Yemen since he left because of his sexual orientation. “I’m gay. That’s why I left Yemen. There is a death penalty for being gay in Yemen. Regardless of October 7th and my trips to Israel, I still would not have been able to go back. My brother blocked me after October 7th. I am still in touch with my mom. Most of my Arab friends have blocked me. Most of my European friends believe in freedom of speech so they don’t take a stance even when they disagree with me. But I’ve met dozens of amazing and incredible Jews since then, and I have to admit I much prefer my new Jewish friends to the Arab ones I lost.”
The big question that always hangs in the air is ‘where do we go from here?’. From his unique perch, Luai knows that the only way forward is deradicalization of the entire Middle East. He believes that there needs to be a strong cooperation between the UAE and Saudi Arabia to deradicalize Palestine to begin eliminating their ideology, to prevent a future of Hamas and similar groups. It’s not something Israel can do, it has to be done within Arab society, within schools and mosques. He also believes strongly in his work of bringing people together. “By showing people that I, as an Arab Muslim, come to Israel and have the time of my life and make so many friends and enjoy my time here. There’s no apartheid. I don’t feel judged or hated for being an Arab Muslim. Quite the opposite, actually.”
“I want to show that to the Arabs and Muslims. To show them that they are hitting out of a place of ignorance and that they have no idea what Israel is. That’s my advocacy and what I am putting out there. I am working on creating more Builders of the Middle East content, where we focus on the positives, on stories that give hope that we could coexist – we do coexist.”
However, it’s frustrating to him to continually work on building a community of unity, when the larger powers that be are profiting from division. “There are many forces, both from the top down and from the bottom up, who are naively destroying Western civilization. That’s why I do what I do, but it is a daily struggle.
He is often accused of being paid for his “hasbara,” or educating on behalf of Israel, he hates that term. “The word doesn’t make sense to me. The anti-Israel camp sees it as trying to justify “genocide”. The world is antisemitic, and you shouldn’t have to keep explaining why Jewish people have the right to their own state. There is no hasbara for Yemen or Iran or the USA even though you can draw parallels between people migrating to build a new life. There is no hasbara for the UAE or Gulf countries. Hasbara only exists because of antisemitism, and using the word feels like playing into the game.”
Experiencing Israel hasn’t been like anything Luai had expected before he came for his first visit. “For me, being in Israel feels like therapy. It’s a cathartic experience. I was supposed to want to kill these people, but I actually loved them. I thought I was going to meet a lot of racism. I thought I was going to be stopped at the airport and pushed against the wall by IDF soldiers who yell at me. But my experience has been the exact opposite. It’s been positive and beautiful. I learned that this is actually how Israel is. It is a beautiful country of nice people.”
While his job description may be “influencer,” he doesn’t love that title. He is not here to ‘sell’ anyone anything, his goal is to build a better world. “I don’t like the title of being a pro-Israel advocate. I’m not pro-Israel. I’m pro human beings. And yes, I love Israel, but I’m also pro-Yemen, but nobody calls me that. I believe in being both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. It is possible to be pro-everybody living in peace and harmony, and anti-terror.” With deradicalization, hopefully we can all one day live to see Luai’s vision of a peaceful Middle East.
Follow Luai on social media: @justluai
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