Meditations on The Ungrateful Refugee
Rana Asfour shares her thoughts on the widely-celebrated book from Dina Nayeri, who writes that escaping and becoming a refugee preoccupied her life for more than 20 years.
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Fiction: Refugees in Serbia, an excerpt from “Silence is a Sense” by Layla AlAmmar
On the occasion of the paperback publication of Layla AlAmmar's novel Silence is a Sense, TMR presents this excerpt selected by the author.
Gaza Melancholic
Author and SOAS professor Gilbert Achcar reviews the latest book from Gaza scholar Sara Roy.
Temptations of the Imagination: how Jana Elhassan and Samar Yazbek transmogrify the world
Rana Asfour provides an intimate look at two new Arab novels in translation, from Lebanese and Syrian authors.
America’s Freedom Hinges on the Survival of its Democracy
I. Rida Mahmood calls out the double standards of Republicans and Supreme Court conservatives who argued that no president is above the law.
January 6th and the Free Fall of Democracy.
An American expat demonstrates how distance helps one see one's country more clearly, as he laments how far traditional US democracy has fallen.
The US Democracy Crisis is a Media Crisis and the Mainstream Press is Losing
Columnist Lorraine Ali remembers 2021 as the year of the January 6 insurrection, the Covid-19 pandemic and the debacle of Omicron and the Republicans.
Sudden Journeys: From Munich with Love and Realpolitik
A family tragedy (we all have them), powerful forms of devotion and love, and a common political approach to “defeated peoples” in the world—all revisited over a weekend in Munich.
Music in the Middle East: Business can’t Buy Authenticity
180,000 electronic music aficionados attended the SOUNDSTORM festival in Riyadh this month, but as columnist Melissa Chemam writes, "it is impossible not to see these events as a part of the country’s soft power and policy to whitewash its terrible human rights record."
“Turkish Delights”—fiction from Omar Foda
Omar Foda draws on family lore and field work to weave together a satirical tale of ego and power in 1920s Egypt.
My Lebanese Landlord, Lebanese Bankdits, and German Racism
Racism props up its ugly head from every quarter, but Tariq Mehmood refuses to be deterred.
An Arab and a Jew Walk into a Bar…
Our columnist compares Arab/Muslim and Jewish humor and finds more in common than one might expect.
The Fabulous Omid Djalili on Good Times and the World
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.
Three Levantine Tales
Writer, translator and artist Nouha Hamad tells three tales passed down as family legend connecting the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lebanon at the Point of Drowning in Its Own…
Young Lebanese comic writer-illustrator duo Raja Abu Kasm and Rahil Mohsin convey what they think of corruption and their disintegrating country.