How Football Became a Voice for Palestine with Dr Kholoud Al-Ajarma | Thinking Islam | Ep.9

What does solidarity look like from the stands of a football stadium? How do sport, identity, and politics intertwine in the struggle for justice and belonging? And what does it mean to grow up displaced yet deeply rooted in a homeland carried through memory and resistance? In this episode of Thinking Islam, we explore these profound questions with Dr Kholoud Al-Ajarma, anthropologist and award-winning filmmaker at the University of Edinburgh.

This captivating conversation traces Dr Al-Ajarma’s personal and intellectual journey—from life in Palestinian refugee camps to becoming an acclaimed scholar of migration, identity, and activism. Drawing on her ethnographic research into pro-Palestinian solidarity among football fans in Scotland, she discusses the power and limits of public protest, the challenges of representing a cause across cultural boundaries, and what forms of hope persist amid displacement.

Dr Kholoud Al-Ajarma is a social anthropologist whose work bridges scholarship and lived experience. Her award-winning films and academic research explore themes of exile, belonging, and social justice across Palestine and the diaspora. She has worked with numerous international organisations and universities, and her recent research examines how global solidarity movements express political empathy and resistance through everyday cultural practices.

Video Chapters:

0:00 – Highlights
1:30 – Introduction
3:15 – The History of Palestinian Ethnic Cleansing
8:16 – Dr Al-Ajarma’s Journey: Refugee Camps to Academia
12:47 – Why Look at Football?
17:35 – How the Research Began
23:00 – The Participants’ Demographics
27:09 – Are Muslims Apathetic?
30:50 – Activism in Academia
33:55 – Is Activism Really Working?
46:15 – The Absence of Middle-Aged Activists
48:47 – Why don't Palestinians Leave?
57:52 – Palestinian Life in an Apartheid State
1:08:30 – Genocide and Ongoing Generational Trauma
1:11:05 – Thinking Islam Question

👉 Watch now to understand how sport, solidarity, and storytelling intertwine in the fight for a free Palestine.

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