Culture

Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan during a speech on an earlier anniversary of the coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 (photo: Reuters/Turkish Presidency)

Turkey five years after the attempted coup

"Witch hunt" focuses on Turkish artists and intellectuals

Artists and intellectuals in Turkey are coming under massive pressure. Since the attempted coup against Erdogan by parts of the military in 2016, the government has intensified its crackdown on critical voices. Now the coronavirus pandemic is proving the final nail in the coffin. Ceyda Nurtsch reportsMore

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Beizar Aradini's work "To and From Home", thread on tulle, 2021 (courtesy of the artist)

Berlin: "bê welat – the unexpected storytellers" exhibition

Taking a tender look at life through the Kurdish lens

How can the various realities of Kurdish life, shaped by depression, resistance and war, be depicted in art? This is the question addressed by the “bê welat – the unexpected storytellers” exhibition in Berlin. Ceyda Nurtsch reports for Qantara.deMore

Turkey's Syria offensive: Burying the Kurdish autonomy projectThe future of a people: Good Kurd, bad KurdAlbum review: Aynur Dogan’s "Hedur": Finding solace in the sounds of home
Film poster "Invisible" (source: YouTube screenshot)

Film review: Marianna Kakaounaki’s "Invisible"

Turkish refugees in Greece – out of sight, out of mind

Turkish refugees are for the most part invisible in Greece. In her film debut, the Greek journalist and filmmaker Marianna Kakaounaki portrays the fate of Turkish followers of the preacher Fethullah Gulen forced to flee their country after the coup attempt against Erdogan in 2016. Rene Wildangel caught a screening at the Thessaloniki Documentary FestivalMore

After the fire in Moria: For many migrants, the dream of freedom ends in LesbosGreece and the asylum-seekers: How do you solve a problem like Moria?Exiled Turks in Greece: Bridge-building in 'enemy country'Escalation or mediation in the Eastern Med? Turkey and Greece at loggerheads over maritime sovereignty
Israeli percussionist Ben Aylon (photo: Ben Aylon)

Album review: Ben Aylon's "Xalam"

More than a one man tribe

Ben Aylon’s debut international album sees him elevate the traditional music and instruments of Senegal and Mali into a fresh contemporary setting. Seven years in the making, "Xalam" features the late, great Malian diva Khaira Arby and sabar drumming legend Doudou Ndiaye Rose. By Richard MarcusMore

Album review: ″Lost in Mali″: Celebrating a musical landscapeAlbum review: Diali Cissokho and Kaira Baʹs "Routes": Marrying music and cultureGroupe RTD: Energy and rhythm from Djibouti to the world
French-Moroccan author Leila Slimani (photo: Getty images/AFP/J.Saget)

Leila Slimani's "The Country of Others"

Dreams in times of crisis

Bestselling author Leila Slimani's latest novel tells the story of her grandmother’s arduous life in rural Morocco during the immediate post-war period. Married to a Moroccan officer, the French woman struggles with the differences between their cultures, while both encounter growing hostility from the French settlers, and from the nationalists agitating for Moroccan independence. Volker Kaminski read the bookMore

Interview with Franco-Moroccan author Leila Slimani: "Treat right-wing extremists like children" Social media fosters creative writing in the Maghreb: Published by FacebookQantara dossier: Moroccan literatureMoroccan writer Abdellah Taia: Disenchantment and a hint of nostalgia
Scene from "Fatma's Revenge" (source: YouTube screenshot)

Hit streaming series "Fatma's Revenge"

Netflix takes on the Turkish macho

Since the end of April, a Netflix series has been broadcast in Turkey about the cleaner Fatma, who searches for her missing husband in six episodes and ends up in a murderous odyssey. The series celebrates the woman as a hero who defends herself against humiliation, threats and sexual harassment, writes Jochen MenzelMore

Istanbul Convention: How a European treaty against women's violence became politicisedTurkey's femicide problem: "It was suicide!" – a state-sanctioned cover-up?The Istanbul Convention and women's protection: Bombing the heart of the family in Turkey?Islamic popular culture: A match for Bollywood – the rise of Turkey's dizisTurkey's handle on soft power: Hit TV series from Turkey conquer the Arab world
Cover of Nasser Kanani's "The Love Poetry of Hafez through the Lens of German Literature: Hafez and his German Devotees" (published in German by Königshausen & Neumann)

Iranian literature in Germany

Roses from Shiraz: German devotees of Hafez

For centuries, the great classical Persian author Hafez has inspired German writers. Translations, adaptions and homages have been created in his wake, and the process continues today. Nasser Kanani has published an expansive book on Hafez’ German devotees. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Professor Nasser Kanani on the Persian poet Hafez: "The joyful audacity of his spirit, the melody of his poetry"Caught between tradition and modernity: Will ancient poet Hafez win the "soft war" in Iran?Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the box
30.05.2017., Zagreb, Croatia - The European Short Story Festival - Reading and FESS Short Story Award Ceremony. Hassan Blasim (photo: Tomislav Miletic/PIXSELL)

Book review: Hassan Blasim's "God 99"

A different sort of sacred

Reading Hassan Blasim's God 99 is an immersive experience of grief and exaltation, anger and disgust, writes Marcia Lynx Qualey. We join the Iraqi narrator as he sits around in seedy Finnish bars and plays slot machines; as he meets refugees and listens to their stories; as he exchanges letters with a dying friend; and as he crosses a kaleidoscopic series of bordersMore

Trauma in contemporary Arab literature: Translating oblivionPreviously unpublished work: Naguib Mahfouz' "The Quarter"Book review: Hassan Blasim's "The Corpse Exhibition"
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2021 (photo: YouTube screenshot)

Literary power politics

Spotlight on the UAE's 30th Abu Dhabi Book Fair

They’ve already got the Louvre; they’ll soon have a Guggenheim Museum as well – and now the Emirates have added literature to their quest for cultural supremacy in the Arab world. Stefan Weidner reports from Abu Dhabi, from the first book fair of this year to take place in personMore

Habermas, the Sheikh Zayed Award and Arab reactions: Habermas and the contradictions of the Arab intellectualA triumph for discourse: Juergen Habermas' rejection of the Sheikh Zayed Book AwardGerman angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue Qantara dossier: Arabic literature
UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Old City of Sana'a in Yemen (photo: picture-alliance/epa/Y. Arhab)

Book review: Threa Almontaser's "The Wild Fox of Yemen"

An emotional landscape of subtle complexity

"The Wild Fox of Yemen" by Threa Almontaser is an anthology of poetry that gathers readers up and into itself and immerses them in the poet's world – the world of a first-generation American/Yemeni trying to find her way in a country while her familial roots are far across oceans in Yemen. By Richard MarcusMore

A Muslim Poetry Slam: The Five Pillars of i,SlamPoetry anthology: Fady Joudah's "Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance"Mahmoud Darwish: Building bridges with Arabic poetry
The Iranian-German poet SAID in 2006 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/dpa-zentralbild/M. Schulte)

Obituary: Iranian-German poet SAID

Shout your names

Among the authors writing in German who are not native speakers of the language, SAID, who was born in 1947, was among the most successful and the most unconventional. Highly politically engaged, he remained true to his position between cultures. He died on 15 May. By Stefan WeidnerMore

Interview with the Poet SAID: "I have defended my piety against the Islamic Republic"Professor Nasser Kanani on the Persian poet Hafez: "The joyful audacity of his spirit, the melody of his poetry"Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the boxIran′s image in the West: Sheer incredulity
Kamancheh virtuoso Misagh Joolaee (YouTube screenshot)

Album review: Misagh Joolaee's "Unknown Nearness"

Silent yearnings

Produced during the coronavirus pandemic, Misagh Joolaee's latest album returns to the most concentrated expression of the kamancheh – solo performance. Plumbing spiritual depths whilst exploring new virtuoso techniques, "Unknown Nearness" traces an arc between Persian tradition and enigmatic echoes of Western music. By Stefan FranzenMore

Album review: Misagh Joolaee's "Ferne": Expanding the horizons of the kamanchehPersian singer Mamak Khadem: Open to new influencesPortrait of Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor: Cultural emissary and grand master of the kamancheh
German philosopher Juergen Habermas (photo: Getty Images/AFP/L. Gouliamaki)

Habermas, the Sheikh Zayed Award and Arab reactions

Habermas and the contradictions of the Arab intellectual

Uproar, fuss and mutual accusation: following the German philosopher Juergen Habermas' rejection of the 2021 Sheikh Zayed Book Award, the social media posts by those involved in the Arabic cultural scene covered a broad spectrum. Islam Anwar takes a look for QantaraMore

German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogueInterview with Islamic scholar Stefan Weidner: Thinking outside the Western boxNon-fiction: Pankaj Mishra's "Age of Anger": The embittered majority
Traffic at a Cairo intersection (source: YouTube screenshot)

Ziad Fahmy's "Street Sounds"

Egypt, and the "great clamour" of urban life

In "Street Sounds", Ziad Fahmy offers the first historical examination of the changing soundscapes of urban Egypt, highlighting the mundane sounds of street life, while "listening" to the voices of ordinary people as they struggle with state authorities for ownership of the streets. In interview he explains his motivations and the value of such analysisMore

Egyptian singer Dina El Wedidi: Hypnotic rail rhythmsInterview with Raphael Cormack: From dust to glory – the divas of Egypt’s roaring 20sMohamed Elshahed's "Cairo Since 1900": In pursuit of other modernismsQantara photo essay: Make way for Egyptʹs New Administrative Capital
British author Isabella Hammad (photo: Ula Soltys)

Isabella Hammad on "The Parisian"

"Palestinians need to set the terms of their own liberation"

Isabella Hammad’s "The Parisian" is an engaging and accomplished debut based on the life of her great-grandfather. Set during the end of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Palestinian nationalism, it is a classic coming-of-age novel. In interview with Schayan Riaz, the young British author with Palestinian roots talks about racism, the publishing world and giving a voice to PalestiniansMore

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Juergen Habermas at the John W. Kluge Prize award ceremony in Washington in 2015 (photo: Shawn Miller)

Sheikh Zayed Book Award

Why has Juergen Habermas rejected a prize from the UAE?

At nearly 92, Juergen Habermas is still advocating for a robust and transparent civil society. Now Germany's greatest living intellectual has rejected a book award from the United Arab Emirates. Stuart Braun has the detailsMore

German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue Juergen Habermas awarded Kluge Prize for Philosophy: ″Asylum is a human right″
The Egyptian series "El-Ekhteyar 2" was created by a production company with close ties to the military - and promotes a narrative to match (photo: ON TV)

Mass propaganda in Egypt

"El-Ekhteyar 2" – twisting the facts for President Sisi

The Egyptian series "El-Ekhteyar 2" was created by a production company with close ties to the military – and pursues a corresponding narrative. Moritz Baumstieger explains how the series, which was broadcast in time for Ramadan, takes its own unique approach to historical factsMore

Social utopia on the Nile? Sisiʹs new breed of EgyptiansEgyptʹs political future: Generalissimo SisiSisi regime propaganda: Egypt's people – nothing but a burden and a nuisanceThe role of film-makers in the new Egypt: Revolution on screen
Illustration by Deloupy from "Algeriennes", story by Swann Meralli, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger (published in English by Pennsylvania State University Press)

"Algeriennes" by Swann Meralli and Deloupy

The bravery and resilience of Algeria's "mujahidates"

Using a graphic novel to address a contentious issue like the Algerian war of independence may seem an odd choice, but new release "Algeriennes", translated into English by Ivanka Hahnenberger, defies any preconceptions you may have about the genre's limitations. Richard Marcus read the bookMore

Alice Zeniter's "L'Art de perdre": Rediscovering a lost chapter of (family) historySixty years since the beginning of the Algerian war: National fronts?Algerian cinema: Young, rebellious and full of beansJoseph Andras′ ″De nos freres blesses″: A shameful chapter
Author and historian Raphael Cormack at the 2016 Edinburgh International Book Festival (photo: photoshot/picture-alliance)

Interview with Raphael Cormack, author of "Midnight in Cairo"

From dust to glory – the divas of Egypt’s roaring 20s

Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum continuous to be an icon, almost 100 years after she published her first record. But what about the other famous women of the 1920s? In his new book, historian Raphael Cormack tracks down the female founding figures of Egypt’s modern entertainment industry. Interview by Anna-Theresa BachmannMore

Umm Kulthum: Homage to Egypt's "Fourth Pyramid"Culture and innovation in the Arab world: Where are the new Arab icons?Book review: Mohamed Elshahed's "Cairo Since 1900": In pursuit of other modernisms
Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine (photo: Talal Khoury; source: edition-converso.com))

Chaza Charafeddine's "Beirut für wilde Mädchen"

Flashback from Beirut

A childhood and youth in Beirut, a life lived between Lebanon, Switzerland and Germany, and a unique voice in Arabic-language literature: "Beirut für wilde Mädchen" sees Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine tell her country’s story from a highly personal perspective. Gerrit Wustmann read the bookMore

Book review ″Beirut Noir″: Chronicling life in the corrupt cityBook review: Hilal Chouman′s ″Limbo Beirut″: Hybrid livesNajwa Barakat on Arabic literature: Combating the desertification of Arab culture

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In brief

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Most Recent Photo Essay

"Ninety percent of the photography I have learnt has come from experimentation in the field," Siddiqui once wrote

Danish Siddiqui and the people behind the story

Danish Siddiqui, the Reuters journalist killed in crossfire last Friday covering the war in Afghanistan, was a largely self-taught photographer who scaled the heights of his profession while documenting wars, riots and human suffering. By Raju Gopalakrishnan and Mike Collett-White

"Two Gods" studies the life of a Muslim casket maker

An intensely cinematic portrait of male friendship and mentorhood. In Newark, NJ a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer brings two young men under his wing to teach them how to live better lives.More

New Lines Magazine: How the eggplant conquered Arab cuisine

(source: DW)

From feared culinary outcast to omnipresent ingredient, this misunderstood fruit has come a long way since the 9th century.More

"Iberian Moorings" compares Muslim and Jewish golden ages

Casa de Sefarad, Cordoba (photo: Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Known to Jews, Muslims, and Christians by three different names – Sefarad, al-Andalus, and Hispania, respectively – the Iberian Peninsula has been a centre of fertile intellectual, cultural and spiritual production for multiple religious traditions.More

Bicentenary of Napoleon: A controversial legacy

Napoleon’s military conquests fuelled a vast and unprecedented migration of artworks aimed at establishing a “universal museum” in Paris, the self-proclaimed capital of knowledge and the arts. The rise and fall of the Napoleonic Louvre fundamentally altered the way Europeans perceived art and heritage, inspiring a race to create national museums and presaging the colonial plunder of the rest of the world.More

"Rumi: The Musical": Bringing the Middle East to the West End

Nadim Naaman, a Lebanese-British actor and singer, has found a unique way to bring together the best of the West End and his own roots. Middle East Matters asks him about his latest project, "Rumi: The Musical".More

New York Times: What a tiny masterpiece reveals about power and beauty

Rosette bearing the names and titles of Shah Jahan; folio from the Shah Jahan album (photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Four centuries ago, mighty crosscurrents of religion and culture flowed into a new Indian art. It was courtly and refined, but also eye-poppingly luxuriant.More

Eight Arab architects who shaped the world

New Gourna, Egypt, designed by Hassan Fathy (source: Mille)

For centuries, Arab and Islamic architecture has given birth to traditional styles and world heritage sites, which are studied across the world today for their level of detail and craftsmanship. It is a rich architectural heritage that has paved the way for modern Arab architects. We take a look at eight Arab architects who have shaped the region’s architectural scene over the past fifty years.More

Eurovision and the 'Persian Piaf'

This week the studio guest on France24's Middle East Matters is a singer who has been compared to the legendary French singer-songwriter Edith Piaf. Barbara Pravi, whose mother is Iranian, hails from a family of musicians and artists. In May, she'll be flying the flag for France in the Eurovision Song Contest.More

Mourid Barghouti: Leading Palestinian poet dies aged 77

Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti (photo: Abutamim, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Leading Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti has died at the age of 77. Born four years before the state of Israel was created in a village near Ramallah, Barghouti spent much of his life in one form or other of exile – which he recounted in the memoir "I Saw Ramallah", described by fellow Palestinian writer Edward Said as one of the finest accounts of Palestinian displacement.More

ARTE documentary: Isabelle Eberhardt

Rather than perpetuate the romanticised image of the Orient commonplace in 19th century literature, writer and nomad Isabelle Eberhardt traversed and explored the Maghreb with a critical eye. She not only condemned French colonialism, but also the established gender roles of her era.More

BBC: How the Arab Spring changed cinema

Still from Tamer El Said's "In the Last Days of the City"

A decade after the revolutions, Joseph Fahim looks at how filmmakers reacted to the seismic events – and asks whether the real story of the uprisings is yet to be told.More

Arabic literature and the African other

Poster advertising the second Annual Arabic Novel Conference hosted by La Maison du Roman in Tunisia, its focus "Black-skin issues" (source: La Maison du Roman)

Racist, anti-black stereotypes persist in Arabic literature. It reveals a racial anxiety and othering of Africa among celebrated Arab authors, writes Mona Kareem.More

The best books by Arab authors in 2020

Pile of books (photo: Fotolia/silver-john)

Last year may have been grim for so many reasons, but according to The New Arab, 2020 had plenty to offer in terms of exciting new books from authors of Arab heritage. In this round-up, Elias Jahshan provides a list of some of the best releases – from fiction to memoirs and social commentary – by Arab authors.More

The people who shaped Islamic civilisation

A reproduction of Muhammad al-Idrisi’s world map in the Book of Roger (1154)

Chase Robinson's new book "Islamic Civilisation in Thirty Lives" is an elegant digest of the many colourful, creative and technologically innovative manifestations that the Prophet Muhammad inspired from his seventh-century oases in the Arabian peninsula, reminding us that Islam is less a nihilistic creed than a global civilisation.More

Bahrain translation project: 50 key texts now available in Arabic

Titles chosen for translation during the six-year project include important reference works in the social sciences and the arts (photo: courtesy of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities)

The Knowledge Transfer Project sponsored by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities is winding down after contributing 50 new titles – including important reference works such as The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy and E.H. Gombrich’s The Story of Art – to the store of knowledge translated from English, French and Italian into Arabic.More

Barjeel Art Foundation announces winners of inaugural poetry prize

Image: Abdelhadi-El-Gazzar, Two people in space outfits, one of the 20 artworks from which poets could choose

The Sharjah-based Barjeel Art Foundation has announced the winners and runners-up of its first ever poetry prize. The poets are both adults and teens, writing in Arabic and English, from around the world, including poets in Nigeria, Gaza, and Russia. This new prize, awarded for the first time in 2020, recognises poems written in English and Arabic that respond to one of 20 works of twentieth-century Arab art.More

Women writing in Arabic: 10 poets to read now

Female Arab poets (source: ArabLit.org)

There is very little Arabic poetry by women translated into English; for Women in Translation Month (#WiTMonth), we offer a brief look at ten poets.More

Minority off-screen, minority on-screen: The missing Muslim voice in "Indian Matchmaking"

Netflix hit series "Indian Matchmaking", starring Sima Taparia (photo: Netflix)

Despite a deluge of angry tweets and incensed opinion editorials calling Indian Matchmaking "outdated", "orientalist fantasy", "harmful", "cringeworthy", it is astonishing that few have managed to call the show out for its non-inclusiveness. Not one Muslim features in the line-up of this hit Netflix India series.More

UAE author Ahmed Mansoor made honorary member of PEN

UAE author Ahmed Mansoor (photo: Martin Ennals Foundation)

Germany's PEN has appointed blogger, poet and human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates since March 2017, as an honorary member and is demanding his unconditional and immediate release. Mansoor is one of the few independent voices to have publicly denounced human rights violations in the country.More

Johnny Farraj and Sami Abu Shumays: Inside Arab music

Cover of Johnny Farraj and Sami Abu Shumays' "Inside Arab music: Arabic maqam performance and theory in the 20th century"

"Inside Arabic Music" is a landmark piece of literature for countless students of Arabic music and anyone wishing to learn more about its unique vibe.More

Syrian Heritage Archive Project

Khusruwiyah Mosque in Aleppo (photo: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Michel Ecochard)

The Syrian Heritage Archive Project was launched in 2013 in response to Syria's enormous loss of material heritage following the outbreak of hostilities in 2011. Teams at the Museum of Islamic Art and the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin are working to digitise and archive photo collections and research data on Syria.More

Nabil Saleh takes a walk through Baghdad

View of Baghdad (photo: Nabil Saleh)

On a recent sunny afternoon, I took advantage of the partial lifting of the curfew imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus and decided to drive to central Baghdad, where I enjoy long walks through its aching streets.More

"Quarantine Kitchen": An Iranian artist documents people's routines during lockdown

From the Quarantine Kitchen series by Golrokh Nafisi (source: scenearabia.com)

Iranian artist Golrokh Nafisi has started a series of sketches, "Quarantine Kitchen", documenting the daily scenes and stories of Iranians' newfound time in the kitchen during quarantine.More

Dissident Iranian filmmaker wins top prize at Berlinale

The prestigious Golden and Silver Bears have been handed out at the Berlin Film Festival. Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof was awarded the Berlinale’s top prize, the Golden Bear, for his film 'There Is No Evil'.More

Female Arab directors: 11 films that you need to see

Still from Algerian director Narimani Mari's "Bloody Beans" (screengrab)

Western critics too often overlook the contribution of Arab women behind the camera. The following 11 titles – in no particular order – are an introduction to the vast pool of Arab women directors whose films are estimated to constitute half of all independent films produced in the region today.More

CNN's Amanpour interviews 2019 Man Booker International prizewinner Jokha Alharthi

"Celestial Bodies" is the first Arabic novel to win the Man Booker International Prize. Amanpour speaks with Omani author Jokha Alharthi and translator Marilyn Booth.More

Arabic literature to be published in translation in 2020

(photo: fotolia/silver-john)

In recent years, the number of Arabic books – both fiction and non-fiction – available in translation has been on the rise. The ArabLit team has put together a list of titles scheduled for publication in 2020.More

The rise and fall of Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2018 in New York City (photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images); Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser addresses the Egyptian people on 31 March 1968 (photo: STF/AFP/Getty Images)

Once the lingua franca of the Arab world, Egypt's dialect is in decline along with the country's cultural and political leadership, says The EconomistMore

Arab music down the decades

Iranian-Saudi acappella artist Alaa Wardi and Anghami have combined 42 of the most popular Arabic songs, dating back to the 1900s, in a video that gives a whole new meaning to music in the digital age.More

Mirna Bamieh delves into Palestinian cuisine

Mirna Bamieh, artist and cook, is fighting the appropriation and disappearance of Palestinian cuisine by reviving old food practices and forgotten dishes.More

Kurdish artist Shanaz Jamalʹs robe for religious co-existence

Iraqi Kurdish artist Shanaz Jamal, 40, embroiders a robe decorated with religious symbols of communities of Iraq's multi-ethnic north, in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region, on 27 March 2019 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/S. Hamed)

On the long white fabric of Shanaz Jamalʹs lovingly embroidered religious robe, the cross faces the crescent and the three-branched wing of the Zoroastrians to the nine-pointed star of the Bahais: with her embroidery, Jamal aims to reconcile the multi-ethnic north of Iraq recently ravaged by jihadistsMore

Harvard Law School's "Words of Justice" include Koran Sura

Included in Harvard Law School's Words of Justice exhibition, Verse 135 of Sura Al Nisa adorns the entrance hall: “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both".More

Arabic literature and the African other

Poster advertising the second Annual Arabic Novel Conference hosted by La Maison du Roman in Tunisia, its focus "Black-skin issues" (source: La Maison du Roman)

Racist, anti-black stereotypes persist in Arabic literature. It reveals a racial anxiety and othering of Africa among celebrated Arab authors, writes Mona Kareem.More

A photographic tour of Europe's mosques

Prayer hall of the Pasha Cammii, in Tetovo, Macedonia (photo: Ahmed Krausen)

Mosques have been part of the European landscape for centuries, as this photo essay by Ahmed Krausen demonstratesMore

Albukhary Gallery of the Islamic World: "A soaring miracle of art"

It goes without saying that The British Museum's 4-million piece collection of historical objects is one of the most unparalleled in the world. But for the last four years, the museum has been working hard on one project in particular: a brand new gallery dedicated exclusively to the Islamic world.More

Modern art and antiques on show at Lebanon cube museum

Lebanon's Nabu Museum (source: nabumuseum.com)

Named after the Mesopotamian god of wisdom, the Nabu Museum opened in late September to showcase the cultural wealth of an ancient region devastated by conflict.More

New publication: ArabLit Quarterly

Cover of the first edition of ArabLit Quarterly (published by ArabLit.org)

The ArabLit Quarterly officially made its debut on 15 November 2018. This latest publication is the work of the award-winning literary website ArabLit.org., founded and edited by regular Qantara reviewer Marcia Lynx Qualey.More

Archaeological discovery sheds light on Islam's Early Golden Age

DCT Abu Dhabi's archaeologists recently discovered the UAE's oldest mosque in Al Ain. The excavation of the 1000-year old mosque along with a network of falaj dating back to the Abbasid Caliphate, is expected to shed new light on UAE’s history at the dawn of Islam.More

A.B. Shawky's "Yommedine": a coming-of-age comedic road trip

A Coptic leper and his orphaned apprentice leave the confines of the leper colony for the first time and embark on a journey across Egypt to search for what is left of their families.More

Pre-Islamic "ruin poetry" has a message for today

Imruʹ al-Qais, an exiled poet-king, is credited as the originator of the "ruin poetry" form – one of his poems is said to hang in the Kaaba at Mecca (source: The British Library)

The ruins that inspired pre-Islamic poets hold new meaning for today’s Arabic writers, writes Paul CooperMore

William C. Chittick lectures on Ibn Arabi

"It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature" - Ibn Arabi, Futuhat al-MakkiyyaMore