Mideast Culture

Theatre, Reoriented: Bay Area Golden Thread’s Hallmark Event Brings the Middle East Center Stage

“The Middle East is no longer some distant land where other people deal with foreign issues. The Middle East is now here, not as a thread but as an asset. A new way of looking at who we are and how our stories help us become better human beings.”

~ Torange Yeghiazarian, Founder and Artistic Director, Golden Thread Productions

From Bay Bridge to Arab Culture: Oakland Event Invites Locals to Explore Islam Through Engaging the Arts

The building had a dry, quiet exterior. Stepping inside, past this humble wall built of brick, I found myself in a sanctuary of verdant colors and whirling figurines of joyous celebrations. Beneath the copper silhouettes of the abstract mystical figures in embrace sat six artists. We faced the inside of the resplendent wall now, artwork scaling up to the ceiling, inside Salma Arastu’s studio.

The Turban-ater: Egyptian-American Blogger Wears Her Hijab With a Twist.

She strikes you as the Arab reincarnation of Elizabeth Taylor with her well-defined, thick eyebrows, dazzling smile and a distinct fondness for turbans. Meet Winnie Detwa, an Egyptian-American lifestyle blogger with a penchant for vintage items and maxi skirts. Detwa spoke with our style writer, Alnas Zia, about her unbridled take on fashion and life in general.

Fashion Line “Mohajababes” Brings Kaftan Couture to the Masses

With the rise of Middle Eastern-inspired fashion and the blend of “modest” dressing with high fashion, kaftans are no longer reserved for covering up at the beach.

International designers such as Camilla Frank, Emilio Pucci and Missoni have already refashioned the kaftan as couture according to Western silhouettes and textures; but, now young Americans of Middle Eastern heritage are reviving the kaftan to cater to the growing modest Muslim fashion market by using traditional embroideries and less revealing cuts.

Searching For Peace, An Iranian-American Filmmaker Finds His Voice

“There we were, climbing on top of this 30 foot concrete wall: right leg facing Israel, left leg dangling over Palestine–security cameras whirring away.” How did a couple of American kids end up on the fault line of the Middle-East’s defining conflict? “Just one of those ‘one-thing-led to-another’ sort of deals,” says Sohrab Pirayesh, 30, with a smirk and a few scars on his face.