Essays

Post-Revolution, Arab Cinema is Producing Dystopic Narratives

Post-Revolution, Arab Cinema is Producing Dystopic Narratives

Viola Shafik has seen several post-thawra Arab features that convey a bleak and dystopian vision of the present.

6 FEBRUARY 2023 • By Viola Shafik
End of an Era: Al Saqi Bookshop in London Closes

End of an Era: Al Saqi Bookshop in London Closes

Malu Halasa surveys the legacy of Al Saqi while also lamenting the end of Banipal Magazine and the...

16 JANUARY 2023 • By Malu Halasa
Sexploitation or Cinematic Art? The Case of Abdellatif Kechiche

Sexploitation or Cinematic Art? The Case of Abdellatif Kechiche

Film critic and historian Viola Shafik pillories cinematographic voyeurism.

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Viola Shafik
Conflict and Freedom in Palestine, a Trip Down Memory Lane

Conflict and Freedom in Palestine, a Trip Down Memory Lane

Saudi American novelist Eman Quotah reminisces on a university peace studies class that traveled to Israel/Palestine.

15 DECEMBER 2022 • By Eman Quotah
Stadiums, Ghosts & Games—Football’s International Intrigue

Stadiums, Ghosts & Games—Football’s International Intrigue

Francisco Letelier reminisces on his soccer identities in Chile and the USA, while delving into the international politics...

15 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Francisco Letelier
Farewell to a Football Love Affair in Iran

Farewell to a Football Love Affair in Iran

Sara Mokhavat's first passion was for football and the Persepolis team, but being female in Iran put the...

15 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Sara Mokhavat
Morocco’s Ultras, the State and the Soccer War

Morocco’s Ultras, the State and the Soccer War

Socio-cultural anthropologist Aomar Boum meditates on the rebel football phenomenon of Morocco's ultras.

15 NOVEMBER 2022 • By Aomar Boum
Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 2

Sudden Journeys: Israel’s Intimate Separations—Part 2

In this, the second of a three-part travel series on Israel/Palestine, Jenine Abboushi continues her dystopic journey.

31 OCTOBER 2022 • By Jenine Abboushi
Celebrating Mawlid An-Nabaoui with Stambeli Trance in Tunis

Celebrating Mawlid An-Nabaoui with Stambeli Trance in Tunis

Shreya Parikh joins an authentic ritual for the birth of the Prophet in her Tunis medina.

31 OCTOBER 2022 • By Shreya Parikh
What the Iran Protests Mean for Us—Kamin Mohammadi

What the Iran Protests Mean for Us—Kamin Mohammadi

British-Iranian writer Kamin Mohammadi is a keen observer of the women-led movement that is roiling Iran after the...

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Kamin Mohammadi
Defiance—an essay from Sara Mokhavat

Defiance—an essay from Sara Mokhavat

When an oppressive, insulting cleric makes life unbearable at a university campus in Tehran, students rebel. Pandemonium ensues.

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Sara Mokhavat
The Postcard Women’s Imaginarium: Decolonizing the Western Gaze

The Postcard Women’s Imaginarium: Decolonizing the Western Gaze

Salma Ahmad Caller reflects on curating a unique museum-quality exhibition of postcards and objects orientalizing women

15 OCTOBER 2022 • By Salma Ahmad Caller
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