Jurji Zaidan's Arabic Historical Novels
By writing historical novels, Jurji Zaidan wanted to provide the common Arabic people with an accurate sense of their own history in an accessible, entertaining way. His novels were unavailable in English for nearly a century. But now, in the last two years, six English translations have appeared. By M. Lynx Qualey More »
Interview with Mahdi Fleifel
In "A World not Ours", Danish-Palestinian filmmaker Mahdi Fleifel portrays for years the refugee camp Ain el-Helweh in Southern Lebanon, from where his family originates and where his grandfather still lives. Interview by Igal Avidan More »
Documentary Feature ''The Iran Job''
In Autumn 2008, film maker Till Schauder accompanied the American basketball player Kevin Sheppard to Iran, where he'd signed a contract to play a season with A.S. Shiraz. Initially, Sheppard tried to keep sport and politics apart, but he soon realised that that wasn't possible in Iran. By Laura Overmeyer More »
Interview with Ezzedine Choukri Fishere
Ezzedine Choukri Fishere is an Egyptian novelist, diplomat and academic. In this interview with Ceyda Nurtsch, he talks about the new Egyptian identity and why the Arab revolution is just the beginning of a long process More »
The Egyptian Artist Ali Abdel Mohsen
Ali Abdel Mohsen is one of the young, original, and generally irreverent artists who appeared as if out of nowhere in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution and who have completely altered the Cairo art scene. A portrait by Claudia Mende More »
Portrait of the Artist Anahita Razmi
In her work, the German artist Anahita Razmi deals with both political and social issues, ones in fact that are often related to Iran, the homeland of her father. A portrait by Daniela Gregori More »
Fariba Vafi's novel ''My Bird''
Can a novel in which nothing is said about politics and which does not focus on society as a whole still have a political dimension? Having read Fariba Vafi's novel, My Bird, the answer is most certainly "yes". A review by Volker Kaminski More »
Islamic Archeology
With his excavations in Samarra, the German archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld founded "Islamic Archaeology". On the 101st anniversary of his excavations in the city, which is situated in modern-day Iraq, a special exhibition marking his work has opened its doors in Berlin. By Jannis Hagmann More »
44th Cairo Book Fair
Last year, the Cairo Book Fair was thrown into the shadows by the revolutionary events in Egypt, but this year the public is once more showing interest. As Asira El Ahl found out, the young generation is especially keen on the kinds of books which meet their interests More »
Musicians in Mali
Islamic militants in northern Mali have banned most types of music and forced local musicians to flee for their lives. In exile in Bamako, they are keeping their music alive. Tamasin Ford reports More »
