Why GATEKEEPERS?
Free speech for the Middle East and North Africa — voices from across the center of the world — is what we fight for.
Free speech for the Middle East and North Africa — voices from across the center of the world — is what we fight for.
Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan is a jury member of the 81st Venice Film Festival, and the only Arab woman director to have won twice in Venice.
Kurdish poetry abounds but rarely appears in English. Jordan Elgrably reviews a bilingual English-Kurdish edition of Selim Temo's "Nightlands."
What shall we forget and what shall we remember, and can forgetting also be a force for good? The editors inquire.
Editor Jordan Elgrably muses on a PARIS issue mostly from the viewpoint of its Arab and Middle Eastern residents.
With genocidal violence raging in Gaza and muzzling of pro-Palestinian voices throughout France, Ariella Azoulay's word is now inescapable.
Wanis El Kabbaj fondly reminisces about his father's elation while in Paris and the profound significance the city held for him.
A few entries on a genocidal map...A walk in the Valley of Death that is the war on Gaza and the reckoning to come.
An editorial from the editor in chief as we close the end of an often painful, difficult and yet at times hopeful year.
TMR's editor in chief, Jordan Elgrably, asks four Beirutis why they stay, and how they manage, enduring one crisis after another.
What happens when public universities begin shutting down entire area studies departments, and learning foreign languages becomes a luxury?
An Afghan refugee, survivor of a shipwreck, washes up on the shores of southern France and applies for asylum in Montpellier.
The editors explain why they chose the EARTH theme for the 32nd issue of The Markaz Review.
Jordan Elgrably interviews the Algerian-French iconoclast about her first album after Covid and about why she's devoted her life to freedom.
A Pultizer winner for his play "Disgraced," Ayad Akhtar is the current President of PEN America and author of the novel "Homeland Elegies."
Jordan Elgrably tours the MO.CO exhibition in Montpellier devoted to the people of Chile, Sarajevo and Palestine.
We saw Dina Amer's debut feature film based on the life of Hasna Ait Boulahcen, yet another victim of Wahhabi/Salafi extremism.
Jordan Elgrably reads a book about white fear and racism and finds that colorism isn't our only problem.
The Markaz Review joins 15 Nobel Prize for Literature laureates and millions around the world in calling for Alaa Abd El-Fattah's immediate release.
Montpellier's venerable Mediterranean film festival announces retrospectives and avant-premières.
Editor Jordan Elgrably introduces the BERLIN issue guest editor, Viola Shafik, and more than a dozen new contributors to TMR.
An attack on one writer anywhere is an attack on freedom of expression everywhere.
Jordan Elgrably paints a portrait of a translingual Moroccan American who champions the inbetween.
World Refugee Day is the first of seven days during which refugees will be recognized in events across the world.
Jordan Elgrably talks to Palestinian filmmakers with Israeli citizenship to learn about identity and belonging.
Washington DC's artist-entrepreneur-philanthropist (and one-time mayoral candidate) Andy Shallal dishes on matters of hunger and racism.
A new film depicts the treachery of being Palestinian living under the Israeli Occupation Forces in Bethlehem.
Letter from the Editor: Russia’s Attack on Ukraine seen from European and Middle Eastern Vantage Points
Jordan Elgrably reviews the recent feature film from directors Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf.
TMR's editor reflects on the experience of seeking home and refuge.
British Iranian actor, comedian and podcast host Omid Djalili opens up about comedy, racism and his beauty secrets in this informal interview with TMR's editor.
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi follows her novels "Fra Keeler" and "Call Me Zebra" with a story set in Andalucia.
TMR reviews a film on discrimination in Israel and the original Jews of the Middle East and North Africa. The Forgotten Ones screened in October’s annual CINEMED festival in Montpellier and screens in the DOC NYC Fest on 11/09 (press screening), 11/14 and 11/15. More info.
A Syrian refugee successfully resettled in Brussels shares part of his story.
Jordan Elgrably reviews the new film from the Nasser brothers, starring Hiam Abbass and Salim Daw.
Jordan Elgrably Imagine, if you will, being put on trial for publishing poems and stories extolling the values of human rights and equality — or rotting in prison as… Continue reading Kurdish Poet and Writer Meral Şimşek Merits Her Freedom
Excerpted from the anthology Kurdish Women’s Stories (Pluto Press, 2020), by special arrangement with editor Houzan Mahmoud. The Prison Speakers Played Islamic Verses Kobra Banehi Kobra Banehi, also known… Continue reading The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
We remember the devastating blast at the Port of Beirut last August 4th, 2020, and call for justice and restitution for its many victims.
TMR's editor Jordan Elgrably talks to young Malak Mattar in Gaza, who has survived massive state violence and begun a promising career in art.
The Palestinians of Gaza continue to survive despite incredible odds, thanks in no small part to their steadfastness or "sumud."
Our editorial outlines the fact that wasta isn't exclusively an Arab problem, but one that plagues societies east and west.
"I would like to break the walls of ignorance between East and West." Walls and barriers are what we erect when we have no words.
In anticipation of Sunday's Oscars, in which another Palestinian film has been nominated, Jordan Elgrably talks to Palestinians and Israelis about their films and activism.
Jordan Elgrably explores whether the drought in Syria fueled the country's civil war and what climate change means for our global future.
Jordan Elgrably on rising tensions in France and in the Arab/Muslim world follow Samuel Paty's beheading at the hands of a young Islamic radical who was shot dead by police.
We asked Arab and Iranian Americans how they view the Trump years and which way folks are voting.
Jordan Elgrably finds that the family memoir of a Libyan American is one that we can all identity with.
Is it too much to ask that a movie set during the Second Gulf War convey something meaningful about Iraq? Jordan Elgrably A week before the Oscars—on Valentine’s… Continue reading American Sniper—a Botched Film That Demonizes Iraqis