Spare Me the Empathy Tantrum: Rafia Zakaria’s “Against White Feminism”
Myriam Gurba reviews a book that argues that some "white feminists accept the benefits conferred by white supremacy at the expense of people of color."
Review
Arab Women and The Thousand and One Nights
Malu Halasa reviews a new anthology of Arab women writers on sex, love and lust, including "the leading lights of modern Arab fiction: Hanan al-Shaykh, Adhaf Soueif, Leila Slimani and Adania Shibli."
The Maps of Our Destruction: Two Novels on Syria
Rana Asfour reviews Faysal Khartash's Roundabout of Death and Zeyn Joukhadar's The Map of Salt and Stars.
War Diary: The End of Innocence
Arie Amaya-Akkermans investigates Agenda 1979: Imagine sitting at home in the presence of a handbook for destroying, bombing, maiming and injuring. The poet Etel Adnan features prominently.
I was a French Muslim—Memories of an Algerian Freedom Fighter
Mischa Geracoulis reviews the memoir from Algerian freedom fighter Mokhtar Mokhtefi.
Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt’s Roaring 20s
Selma Dabbagh reviews the story of Egypt's pioneering women performers and feminists, including Oum Khoulthum and Munira al-Maydiyya.
Why Mona Eltahawy Wants to Smash the Patriarchy
Egyptian author and feminist Mona Eltahawy publishes daily tweets calling out the patriarchy. Hiba Moustafa reviews her new book.
In Search of Knowledge, Mazid Travels to Baghdad, Jerusalem, Cairo, Granada and Córdoba
Reviewer Eman Quotah finds that Omaima Al-Khamis' "singular imagination shines through in an erudite and sensual tale that captures a complex moment in Islamic history."
Three North African Novels Dance Between Colonial & Postcolonial Worlds
BookFabulous' Rana Asfour delivers capsule reviews of three recent North African novels from Libya and Morocco.
“I Advance in Defeat”, the Poems of Najwan Darwish
Reviewer Patrick James Dunagan on poetry that strives to cope with the anguish of Israel's decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian people.
Being Jewish and Muslim Together: Remembering Our Legacy
Joyce Zonana reviews two recent titles that reveal Jewish-Muslim connections and communities of the Arab world.
Secrets, Leaks, and the Imperative of Truth and Transparency
Stephen Rohde on how widespread government secrecy, alongside the punishment of truth-tellers, betrays fundamental principles underlying democracy.
Truth or Dare? Reinterpreting Al-Harīrī’s Arab Rogue
Farah Abdessamad reviews a new English translation of Impostures from Basra-born Al-Hariri that revives the "eloquent rogue" genre of classical Arabic literature.
The Crash, Covid-19 and Other Iranian Stories
Malu Halasa reviews the new graphic novel by former political prisoner and editorial cartoonist Mana Neyestani, released in 2021 by IranWire.com.
Allah and the American Dream
Rayyan Al-Shawaf reviews The Bad Muslim Discount, the second novel from Syed Masood, but isn't sure he likes its happy ending.