Mideast Culture

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.

Who’s Afraid of Abulkasem? Language Meets Race and Identity in Award-Winning Play INVASION!

“A man who has a language consequently possesses the world

expressed and implied by that language.”

~ Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks

When you hear the name, Abulkasem, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Think about it for a minute without any politically-correct editing.

I Heart Hamas: A Conversation with Palestinian-American Actress Jennifer Jajeh

Being a single woman in America is hard enough at times. But being a single Christian Palestinian-American visiting Ramallah at the start of the Second Intifada? With the ever-present backdrop of global politics and Israeli-Palestinian conflict, you’ve got grounds for a serious tragicomedy.