On a recent Wednesday in Brooklyn, about 40 people gathered at Storm Books and Candy, an independent bookstore dedicated to showcasing work from the Swana (south-west Asia and north Africa) region. After several poets and writers read, Huda Asfour emerged from the audience. She picked up her oud, a type of Middle Eastern short-necked lute, and arranged herself on a stool.
“It’s great to be among like-minded people,” Asfour, 42, said, her unruly curls bouncing slightly as she settled the instrument on her lap. As her lilting voice filled the space, people listened quietly to the haunting melody about hypocrisy and the flawed human condition. But when she played a rousing protest song in Arabic that included a refrain about putting the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in prison, the energy changed. People clapped along, singing and laughing. At the end of the short performance, the audience, wide awake, erupted in applause.
