Arts and Culture in the Mideast

On Representation: Dr. Hamid Dabashi on the Exiled Intellectual as Cultural Artist

Hamid Dabashi is a formidable figure. He has carved out a unique place for himself as a writer, both in the world of cultural commentary and academia through his online presence as a columnist for Al Jazeera and Al Ahram Weekly and as the Hagop Kervorkian Professor of Comparative Literature and Iranian Studies at Columbia University. Dabashi’s are some of the most salient and dynamic arguments available about the current state of affairs in the Arab world and in Iran. His critical eye has led many to view him as the bearer of Edward Said’s life-long endeavor to shift the discussion about the peoples and societies of the Middle East away from the stagnant views of Orientalists like Bernard Lewis - who often times either fetishize or demonize Middle Eastern societies- and towards the evolving realities and struggles for freedom, justice and dignity within these societies. In his career, which spans decades of academic work, he has been both prolific and audacious. It’s not often a professor of comparative literature is so widely read outside of his own field. And Dabashi, it seems, has his fingers in everything that is relevant in the world of social change, art, cinema, and literature in both the Arabic and Farsi speaking worlds.

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.

Pomegranates and Roses: A Persian Cookbook Review

I was a bit nervous when I was asked to write a review of Ariana Bundy’s cookbook, Pomegranates and Roses. After all, I figured, what could a person whose somehow managed to survive for nearly 35 years without really learning how to cook have to say about another person’s cookbook? A lot actually -- it turns out that Pomegranates and Roses is not just a cookbook, it’s a glimpse into the intimate memoirs of a renowned chef who was trained in the finest French culinary schools. This was a book that would take me on a delicious journey where I would unlock my own “food memories.”

Ariana writes that it “was not until I began writing this book that I felt as though I was finally home.” Her book is a wonderful tapestry, weaving her family’s recipes from Iran with colorful tales of her childhood and passion for cooking.

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.

“Reel” Narratives of an Otherwise-Politicized Story: A Review of the 16th Annual Arab Film Festival in San Francisco

For 16 years, the Arab Film Festival (AFF) has sought to illuminate the beauty, complexity and diversity of the Arab world by featuring films from distinguished as well as emerging filmmakers. This year’s event was no exception—the festival screened 40 films from 27 countries and in the process, accomplished its mission of providing a more balanced, multidimensional representation of the Arab people and their culture—an essential anecdote to countering the negative stereotypes so prevalent in the American media.

Zabana!

In the opening scenes of Gillo Pontecorvo’s seminal 60s film, The Battle of Algiers, a man with an expressionless look on his face is escorted to the guillotine by two French guards. Although reticent at first, he soon breaks his silence – much to the chagrin of his escorts – loudly chanting Allaho Akbar! (God is great) and Thanmirt e’Jazayer! (long live Algeria), stirring his comrades to raise their voices and join in. ‘Shut up! There he is!’ exclaims Ali La Pointe, the film’s ill-starred hero, as he and his fellow inmates rush to a hole in the wall to catch a fleeting glimpse of the mysterious man’s final moments. Swiftly and unceremoniously, the man is placed beneath the merciless blade of the macabre instrument, which – in a bleak and chilling instant – comes crashing down.

Encounters With Islam: An Interview with Author Malise Ruthven

Malise Ruthven is an internationally recognized scholar on Islam and the Middle East. Born in Dublin in 1942, Ruthven was educated at Cambridge University (M.A., English Literature and Ph.D., Social and Political Sciences). He is a former scriptwriter with the BBC Arabic and World Services. Ruthven has taught Islamic Studies, cultural studies and comparative religion at the University of Aberdeen, Dartmouth College, the University of California, San Diego and other colleges.

Ruthven is the author of more than a dozen books, such as Islam in the World (Oxford, 1984); A Fury for God: The Islamist Attack on America (Granta, 2002); Islam: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 1997), and A Satanic Affair: Salman Rushdie and the Wrath of Islam (Chatto and Windus, 1989).