Culture

Palestinian author Sahar Khalifeh (photo: private; source: Facebook)

Book review: Sahar Khalifeh's "Passage to the Plaza"

It's all a question of timing

When Sahar Khalifeh’s "Passage to the Plaza" appeared in English this year, thirty years after its initial publication, it seemed out of sync – too late and too overshadowed by the coronavirus. Yet perhaps this is just the right time: its locked-in world of curfews and domestic violence speak to 2020 as much as it did to 1990. By Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

Who is hidden beneath the burka? An appeal to the West Lecture by Sahar Khalifeh: "Caught between Western oppression and Islamic fundamentalist suppression" at the Centre for Palestine Studies, SOAS University of London Interview with Palestinian American writer Susan Abulhawa: ″Literature is a facet of society″

Book review: "Moon Brow" by Shahriar Mandanipour

The angels of war

Over ten years after the publication of "Censoring an Iranian Love Story", Shahriar Mandanipour's latest novel, "Moon Brow", is now available in German translation. This is a story about the loss of youth, the horrors of war and a land in the iron grip of dictatorship. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Book review: Nava Ebrahimi’s "Das Paradies meines Nachbarn": The scars of war Interview with the Iranian writer Abbas Maroufi: ″Self-censorship is the worst″Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the box

"Holy Quarter" installation and presentation by Monira al-Qadiri, 2019 in Munich's Haus der Kunst (photo: Maximilian Geuter/HdK)

Kuwaiti artist Monira al-Qadiri

In awe of the cosmos

With "Holy Quarter" by Monira al-Qadiri, Munich’s Haus der Kunst gallery is showing a work by one of the Gulf region’s most significant contemporary artists, in an exhibition that runs until the beginning of June. By Claudia MendeMore

Arts and culture in the Gulf region: The end of tolerance An Arab reading of the Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum: Tea with the bogeyman Interview with Malaysian artist Nadiah Bamadhaj: Freeing the body from conservatism

Helin Bolek, singer with the Turkish group "Grup Yorum", on hunger strike (photo: Fosem)

Death of Grup Yorum singer Helin Bolek

Against the death cult

Activist and musician Helin Bolek, member of the popular group Grup Yorum, died at the beginning of April after nearly nine months on hunger strike. She fell victim both to oppression at the hands of the Turkish state and a hostile cult of martyrdom present on the Turkish and Kurdish left, argues Tayfun GuttstadtMore

Leftist folk musicians go on trial in Turkey on 'trumped up' terror charges Shaking the status quo in Turkey: #Susamam rappers: "Turkish society is on our side"The Turkish music collective Bandista: "Every resistance movement has its own voice"

Extract from Riad Sattouf’s graphic novel "The Arab of the Future", Volume 4 (published by Macmillan USA)

Book review: Riad Sattouf’s graphic novel "The Arab of the Future"

Between worlds

Despite his main focus being on his childhood and youth, spent between East and West, Riad Sattouf also describes the current state of the Arab world in his much-lauded graphic novel series "The Arab of the Future". By Schayan RiazMore

Interview with graphic novelist Riad Sattouf: The eternal fascination with coming-of-age Lebanese comic artist Rawand Issa and "Not from Mars": Being illegal is unbearable Qantara dossier: "Arabic comics"

The German-language picture book market still struggles with dark-skinned protagonists. One way to boost diversity is to publish translations (photo (detail): Baobab Books)

Reflecting cultural diversity in publishing

German kidsʹ books need more dark-skinned protagonists

Children’s books shape the way we see the world as we grow up. In recent years calls have been growing for European publishers to reflect the increasing diversity. By Sonja MathesonMore

Interview with migration researcher Naika Foroutan: "We need a debate about ourselves"Germany's Literaturkfestival: Dissecting the toxic concept of Heimat Germany's new cabinet: Where's the ethnic diversity?

Tahrir Square's Mugamma Building (photo: MusikAnimal. Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license)

Book review: Mohamed Elshahed's "Cairo Since 1900"

In pursuit of other modernisms

Cairo is often described as an ancient city, full of wonders that are thousands of years old. Yet Mohamed Elshahed persuasively argues, in the newly released "Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide", that the city we see today was largely shaped by twentieth-century concerns. By Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

Urban renewal under Erdogan: Istanbul shantytown residents in limbo Urban development in Tunisia: Keeping the speculators out of Tunis Lebanon′s architectural heritage: A race against time

Founding members of The Moorish Science Temple of America (source: www.moorishsciencetempleofamerica.info)

Book review: Jacob S. Dormanʹs ʺThe Princess and the Prophetʺ

Birthing America's Nation of Islam

In the ʺPrincess and the Prophetʺ, Jacob S. Dorman traces the winding path and idiosyncratic heritage of Noble Drew Ali, founder of The Moorish Science Temple of America, and America's fascination with all things Oriental at the turn of the 20th century. By Richard MarcusMore

American Islam: Decades later, Malcolm X's legacy lives on African-American Muslims: The American values of Islam Non-fiction: ″Magic in Islam″ by Michael Muhammad Knight: Finding the hole in the fence

Algerian-French poet Habib Tengour (source: YouTube)

Book review: Habib Tengour's "Le Vieux de la Montagne"

True legends

The French-Algerian poet Habib Tengour delves deep into the Persian Middle Ages, describing a legendary alliance of men that creates a fateful bond between a religious terrorist, a slick power politician and a poetry-writing mathematician. By Volker KaminskiMore

The assassins of Persia and Syria: From the 11th century to September 11th?Qantara dossier: History of the Near and Middle East

Iranian author Nava Ebrahimi (photo: Katrin Ohlendorf)

Book review: Nava Ebrahimi’s "Das Paradies meines Nachbarn"

The scars of war

War, escape, exile and the question of one’s own identity are central themes in Nava Ebrahimi’s second novel "Das Paradies meines Nachbarn". Gerrit Wustmann read the bookMore

Young Iranian women writers in Germany: Patchwork identities Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the box Book review: Stefan Weidner's ʺ1001 Books. The Literatures of the Orientʺ: The Middle East – a rich vein of world literature

Haifaa Al-Mansourʹs ʺThe Perfect Candidateʺ

When the patriarchy has better things to do

Haifaa Al-Mansour’s new film follows on from her successful debut, ʺWajdaʺ. In ʺThe Perfect Candidateʺ, the talented Saudi filmmaker again addresses the issue of equality. It’s her best work to date, says Schayan RiazMore

The Saudi Arabian film ''Wadjda'': A children's story in a grown-up world Berlinale 2016: Interview with Saudi director Mahmoud Sabbagh: ″Testing the water... to make a change"Saudi cinema launch ends decades-old ban, public screenings start today

Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof (photo: DW)

Interview with the Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof

"Devils donʹt exist"

Mohammad Rasoulof's "There Is No Evil" won the main prize at the Berlinale. Maryam Mirza talked to the director, who is currently forbidden from leaving Iran, about his filmMore

Winner of the Berlinale 2020: "Sheytan Vojud Nadarad": There is no evil, unless it's perpetrated Mohammed Rasoulof's ''Manuscripts don't burn'': Iranian agents as killers Berlinale 2019: "Born in Evin": Confronting a very personal trauma

"Masaa"

A fence turns to water

On their fourth CD "Irade" (willpower), Masaa has left its piano sound behind, yet continues with its new guitarist to pursue a path that bridges jazz improvisation and Arabic sounds. By Stefan FranzenMore

Masaa official website The Lebanese singer Tania Saleh: Beirut's window on Rio Rabih Abou-Khalilʹs "The Flood and the Fate of the Fish": Crisp chamber music

Director Karim Ainouz with the film's female protagonist Nardjes Asli (source: Berlinale 2020)

International Women’s Day

Ainouz' "Nardjes A." – hope as a form of resistance

Focussing on the Algerian protest movement, "Nardjes A." by Karim Ainouz, is about the universal power of hope to change the social and political status quo in the Maghreb country. By Rene WildangelMore

Berlinale 2018: ″Central Airport THF″ by Karim Ainouz: Lives lived in waiting First anniversary of the Hirak movement: The jury's still out on Algeria Arab Spring 2.0: The Middle East's fearless protesters

Still featuring Mohammad Seddighimehr and Baran Rasoulof; Mohammad Rasoulof's "Sheytan vojud nadarad" - There is no evil (source: Berlinale)

Winner of the Berlinale 2020: "Sheytan Vojud Nadarad"

There is no evil, unless it's perpetrated

Mohammad Rasoulof’s film "Sheytan Vojud Nadarad" (There is No Evil) won the Berlinale, perpetuating the robust presence of Iranian cinema at the festival during the post-Kosslick era. The Golden Bear went to a powerful episodic film addressing the issue of difficult decisions and their consequences. In Iran, and everywhere else. By Rene WildangelMore

Mohammed Rasoulof's ''Manuscripts don't burn'': Iranian agents as killers Berlinale 2019: "Born in Evin": Confronting a very personal trauma Film review: Jafar Panahi's "Three Faces": Road movie against patriarchy

British-Sudanese author Leila Aboulela (photo: picture-alliance/EdinburghEliteMedia/Ger Harley)

Book review: Leila Aboulela's "Bird Summons"

The arc of self-discovery

Interweaving the real with the fantastical, Leila Aboulela's latest book is a lovingly drawn portrait of evolving friendships. Practically co-dependent at the outset, three women embark on a joint pilgrimage, discovering not only that they like each other, but that they also like themselves. Richard Marcus read the bookMore

Book review: "The Kindness of Enemies" by Leila Aboulela: Crises of identity and loyalty from Scotland to the Caucasus Arabic Europe: The writers fated to "represent"Oriental cliches in literary publishing: A Dalek in a burka

Kurdish director Selim Yildiz (photo: Umay Isik)

Interview with Kurdish director Selim Yildiz

When one dies, the next goes up into the mountains

In his film “Dialogue“, Selim Yildiz addresses a social taboo which is a reality for many Kurds in Turkey: young men suddenly disappear and joined armed groups in the mountains. Interview by Semiran KayaMore

Kurdish film-maker Ali Kemal Cinar: The power of tenacity Hiner Saleem's "Dol": Artistic freedom in Iraqi Kurdistan James Joyce′ "Ulysses" in Kurdish: Across snotgrean seas

Sama standing on ruins in Aleppo in 2016. She holds a placard which says "This is Aleppo. What's justice?" (source: "For Sama"/Waad al-Kateab)

Documentary film: "For Sama"

The girl from a country in ruins

"For Sama", the film by Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts that was crowned best European documentary at the last European Film Awards, gives us a very personal view of the war in Syria and the suffering of the civilian population. By Schayan RiazMore

At the Oscars, 'The Cave' aims to provide hope to Syria Syria’s White Helmets: Stigmatising saviours Fighting for democracy and a free Syria: "Ideas cannot be killed with weapons" – remembering Raed Fares

Fajrina Razak references the Kaaba: her cube of batik cloth was surrounded by a neon circle, thereby representing the artist's spiritual quest. "This was simply me trying to find my inner self, my individuality. The batik alludes to my Javanese ancestry" (photo: Naima Morelli)

2020 Singapore Art Week

Of spirituality in a contemporary age

How to talk about spiritual matters in a highly secularised, hyper-pragmatic society? This was the question artists exhibiting at the Stamford Art Centre in Singapore grappled with during the 2020 Singapore Art Week. By Naima MorelliMore

Interview with Malaysian artist Nadiah Bamadhaj: Freeing the body from conservatism 4th Qalandiya International art exhibition: Showing for Palestinian solidarity Exhibition: Political art and resistance in Turkey: The art of remembering

Iranian bookshop owner Bijan Khalili from Los Angeles (photo: DW/Gero Schliess)

Contemporary Iranian literature

Reading outside the box

Mullahs, dictatorship, nuclear conflict – Iran could be reduced to these keywords if one were to rely only on the articles in the daily press. But to really understand a country better, you have to study its literature. And Iranian literature is just as diverse as the country itself. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Iran′s image in the West: Sheer incredulity Book review: Fariba Vafi′s "Der Traum von Tibet": Women suffering in silence Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltanʹs "Der standhafte Papagei": History of a revolution

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

"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

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

Jordanian poet Amjad Nasser confronts his own mortality

Jordanian poet Amjad Nasser, 1955-2019 (source: www.poetrytranslation.org)

In May last year, Jordanian poet, journalist, and novelist Amjad Nasser published a small cycle of poems online about coming to terms with the end of his life after his brain tumors had resisted treatment. He died in October.More

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