Literature and Arts from the Center of the World
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.
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.
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.
Four cooks from Egypt to Japan talk about their family lore and personal experience preparing mouloukhiya.
Author and SOAS professor Gilbert Achcar reviews the latest book from Gaza scholar Sara Roy.
Rana Asfour provides an intimate look at two new Arab novels in translation, from Lebanese and Syrian authors.
I. Rida Mahmood calls out the double standards of Republicans and Supreme Court conservatives who argued that no president is above the law.
An American expat demonstrates how distance helps one see one's country more clearly, as he laments how far traditional US democracy has fallen.
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.
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.
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."
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi follows her novels "Fra Keeler" and "Call Me Zebra" with a story set in Andalucia.
The powerhouse United Arab Emirates has just fêted 50 years as a country, and 10-year resident Deborah Williams takes stock.
Selling off your beloved book collection to pay the rent hurts, but it beats starving or being out on the street.
"What a British person imagined Syria or the Middle East to be ... was more important than what I or people like me thought. We were subjective, but their opinions were objective."