Poetic Justice: 70+ Contemporary Poets of Morocco
Amazigh Moroccan poet El Habib Louai reviews a recent anthology that has warmed the hearts of English-reading Moroccans during the pandemic.
TMR Weekly
Hananah Zaheer’s “Lovebirds”? Don’t Be Fooled by the Title
Mehnaz Afridi reviews the new book of short stories by a Pakistani American writer determined to disrupt her readers' expectations.
Arabic and Latin, Cosmopolitan Languages of the Premodern Mediterranean and its Hinterlands
Justin Stearns, a scholar of the pre-modern Muslim Middle East, reviews the new book by Karla Mallette on the fascinating history of two of the world's great languages.
Mapping an Escape from Cairo’s Hyperreality through informal Instagram archives
Even as the despotic rulers of post-revolution Egypt attempt to remake greater Cairo, hoping to gloss over the regime's dismal human rights record, one writer sees through the smoke and mirrors.
Rachid Taha and the Sway of Chaabi & Raï on Franco-Arab Rock
This month, TMR's music critic, Melissa Chemam, stumbles upon an unexpected exhibit of the history and influence of raï, chaabi and "Beur" politics on the French body politic.
An Oral History of Mouloukhiya from Egypt, Palestine, Tunisia and Japan
Four cooks from Egypt to Japan talk about their family lore and personal experience preparing mouloukhiya.
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."
Recovering/Remembering Love, Sex and Trauma
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi follows her novels "Fra Keeler" and "Call Me Zebra" with a story set in Andalucia.
Reflections on Abu Dhabi and the U.A.E. at 50
The powerhouse United Arab Emirates has just fêted 50 years as a country, and 10-year resident Deborah Williams takes stock.