Culture

Egyptian author Youssef Rakha

"The Cairo I've known is being eroded"

Youssef Rakha revisits Egypt's 2011 uprising and its aftermath in "The Dissenters", the author's first novel written in English. The Arab Spring failed, he argues in this interview, because it was a neoliberal movement with no compelling vision for the future.
By Tugrul Mende
"Live in the Khaleej!" by Boom.Diwan

A love letter to an ancient tradition

Boom.Diwan's album with Arturo O'Farrill fuses Kuwaiti pearl diving music with jazz, shedding light on the Gulf region's complex musical and social history.
By Richard Marcus
Cairo's Jewish Quarter

The neighbourhood that shaped a nation

In his new book, Egyptian author Ahmed Zakaria Zaki explores the 19th-century history of Cairo's Jewish Quarter, tracing the social transformations within the city's Jewish community and its reaction to the emergent Zionist movement.
By Mohamed Gamal
New anthology "Imprisoning a Revolution"

Egypt's political prisoners speak

A new anthology gathers the words, drawings and memories of Egyptian prisoners—some well-known, many anonymous—who document life inside the carceral state.
By Marcia Lynx Qualey
"Khartoum" filmmakers

"We have a responsibility to preserve Sudanese history"

"Khartoum" blends the work of four emerging Sudanese filmmakers. Its production was derailed by the outbreak of war in April 2023. Now displaced in Nairobi, directors Brahim Snoopy and Rawia Alhag explain why they were determined to finish the film.
By Schayan Riaz
Jan Dost on writing in Arabic and Kurdish

"Like being caught between two magnets"

"Safe Corridor" is Jan Dost's first novel translated into English. The prolific Syrian writer explores the hardening impact of war on children and discusses the key differences between writing in Kurdish and Arabic.
By Marcia Lynx Qualey
"Fighting the Flow" by Algerian author Saïd Khatibi

The weight of colonial memory

Saïd Khatibi's "Fighting the Flow" explores French colonialism's violent legacy in Algerian society after the War of Liberation. The novel poses the question: can individuals liberate themselves from their past?
By Amany Alsiefy
TV series "Muawiya"

Historical Ramadan drama fuels controversy

The Saudi-produced television series “Muawiya” emerged as a talking point during Ramadan, sparking debate throughout the Middle East. Both Iran and Iraq have banned the show which charts the life of one of the most controversial figures in Islamic history.
By Rehab Eliawa
Stefan Weidner on pre-Islamic poetry

"Poetry in its true fullness"

Stefan Weidner has gathered pre-Islamic poems and translated them into German. His new book "The Arabic Divan" revisits these centuries-old works and explores how their verses serve as a vibrant predecessor to today's social media.
By Gerrit Wustmann
New books on Gaza

Turning point, failure, moral abdication

Four well-known authors address the global consequences of Gaza's destruction and Western support for Israel, or as one frames it: the "world after Gaza". Charlotte Wiedemann takes a look.
By Charlotte Wiedemann
New album "Ajdad" by Amir Amiri Ensemble

Echoes of a shared past

On the album "Ajdad", Montreal-based Iranian composer and santur master Amir Amiri seeks to reunite Arabic and Persian musical traditions, historically divided by repression and conflict.
By Richard Marcus
Gaza documentary "Yalla Parkour"

It all started with a smile

The documentary "Yalla Parkour", which held its European premiere at the Berlinale, is a tribute to Gaza before 7 October—and an urgent appeal to support the survivors of the war.
By René Wildangel