Arabic language
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Book review: Amjad Nasser's "Land of No Rain"
A milestone of modern Arabic literature
Jordanian author Amjad Nasser, who died in 2019, presents an impressive tale of homelands, life in exile and the hardships of returning home. His profound eloquence and use of experimental literary forms make “Land of No Rain” a landmark publication in modern Arabic literature, writes Martina Sabra in her review for Qantara
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Beirut publisher Nadine Touma
Dar Onboz' cases full of exquisite Arabic picture books
If she just played with the image of the victim, it would make things a lot easier for her, but that’s not what she’s going for: the Lebanese children’s book publisher Nadine Touma and her colourful portfolio. Lena Bopp paid her a visit.
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Culture and innovation in the Arab world
Where are the new Arab icons?
As the photo of Fairouz talking to French President Emmanuel Macron spread around the world, many asked if Arabs today had any contemporary stars of Fairouz's standing. In this essay for Qantara.de, Khaled Al-Khamissi answers this question and asks whether there is a place for up-and-coming stars in a world that is so hostile to creativity and originality
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Showcasing the writing of Iraqi women
Close to the wounds, but even closer to hope
The second volume of “Mit den Augen von Inana” (Through the Eyes of Inanna) is an impressive collection of purely female perspectives on modern Iraq, from the Saddam era through to the contemporary Tahrir Revolution. Christopher Resch spoke to three of the authors
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Lebanese author Elias Khoury in interview
Beirut's ruling class – "The stupidest mafia there is"
Fifty percent of Lebanese already live below the poverty line – and there is no end in sight. In interview with Lena Bopp, writer Elias Khoury talks about the crisis and about the state of culture in his home country
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Obituary: Tunisian author Albert Memmi
Adieu, Albert!
Albert Memmi, Tunisian author and pioneer of a sociology of de-colonisation, died on 22 May 2020 in Paris. He was nearly 100 years old. He was the last of a generation of Maghreb novelists writing in French. A personal obituary by Regina Keil-Sagawe
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Interview with James Morris
Ibn Arabi's vision for a fully human global civilisation
Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) is one of the most influential Arab philosophers and mystics. James Morris, Professor of Islamic Theology at Boston College, explains why his writings are still popular and why, today, they give the most productive answer to fundamentalist approaches in Islam. Interview by Claudia Mende
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Processing child trauma in the Middle East
Sesame Street's new trio of refugee puppets
Basma, Jad and Ma'zooza are about to join the Sesame Street family. The trio of new Arabic-speaking characters will help teach children in the Middle East to read and write, as well as process the trauma of displacement. Diana Hodali reports
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Interview with the Moroccan thinker Hassan Aourid
Democracy cannot be stopped
Hassan Aourid is one of the most important political and intellectual figures in Morocco. In interview with Ismail Azzam for Qantara, Aourid outlines his vision of the decline of political Islam and the future of democracy and human rights in the Maghreb
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Book review: Ismail Fahd Ismail’s "The Old Woman and the River"
Hemingway, eat your heart out!
Part desert-island novel, part war story, part ‘Don Quixote’ and part folktale, the last novel by Kuwaiti writer Ismail Fahd Ismail (1940-2018) brings us the Iran-Iraq war through the eyes of a wise old fool. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
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Book review: Raja Alem's "Sarab"
Gender under siege in Mecca
On 20 November 1979, Islamic militants took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. Hundreds were killed in the ensuing two-week siege. This pivotal event in modern Islamic history changed Saudi Arabia. It provides the backdrop for Raja Alem's new novel "Sarab", an extraordinary story of love, faith, violence and gender. By Marcia Lynx Qualey
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Previously unpublished work
Naguib Mahfouz' "The Quarter"
Last year, Egyptian critic Mohammed Shoair made an unusual and thrilling announcement: the discovery of never-before-seen stories by Egyptʹs only Nobel laureate for literature, Naguib Mahfouz. Filed in a cardboard box in the possession of Mahfouzʹs daughter, this slender trove of texts has now yielded "The Quarter". By Marcia Lynx Qualey