Bahey eldin Hassan, Condemned But Defiant
In 2020, Egypt's dictatorship condemns one of its most stalwart human rights activists to 15 years in prison for something he posted in a tweet.
Author: TMR
Artists on the Trump Era
Three American artists, Daliah Ammar, Sandow Birk and Jos Sances, share their work, created during the Trump administration.
Why “The Red and the Blue”?
What is an arts publication doing writing about "The Red and the Blue"—colors symbolic of the divisions of a troubled nation?
Interlink Proposes 4 New Arab Novels
New literature translated from abroad is a cause for celebration.
Emel Mathlouthi Returns with The Tunis Diaries
The vocalist from Tunis who lives in New York was confined in Tunis and found herself "falling back in love with music that is simple, direct, and from the heart."
Bab L’Bluz Fuses Gnawa, Blues & Rock
Founded in 2018, Bab L'Bluz has just come out with a stunning debut album fusing gnawa, blues, rock and chaabi, not to be missed.
Hassan Musa exhibition in Paris / “I Love You”
Franco-Sudanese master painter Hassan Musa is the bomb.
What We’re Into
What we're reading, watching, listening to and otherwise indulging in (comments welcome).
Demonizing Iran
On the 40th anniversary of Iran's revolution, an Iranian-born American attorney argues for the Iranian people, but against Iran's regime and U.S. anti-Iran sanctions.
There Is No Marshall Plan for Iraq
An American volunteer on a recent mission in Iraq observes the state of the country.
They Came for Muslims and Immigrants, Then They Came for Me
When a repressive government moves against the most despised in society, if left unchecked, no one is safe and it will move against its own citizens.
For the Man in the Street, U.S. Anti-Iran Sanctions Don’t Augur Well
Are economic sanctions a gentle way to put pressure on certain unfriendly states to change their ways, or are they a subversive act of war?
Algiers, the Black Panthers & the Revolution
While Elaine Mokhtefi worked devotedly for the Black Panthers, the men who ran it were, it turned out, deeply flawed.
Refugee from the War in Yemen
For those who know little about Yemen, sometimes learning about distant disaster through a human story is the best way to come to grips with it.
The Sephardic Way of Life
An Egyptian Jew who came to the United States as a child, Joyce Zonana has always identified closely with her Arab and African roots.
Islamophobic? How Does it Feel to be a Problem?
Politicians, not terrorists, are the chief instigators of Islamophobic prejudice, and with election it gets worse.
4 Poems by Persis Karim & Sholeh Wolpé
Advice to Writers, Recognize, The Outsider and Dear America come to us from Iranian immigrants working in the American diaspora.
From Beirut to the American Halls of Justice
An immigrant from Beirut, now a trial lawyer, writes about life in the trenches.
The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
Norman Finkelstein speaks in Los Angeles on the martyrdom of Gaza.
Yasmine Hamdan Rocks L.A.
Her performance "felt sincerely unrehearsed in its apparent spontaneity, yet precisely prepared in its apparent flawlessness."
“The Persian Connection” Reviewed
Daniel Y-Li Grove and Reza Sixo Safai’s New Wave neon Noir takes us for an exhilarating ride.
50 Years After the Occupation “Two State Solution is Dead”
Jeff Halper, author of War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification, declares two state solution moot.
My Name is X: Six Post-Election Confessions
[Editor’s Note: the people interviewed for this feature asked that their last names and personal/professional details be withheld for reasons of privacy and in some cases, a concern for safety.] … Continue reading My Name is X: Six Post-Election Confessions
“Citizen, An American Lyric” Adapts Rankine for the Theatre
A play on ground zero of American Black life.
“Citizen, An American Lyric” Adapts Rankine for the Theatre
A play on ground zero of American Black life.
“Universe in You” Offers Fresh Look at Rumi
Original translations from a native Farsi speaker offer new window onto the mystical poetry of Rumi.
Historian and Women’s Rights Advocate Reveals Women of Iran
Iranian American delves beneath the surface of stereotypes about women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.