Abdelrahman ElGendy
@elgendy95.bsky.social
Egyptian writer and translator from Cairo.
Author of HUNA, forthcoming from Hogarth, Penguin Random House.
https://www.abdelrahmanelgendy.com/
Author of HUNA, forthcoming from Hogarth, Penguin Random House.
https://www.abdelrahmanelgendy.com/
Pinned
The once-fantasy that sustained me through six years and three months in Egyptian prisons has come to life: my book will be released into our world. 🧵
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
I'm sharing a series of slides from @elgendy95.bsky.social's instagram account about how mutual aid works in Gaza. There are 5 slides (I will thread them) & you can see the original post here: www.instagram.com/p/DMaj16Ostyh/
July 27, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I'm sharing a series of slides from @elgendy95.bsky.social's instagram account about how mutual aid works in Gaza. There are 5 slides (I will thread them) & you can see the original post here: www.instagram.com/p/DMaj16Ostyh/
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
@ahmeddouma.bsky.social ’s “Zaytouna,” written during the author’s incarceration, is an ode to an olive tree planted by a friend in Palestine, and to the hope it symbolizes. Read the poem (tr. @elgendy95.bsky.social : wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
July 31, 2025 at 7:30 PM
@ahmeddouma.bsky.social ’s “Zaytouna,” written during the author’s incarceration, is an ode to an olive tree planted by a friend in Palestine, and to the hope it symbolizes. Read the poem (tr. @elgendy95.bsky.social : wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
For the @washingtonpost.com, I wrote about Laila Soueif—not only the grieving mother starving for her son’s release, but the towering icon of dissent with a legacy all her own.
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
June 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
For the @washingtonpost.com, I wrote about Laila Soueif—not only the grieving mother starving for her son’s release, but the towering icon of dissent with a legacy all her own.
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
No matter how this ends, Laila lives.
wapo.st/3HT3xin
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
"Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 4:49 PM
"Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
Abdelrahman ElGendy
The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted by ICE agents in front of his university apartment in NYC, I locked myself inside my home for a month… my lawyers gently but unequivocally told me that the question had likely become no longer if I would be arrested but when.”
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
May 3, 2025 at 10:33 AM
“After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted by ICE agents in front of his university apartment in NYC, I locked myself inside my home for a month… my lawyers gently but unequivocally told me that the question had likely become no longer if I would be arrested but when.”
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
So, Abdelrahman ElGendy fled the US.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.” Critical & devastating read by Abdelrahman ElGendy
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 6:08 PM
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.” Critical & devastating read by Abdelrahman ElGendy
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.”
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 4, 2025 at 11:34 AM
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival.”
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Abdel Rahman Elgendy, who was a political prisoner in Egypt for six years, has now fled the US.
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“Let us grieve the costs we pay for being non-ideal imperial subjects, but may our grief not distract us from the real story. May it propel us into fury.”
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 2:44 PM
“Let us grieve the costs we pay for being non-ideal imperial subjects, but may our grief not distract us from the real story. May it propel us into fury.”
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
listen, listen! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 2:57 PM
listen, listen! ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
This is what I keep thinking about as I digest my alma mater @swarthmorecollege.bsky.social’s response to protest. The fury and fear aimed at protesters, not a state that has erased entire futures. The willingness to play into the hands of an administration that gleefully scapegoats Arabs & Muslims.
Still, let me end with clarity: I had a university to go to; Gazan universities have all been obliterated by U.S.-funded Israeli scholasticide. I had a family that couldn’t join me; entire Palestinian bloodlines have been erased from the public record.
May 4, 2025 at 2:15 PM
This is what I keep thinking about as I digest my alma mater @swarthmorecollege.bsky.social’s response to protest. The fury and fear aimed at protesters, not a state that has erased entire futures. The willingness to play into the hands of an administration that gleefully scapegoats Arabs & Muslims.
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
May 4, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Two days ago, I officially earned my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. But, for the second degree in a row, a dictatorship robbed me of a graduation day. 🧵
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled.”
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
May 4, 2025 at 11:25 AM
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled.”
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
@elgendy95.bsky.social on political imprisonment, from Egypt to America. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival… It wasn’t just a departure I was weighing; it was the abandonment of a life I had painstakingly built against the conditions of my exile.” www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 4, 2025 at 11:15 AM
“The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival… It wasn’t just a departure I was weighing; it was the abandonment of a life I had painstakingly built against the conditions of my exile.” www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
May 2, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled”
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 6:22 PM
“Our persecuted fled to the US from prisons, wars, and bloodshed, the belly of the beast a refuge from its claws tearing at our homelands. But today, we relive the very realities we fled”
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
I am enraged and heartbroken and I am sure Abdelrahman’s story is only one of many.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
An important, eloquent and deeply upsetting piece by @elgendy95.bsky.social who I was lucky to teach while he worked on his upcoming book. After years as a political prisoner in Egypt, he faced the same risk in the US and had to flee. Such an enraging loss.
"After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted, I locked myself inside my home for a month." Why @elgendy95.bsky.social, a former political prisoner in Egypt, decided he had no choice but to flee Donald Trump's America.
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:43 PM
An important, eloquent and deeply upsetting piece by @elgendy95.bsky.social who I was lucky to teach while he worked on his upcoming book. After years as a political prisoner in Egypt, he faced the same risk in the US and had to flee. Such an enraging loss.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
"The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:49 PM
"The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
"The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival." My heart breaks for my writer friend @elgendy95.bsky.social, who recently fled the U.S. He had made a home here after being a political prisoner in Egypt. Please read his story.
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 5:21 PM
"The hallmark of authoritarianism isn’t the knock at the door—it’s life under the constant fear of its arrival." My heart breaks for my writer friend @elgendy95.bsky.social, who recently fled the U.S. He had made a home here after being a political prisoner in Egypt. Please read his story.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
"The hallmark of authoritarianism isn't the knock at the door--it's life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Today in @thenation.com: After 3 yrs of carving a home in U.S. exile, I fled again fearing an ICE arrest. The risk wasn’t just deportation, but life in prison back in Egypt.
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
What myths does the US empire uphold about itself? When does fascism stop "descending"?
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 4:39 PM
"The hallmark of authoritarianism isn't the knock at the door--it's life under the constant fear of its arrival."
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
Former Egyptian political prisoner @elgendy95.bsky.social came to the US to seek stability and security. I am heartbroken that a talented, empathetic, and brilliant author like him could not find that.
The greatest indictment of a country is its inability to protect the most vulnerable.
The greatest indictment of a country is its inability to protect the most vulnerable.
"After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted, I locked myself inside my home for a month." Why @elgendy95.bsky.social, a former political prisoner in Egypt, decided he had no choice but to flee Donald Trump's America.
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Former Egyptian political prisoner @elgendy95.bsky.social came to the US to seek stability and security. I am heartbroken that a talented, empathetic, and brilliant author like him could not find that.
The greatest indictment of a country is its inability to protect the most vulnerable.
The greatest indictment of a country is its inability to protect the most vulnerable.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
"After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted, I locked myself inside my home for a month." Why @elgendy95.bsky.social, a former political prisoner in Egypt, decided he had no choice but to flee Donald Trump's America.
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 4:06 PM
"After Mahmoud Khalil was abducted, I locked myself inside my home for a month." Why @elgendy95.bsky.social, a former political prisoner in Egypt, decided he had no choice but to flee Donald Trump's America.
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
Today in @thenation.com: @elgendy95.bsky.social, who was a political prisoner in Egypt, writes about why he recently decided to flee the US rather than risk the same fate again. The story he tells is heartbreaking and infuriating and really important. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Why I Had to Flee the United States
I was a political prisoner in Egypt. I didn’t want to become one again in America.
www.thenation.com
May 2, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Today in @thenation.com: @elgendy95.bsky.social, who was a political prisoner in Egypt, writes about why he recently decided to flee the US rather than risk the same fate again. The story he tells is heartbreaking and infuriating and really important. www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Abdelrahman ElGendy
I began this semester supporting the eloquent and talented @elgendy95.bsky.social at@whcpitt.bsky.social for what would have been an amazing critical archive project. Instead, he has fled into exile. Please read his powerful story here, with rage and grief. www.instagram.com/p/DJJwpXfsoj...
May 2, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I began this semester supporting the eloquent and talented @elgendy95.bsky.social at@whcpitt.bsky.social for what would have been an amazing critical archive project. Instead, he has fled into exile. Please read his powerful story here, with rage and grief. www.instagram.com/p/DJJwpXfsoj...