During high-school, in Kuwait, we would chant We Will Rock You to intimidate our opponents, and later chant We are the Champions to declare victory. I also remember quizzically wondering if Queen really did in fact sing bismillah in Bohemian Rhapsody. And though, back then, I could sing along to many of Queen’s songs with no memory of when I learned the lyrics, I knew nothing about the band members until I watched the biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, in the theaters. Outrageous, I know. Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? When Rami Malek won the Oscar – and earlier the BAFTA and Golden Globe – for Best Actor for his role in Bohemian Rhapsody, I woke up the next morning to a bustling Facebook newsfeed. There were aunties, uncles and friends, as well as cultural and political organizations – homophobic and not – claiming Rami as one of their own: A Copt! An Egyptian! An Arab! After his recent success, their Facebook posts were accompanied by a selection of Rami’s speech: “I am a son of immigrants from Egypt, a first-generation American, and part of my story is…
