How Much Do We Miss Umm Khulthum?
Thinking about icons past and present, Amal Ghandour remembers Egypt’s “Star of the East” on the 50th anniversary of her death.
We, the Wanderers—Featured Artist El Mehdi Largo
A Moroccan artist becomes Italian and then Arab, all while creating art that critiques orientalist tropes, and having fun along the way.
Home — a State of Restlessness?
Neemah Ahamed explores what home means when one’s life is upended and what once held cherished emotions disintegrates.
The Non-Citizen Gulf Resident Novel: An Emergent Genre?
Non-citizen Gulf residents are rarely depicted in media or literature, but two new novels may change all that.
Novelist Jadd Hilal on Being French and Palestinian
Jadd Hilal is French of Palestinian and Lebanese heritage. In this interview with Lara Vergnaud, he parses national identities.
“Paranoia”—a story from Afghanistan
Haunted by fear and fragile hope, two couples cross the Afghan capital and accidentally meet. Where is the common ground between them?
Love and Other Obstacles: When a Palestinian and an Israeli Get Married
A romance between an Israeli woman and her Palestinian partner ultimately builds a case for one state where everyone has equal rights.
The Grammar of Power: On Journalism, Grief, and the Stories That Break Us
This essay examines how grieving for Palestine is policed in classrooms, newsrooms, and across borders, revealing the cost of bearing witness.
Sultana to the Rescue
A lonely Lebanese writer welcomes a poor woman into his home, unwittingly realizing that it is she who is saving him.
The Absent Homeland
Maysaa Alajjan describes having lived in one homeland that never accepted her, and belonging to another she never knew.
On Identity—Ayşegül Savaş’ Long Distance
Rome-based filmmaker Amy Omar explores the short stories of a Turkish writer living in Paris who turns cities into characters themselves.
Why NATIONALITY?
Nationality: at the end of the day, we are richer for the diversity of our identities, and poorer for our divisions.