The afikra Podcast: Recent Episodes
afikra
The afikra | عفكرة Podcast features conversations and explorations about the histories and cultures of the Arab world.
afikra is a global educational and content platform aimed at promoting intellectual curiosity and understanding about the histories & cultures of the Arab world.
Most episodes are recorded over zoom during our live events. Learn more about joining our community at http://afikra.com Follow us on IG @afikra_
The modern experience of China is often viewed through a western lens, but its complex history and relationship with the Arab world reveal a much deeper story. Dr. Mohammed Alsudairi challenges the dominant narrative of a growing security footprint and intense US-China competition over the Middle East. Instead, the conversation explores the evolving diplomatic recognition, transactional dynamics, and economic connections that define Sino-Middle Eastern relations. This discussion unpacks why the Chinese experience is often neglected in the Arab intellectual tradition and how the modalities of empire are shifting in the 21st century.
00:00 Introduction
04:33 Escaping the Post 9/11 Paradigm Shift
07:23 Alternative Journeys & Transformative Intellectual Paths
14:22 Dismantling Dominant Narratives on Regional Footprints
17:13 Contextualizing China's Strategic Priorities
26:41 Historical Dimensions & Evolving Diplomatic Ties
34:34 Financial Synergy, Alternatives & Global concessions
37:48 Deconstructing Frameworks & the Myth of the Silk Road
44:40 Projecting Arab Anxieties onto a Cultural Other
52:52 Technological Realities & the Changing Modalities of Power
Mohammed Alsudairi is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations of the Arabic Speaking World at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University.
Senior Nonresident Fellow, King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies
He holds a PhD in Comparative Politics from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), an MA in International Relations and International History from the London School of Economics and Peking University, and a BSc in International Politics from Georgetown University. Prior to his appointment at CAIS, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences at HKU, working on a project examining the intersections between religion and infrastructure in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Since 2015, he oversaw the development of the Asian Studies Program at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In 2022, he was awarded a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to work on his upcoming book manuscript. He is also a Senior Nonresident Fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
Connect with Mohammed Alsudairi 👉 https://cais.cass.anu.edu.au/people/dr-mohammed-alsudairi
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Global water systems are facing an unprecedented challenge as climate change, resource depletion, and globalization place staggering pressure on our natural resources. Dr. Raha Hakimdavar, Senior Advisor to the Deans of Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) and the Earth Commons & Founder & CEO - Zyon Space, unpacks the critical intersections of hydrology, space science, and environmental security. From analyzing how agricultural water waste and food imports impact the Arab world to detailing the vulnerabilities of desalination infrastructure, she offers a profound look at the cascading threats facing urban centers. By leveraging advanced satellite data collected from space, she reveals how tracking global groundwater levels can transform these invisible vulnerabilities into vital opportunities for international cooperation and policy reform.
00:00 Introduction
04:36 Energy, Oceans & the Cost of Innovation
06:22 Supermarket Aisles & Disconnected Systems
10:09 A Fifty-Year View from the Cosmos
14:09 Urban Budgets & Changing Taps
26:02 The Changing Anatomy of Regional Diets
30:47 Invisible Pipelines & Cascading Points
34:58 Distorting the Baseline of National Security
36:14 The Enabling Elements of Uprisings
38:06 A Landscape of Treaties
Dr. Raha Hakimdavar is a hydrologist, science policy expert, and space science leader with a proven record of innovation across government, academia, and industry. She is currently a Research Professor at the Earth Commons and Senior Advisor to the Deans at Georgetown University in Qatar and the Earth Commons, leading strategy and programs focused on environmental security, climate action, and sustainability research and education. She has active research projects in Greece (water scarcity), the Middle East (water and food security), and Indonesia (flood risk and nature based solutions), with a special focus on small islands. Dr. Hakimdavar has served as a technical consultant for UN Environment, the World Bank, and USAID on disaster risk reduction, water, and forestry projects for over a decade. Dr. Hakimdavar is also the Founder and CEO of Zyon Space, which supports emerging space agencies and organizations in the Global South in leveraging Earth observation technologies for climate and environmental resilience.
Connect with Raha Hakimdavar 👉 https://www.instagram.com/rahazhina/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Global challenges require useful intelligence rather than singular futures driven by tech hype. Executive Director Hala Hanna joins the podcast to share how MIT Solve acts as a marketplace for social impact, connecting early-stage ventures with critical funding and partners. This conversation highlights inspiring innovators and solvers who are transforming constrained design prompts into sustainable, sovereign systems across healthcare and education. Empowering communities through true open innovation proves that proximity to the problem is the ultimate tool for scalable, long-term change.
00:00 Introduction
04:36 The Flawed Metric of Monopolized Tech
07:42 Aligning Targets with Global Realities
10:08 The Select Few and the Select Best Seat
16:13 The False Solace of Parallel Systems
27:31 Reclaiming Data Ownership from Extractors
29:22 Transforming Government into a Platform
36:13 A Grumpy Contrast to Blind Optimism
25:22 Cultivating Agency Through Local Frugality
50:02 Leveraging Proximity as an Unfair Advantage
Hala Hanna is the Executive Director of MIT Solve, an MIT initiative that finds and scales tech-based solutions to global challenges. Hala's global career is about advancing equity and sustainability for all. She grew up in Lebanon, where conditions of conflict and constraint shaped her understanding of resilience as a design principle. She is a member of the Fast Company Impact Council and a contributor to the World Economic Forum. Her recent writing includes 'AI Has a Single Story Problem' (Fast Company, June 2026) and 'When Resilience Creates Innovation: Lessons for Entrepreneurs' (Entrepreneur MENA, April 2025). Previously she served as Managing Director of MIT Solve.
Connect with Hala Hanna 👉 https://solve.mit.edu
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Connect directly with Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://instagram.com/mikey_mu
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
FOLLOW & RATE THE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The pervasive exhaustion resulting from witnessing modern global atrocities often creates a paralyzing "hopeRot," yet the cultivation of an radical "HopeCore" remains an essential engine for systemic transformation. Writer and curator, Shumon Basar, analyzes the rewiring of the global psyche through the rise of Gulf Futurism and the eventual arrival of a post-Western reality. His critique centers on the provincialization of the West, a phenomenon where a minority population disproportionately dictates universal narratives and conceptual models. The discussion further traverses the evolution of Dubai from a startup city to a global urban paradigm, alongside a sobering exploration of the war on amnesia", as Basar describes it, through alternative institutions and magical historical thinking. Ultimately, the conversation confronts the unmasking of power and the abandonment of institutional shame, reinforcing the vital necessity of counter-histories in an increasingly ahistorical digital age.
00:00 Introduction
04:36 The Rewiring of the Global Psyche
07:30 Spectral Enemies and the Geography of Time
10:08 Provincializing the West and Cognitive Mapping
16:13 The Foundational Myths of Unification
27:31 The Paradox of HopeRot and HopeCore
34:39 Absolute Impunity and the Narrative Battle
44:02 The Reckoning of Liberal Fascism
53:48 Alternative Institutions and the War on Amnesia
01:00:10 Magical Historical Thinking in the Extreme Present
Shumon Basar is a British-Bangladeshi writer, editor, and curator born in 1974. He attended Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University (1993–1996) and studied at the AA School, London (1998–2000). In 2005 he joined Goldsmiths, University of London's doctoral program in Visual Cultures. He is co-author with Douglas Coupland and Hans Ulrich Obrist of The Age of Earthquakes: A Guide to the Extreme Present (Penguin, 2015) and The Extreme Self: Age of You (Walther & Franz König, 2021), and co-curated the large-scale exhibition Age of You at MOCA Toronto and Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai. Since 2010, Basar has been Commissioner of the Global Art Forum, Art Dubai's annual transdisciplinary summit. He became a founding member of Fondazione Prada's Thought Council in 2015. He is Adjunct Curator at Art Jameel and holds editorial and advisory positions at Tank, Bidoun, 032c, and Flash Art. He has lived in Dubai, Vancouver, Berlin, Beirut, and Istanbul.
Connect with Shumon Basar 👉 https://www.instagram.com/shumonbasar/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The scientific achievements of the medieval Islamic world provided the forgotten foundations for much of the modern world's mathematics and physics. Dr. Huseyin Sen, historical map specialist at The Heritage Library, Qatar National Library, explores the critical necessity of reclaiming this heritage to combat cultural prejudice and build self-esteem in new generations. This discussion highlights the monumental contributions of scholars like Al-Khwarizmi and Ibn al-Haytham, whose work on algebra and optics remains foundational to global scientific knowledge. The conversation reveals the urgent need for digitizing, translating, and integrating these historical texts into modern education to bridge the gap between past innovations and current understanding. From the intricate chemistry of medieval perfumery to the advanced engineering behind historical maps, these insights showcase a sophisticated intellectual tradition that once spanned the globe.
00:00 Introduction
01:10 The Legacy of Arabic Sciences
01:48 Modern Efforts in Manuscript Digitization
03:26 The Multidisciplinary Skills of a Science Historian
05:54 Reconnecting with a Forgotten Heritage
08:37 Integrating History into Modern Science Education
10:50 Cultural Role Models and Global Contributions
15:25 Reconstructing Original Texts from Manuscripts
19:40 The Sophisticated Chemistry of Medieval Perfumery
27:24 Tracing the Evolution of Personal Care Products
34:30 Algebraic Roots and Algorithmic Foundations
35:44 Paradigm Shifts in the Science of Optics
42:04 Cartographic Rarities and Engineering Marvels
Dr. Huseyin Sen is an aerospace engineer and a historian of science, specializing in the history of medieval Arabic science & technology. His engineering background has enabled him to engage with the history of science and technology in a profound way (numerical and hands-on) and at the same time has allowed him to build bridges between the education of history of science on one hand and education of science on the other. He is particularly interested in combining history of science with STEM/STEAM education, and in introducing and engaging students with technologies of the future such as 3D printing via history of science like by developing working replicas of ancient inventions by 3d printing.
الدكتور حسين شِن هو مهندس طيران ومؤرخ علمي متخصص في تاريخ العلوم والتكنولوجيا العربية في العصور الوسطى. وقد مكنته خلفيته الهندسية من التعمق أكثر في تاريخ العلوم والتكنولوجيا، كما أتاحت له الربط بين تعليم تاريخ العلوم من جهة وتعليم العلوم من جهة أخرى. يركز د. شِن على الدمج بين تاريخ العلوم وتعليم العلوم والتكنولوجيا والهندسة والرياضيات، مع تعريف الطلاب بتقنيات المستقبل، مثل الطباعة ثلاثية الأبعاد، من خلال تاريخ العلوم، وذلك عبر تطوير نسخ مطابقة من الاختراعات القديمة باستخدام الطباعة ثلاثية الأبعاد. من أحدث مشاريعه لمكتبة الرئاسة التركية معرض بعنوان "تاريخ العلوم الإسلامية في 100 قطعة"، والذي يضم 100 قطعة، منها 87 نسخة طبق الأصل و13 مخطوطة علمية أصلية من العصور الوسطى. افتتح المعرض في أبريل 2021، وهو مستمر كمعرض متنقل منذ ذلك الحين. يتلقى د. شِن طلبات منتظمة لتحليل ووصف وتقييم الأدوات والمخطوطات العلمية العربية/الإسلامية من العصور الوسطى
Connect with Professor Hüseyin Şen 👉 https://instagram.com/takiyuddinrasid
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Language serves as the vital intersection of cultural identity and technological innovation, yet the rapid rise of AI reveals a significant representation gap for the nearly many million ways the Arab world communicates. Professor Nizar Habash, a computer science professor and director of the CAMEL Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, explores the historical anxieties surrounding technological shifts, drawing a direct parallel between the 150-year delay of the Arabic printing press and contemporary concerns regarding data bias in large language models. The conversation navigates the inherent challenges of modeling a language characterized by immense dialectal variety and non-standardized orthography, shifting the focus from perceived linguistic complexity to the practical need for bespoke, regional data sets. As the field transitions from rigid, rule-based systems to sophisticated neural models capable of abstract meaning through embeddings, the dialogue underscores the urgency of building localized, open-source tools like JAIS and FAMAR to ensure the Arab world's history and diverse voices are accurately represented in the digital age.
00:00 Introduction
02:15 How AI Models Understand Diverse Arabic Dialects
05:48 Debunking Myths About Arabic’s Linguistic Complexity
08:21 The Historical Construction of Modern Standard Arabic
11:00 Impact of Technology on Arabic Script and Printing
15:19 The Journey into Computational Linguistics
17:35 The Evolution of Machine Translation and LLMs
23:51 Explaining Hallucinations in Statistical Language Models
31:14 Cultural Representation and Bias in Image Generation
38:13 Dialect Support and Limitations in Translation Tools
50:02 Camel Lab's Mission for Open-Source Arabic NLP
01:03:42 Descriptive vs. Prescriptive Views of Arabic
Nizar Habash is a Professor of Computer Science at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), and the director of the Computational Approaches to Modeling Language (CAMeL) Lab. Professor Habash specializes in natural language processing and computational linguistics. He received his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Maryland College Park in 2003. He has two bachelors degrees, one in Computer Engineering and one in Linguistics and Languages from Old Dominion University. His research includes extensive work on machine translation, morphological analysis, and computational modeling of Arabic and its dialects. Professor Habash has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on over 25 research grants. And he has over 250 publications including a book entitled "Introduction to Arabic Natural Language Processing". Professor Habash is one of the recipients of the King Salman Academy for Arabic Language Award (2022); and he is the recipient of the Antonio Zampolli Prize (2024). His website is www.nizarhabash.com.
Connect with Nizar Habash 👉 https://www.instagram.com/nizarhabash/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Imperialism was a masterclass in maintaining the fiction of autonomy while quietly acquiring the assets of an empire. Professor James Onley, chair of Gulf and Arab Studies at the American University of Sharjah, dissects the sophisticated loopholes used by colonial powers to exert influence without the liabilities of formal control. This conversation highlights the deep-seated socioeconomic connections between India and the Gulf, a relationship far older than the modern state system. Dr. Onley provides a nuanced look at the collaborative nature of empire on the cheap, where local elites often navigated British protection to secure their own regional interests. From the arrival of Arab nationalism to the digital preservation of over two million archival pages in the Qatar Digital Library, this dialogue reveals the shifting layers of identity and power that have shaped the Arabian Peninsula.
0:00 Introduction
5:11 Distinctive Traits of British Presence in the Gulf
9:05 Millennia of Deep-seated Indo-Gulf Ties
13:17 Divergent Theories on Imperial Motivations
15:40 Indigenous Collaboration and the Native Agent Network
18:49 Transitioning from Formal Control to Security Guarantees
19:57 The Enduring Economic Gravity of India
23:01 Navigating the Administrative Hierarchies of Empire
24:45 Legal Fictions and the Optics ofinfluence
28:04 Shared sovereignty and empire on the Cheap
32:55 Friction and Resistance Across the Regional Map
36:40 Shifting Layers of Identity Before Nationalism
41:40 Reorienting from the Indian Ocean to the Arab World
54:36 Digital Preservation and the Democratizing of Archives
James Onley is the Ahmed Seddiqi Chair in Gulf & Arab Studies and Professor of History. He specializes in the history and heritage of the Gulf region, the Gulf's historical connections with South Asia, archives and archival digitization, and digital humanities. He is Founding Editor of the Journal of Arabian Studies (est. 2011). Before joining AUS, he was Director of Historical Research at Qatar National Library, responsible for digitizing historical records for the Qatar Digital Library (www.QDL.qa), and Director of the Centre for Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter.
Connect with James Onley 👉 https://instagram.com/@james_onley
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Theatrical stages often mirror the intricate evolution of the societies that build them. Professor Carmen Gitre explores the burgeoning performance culture of Cairo between 1867 and 1930. This era witnessed a shift from street storytelling and shadow plays to formal theater houses designed for an emerging class of Western-educated intellectuals. The discussion traverses the grand spectacle of the Suez Canal’s opening to the subversive nationalist songs of performers like Mounira al-Mahdiyya. Through this historical lens, the stage appears as a critical site for negotiating modernity, colonial influence, and Egyptian identity.
00:00 Introduction
01:28 The Evolution of Performance
03:56 Commissioning an Operatic Staple for a Global Stage
07:35 Street Storytelling & the Shadows of Earlier Traditions
12:02 Urban Redesign Mirroring a Parisian Vision of Modernity
18:46 Defensive Developmentalism & the Weight of Sovereign Debt
27:21 Syrian Practitioners & the Burgeoning Role of the Press
32:31 Efendi vs. Basha
39:01 Vernacular Choices for an Elevated Public Education
44:31 Satirical Observations through a Modernist Lens
51:14 The nuances of the women's movement
57:04 Disembodied Voices in the Era of Early Recording
58:00 Performances Spilling into the Nationalist Fervor of 1919
01:03:02 Cinematic Transitions and Legacies for the Everyman
Carmen Gitre is an Associate Professor of Middle East History and Associate Chair of History at Virginia Tech University. She earned her Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 2011. From 2011 to 2014, she taught in the International Studies and History Departments at Seattle University. Her academic interests include cultural history, imperialism, and the relationship between performance, identity, and modernity in Egypt. Her book, Acting Egyptian: Theater, Identity, and Political Culture in Cairo, 1867-1930, was published by the University of Texas Press in 2019. Other publications include 'The Dramatic Middle East: Performance as History in Egypt and Beyond,' and 'Nonsense and Morality: Comedy in Interwar Egypt.' Her current work delves more deeply into interwar art, performance, and cultural influence in Egypt.
Connect with Carmen Gitre 👉 https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-history/faculty/carmen-gitre.html
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Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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For centuries, the Arab and Muslim worlds led humanity in scientific discovery, establishing a culture where faith served as an inspiration rather than an obstacle to empirical research. The conversation with astrophysicist Dr. Nidhal Guessoum explores that profound intellectual legacy, from the systematization of algebra and breakthroughs in optics to the creation of the world's first dedicated astronomical observatories. Dr. Guessoum bridges the gap between this historical Golden Age and the challenges facing modern science education in the region. He addresses the perceived friction between contemporary scientific theories, such as evolution and cosmology, and religious tradition, advocating for a complementary framework that distinguishes the how of the physical world from the why of human meaning. By befriending modern science and returning it to a central place in culture, the discussion outlines a path for a qualitative new renaissance in Arab and Muslim scientific production.
0:00 Introduction
1:39 Diagnosing Science Education in the Arab World
4:07 Quantitative Growth vs Qualitative Challenges
8:41 The Importance of the Scientific Process
10:20 Reconciling Islam and Science
11:59 Understanding the Nature of Science and Religion
13:17 Inspiration from Historical Figures
15:22 Navigating Friction in Evolution and Cosmology
20:51 The Harmonization of Reason and Revelation
22:24 Distinguishing the How from the Why
23:58 The Role of the Human Subject in Science and Faith
25:58 Secular Ethics and the Islamic Intellectual Tradition
29:21 The Peak and Decline of Arab Muslim Scientific Production
30:33 Major Contributions: Algebra, Optics, and Medicine
34:55 History of Astronomical Observatories
38:38 Stagnation vs the European Scientific Revolution
45:51 Prospect of a New Arab Scientific Renaissance
49:30 Measuring Scientific Productivity
52:15 Befriending Modern Science for the Youth
57:31 Recommendations for Life-Long Learning
Nidhal Guessoum is an Algerian astrophysicist and Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. He received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at San Diego, and spent two years as a post-doctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. His research spans gamma-ray astrophysics, positron-electron annihilation, gamma-ray bursts, and crescent visibility and the Islamic calendar. He has published many articles and several books on science, education, and Islam, including Islam's Quantum Question (IB Tauris, 2011) and The Young Muslim's Guide to Modern Science. He has lectured at Cambridge, Oxford, Cornell, and Wisconsin-Madison, and has appeared on Al-Jazeera, BBC, NPR, France 2, and Le Monde. In 2020, he was named among the Top 100 most influential leaders in space exploration by Richtopia, and in 2018 was ranked 22nd among top Arab thought leaders by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute.
Connect with Nidhal Guessoum 👉 https://www.youtube.com/@NidhalG
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Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
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Modern sports did not just change how people played; they fundamentally rewired how they lived, looked, and identified within a rapidly transforming world. The conversation with Murat Yildiz, an assosciate professor of history at Skidmore College, explores the high-stakes intersection of physical culture, social status, and the 19th-century quest for a new global aesthetic. Elite educational and military institutions utilized gymnastics and disciplined exercise to mold an upwardly mobile generation, using sports to reconfigure traditional social hierarchies. Meanwhile, the rise of photography helped normalize and spread a uniform corporal aesthetic, allowing young men from diverse backgrounds to adopt a standardized look of proper modern masculinity. Tracing a vibrant athletic awakening, the discussion follows how sporting culture rippled across urban centers, from Istanbul to Cairo, Beirut, and Jerusalem, signaling a deeper transformation in community, selfhood, and the shift from indigenous traditions to professionalized international play.
0:00 Introduction
1:39 Misconceptions of Athletics and Modernity
4:07 Professionalism vs. Amateurism in Regional Sporting Culture
8:41 Sports as a Tool for Capturing Urban Diversity
9:17 Educational Reformers and the Significance of Gymnastics
12:47 Sports as a New Modern Technology
18:53 Photography and the Global Corporal Aesthetic
21:56 Visual Normalization of Ethnic and Religious Identities
23:14 Sports and the Creation of New Militaries
26:13 Reconfiguring Class Hierarchies in Elite Schools
30:41 Spreading Western Sports: From Baseball to Soccer
32:21 Tension with Indigenous Traditions: The Case of Wrestling
36:40 Gendering the Ottoman World of Sports
41:04 Tracing the Regional Sports Nahda beyond the Capital
48:07 History as a Creative Conversation with the Past
52:02 Al Abtal Magazine and the Egyptian Physical Culture
56:53 Further Recommendations: Football, Books, and Film
1:01:56 Future Directions for Archival Research
Murat C. Yildiz is Associate Professor of History at Skidmore College. He specializes in the cultural and social history of the modern Middle East. In particular, his research examines the intersections of sports, identity, the body, gender, and intercommunality in the late Ottoman Empire. His book, "The Ottoman World of Sports: Refashioning Bodies, Men, and Communities in Late Imperial Istanbul" (The University of Texas Press), examines how Istanbul's Muslim, Christian, and Jewish denizens created a shared sports culture during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He is an assistant editor for the Arab Studies Journal and serves as an editorial board member of the International Journal of the History of Sport. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Los Angeles and served as a Manoogian Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History at the University of Michigan.
Connect with Murat C. Yildiz 👉 https://instagram.com/abu.sami.ali
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Egyptian print media has historically functioned as a cultural barometer, shifting from the early official bulletins of the 20th century into a relentless and aggressive form of capitalism on steroids. Professor Bahia Shehab discusses her book, "A Trade in Dreams: A Century of Egyptian Print Advertising", unpacking how visual culture has been both a witness to and a victim of political upheaval. Her research illuminates a century where advertising functioned as legalized psychological operations, deeply embedded in the daily life of Cairo. By dissecting the visual language of the past, she provides a necessary framework for understanding the mono-culture and flattening of aesthetic diversity in the modern era.
00:00 Introduction
01:32 Invention of the Egyptian Press
04:00 The Business Model of Early Advertising
05:50 Motivations for Researching Advertising History
08:20 Discoveries in Beauty Standards and Race
09:55 Sequential Chronology and Political Tectonic Shifts
12:13 Napoleon, Egyptomania, and Early Visual Communication
17:14 1920s–1940s: Agriculture and the Tobacco Export Industry
20:00 Professionalization and Multinational Ad Agencies
22:31 Hybrid Aesthetics: International vs. Local Design
27:21 The Nasser Era: Socialism and Nationalized Media
30:57 The Sadat Era: Peace Treaties and the Open Door Policy
32:33 Influential Figures and the Silencing of Female Voices
37:01 Domination of the Soap Industry
48:58 The 1940s: The Golden Age of Egyptian Advertising
57:04 Egypt’s Leading Role in Regional Advertising
59:08 Book Tour and Future Perspectives
Bahia Shehab is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, political activist and historian whose work focuses on the interaction and intersection of modern identity and ancient cultural heritage. Her imaginative combination of calligraphy and Islamic art history produced cutting edge, beautiful, impactful street art during the Arab Spring and continues to inform her work as an educator and designer. Having always been concerned with identity and preserving cultural heritage, she investigates art history to reinterpret contemporary Arab politics, feminist discourse and social issues. Her culturally oriented work enables her to use history as a means to better understand the present and find solutions for the future. She believes that art may be employed for the purposes of social change and has explored this phenomenon through her artwork, which focuses on socially charged themes such as the Arab identity and women's rights. Her research is largely concerned with understanding the Arabic letters and has been preoccupied with Arabic calligraphy in much of her work. Her work has been displayed in exhibitions around the world and she has received several awards and recognition for her achievements.
Connect with Bahia Shehab 👉 https://instagram.com/bahiashehab
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Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Palestinian architect and artist Dima Srouji explores the systematic displacement of Palestinian material culture and the liberation lab working to bring it home. For over a century, archaeology in Palestine has been weaponized, used as a tool for land grabs and the erasure of contemporary identity. From ancient glass vessels held in Western museums to human remains stored in university basements, the physical history of Palestine has been excavated, categorized, and displaced. Dima discusses her work in restitching these archives through art and collaboration. By working with multi-generational artisans like the Twam family, who still possess the ancient know-how of glassblowing, she creates ghost objects that challenge the colonial narrative of a dead past.
00:00 Introduction
01:32 Architectural Education & the Spiritual Connection to the Land
07:30 The Liberation Lab
09:47 Ghost Objects: Restitching Material Heritage Through Palestinian Glass
12:28 The History of Colonial Archaeological Excavations
15:44 Challenging Museum Narratives
18:03 The Twam Family Workshop: Four Generations of Glassblowing in Jaba
21:28 Ancient History of Levantine Glass Fabrication
25:50 The Weaponization of Archaeology
29:47 Sebastia vs. the City of David
32:32 Saving Sebastia: Experimental Film as an Exercise in Creative Diplomacy
36:01 Reclaiming the Displaced Material Culture of Gaza
39:34 Excavated Human Remains
42:36 Rituals of Return
44:01 The Restorative Power of Broken Glass
48:43 Rememberment: A Form of Restitution
50:24 The Archive of the Palestine Exploration Fund
56:00 Future Projects and the Cosmic Mediterranean
Dima is an architect, artist, and researcher interested in the ground, objects, displacement, restitution, forgeries, and living archives. Dima leads the MA City Design studio focused on archaeological sites in Palestine as sites of urban struggle. Her practice explores the power of the ground, its strata, and its artefacts in revealing silenced narratives and embedded intergenerational memories. Dima holds an M.Arch from the Yale School of Architecture and a B. Arch (Hons) from Kingston School of Art. She founded Hollow Forms, a glass blowing project with the Twam family in Jaba’, Palestine in 2016. She will be Jameel Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2022.
Connect with Dima Srouji 👉 https://instagram.com/dimasrouji
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Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Rare artifacts within the vast archives of the Library of Congress (LOC) represent a shift in how our region's history is fundamentally understood. Moving beyond traditional nationalist timelines, Arab World specialist in the African and Middle East division at the LOC, Dr. Muhannad Salhi, explores the transition of diverse items in the library's "Near East" collection, from 3000-year-old economic receipts to unique cultural fragments, into autonomous objects of study that define a global narrative. Reclaiming these stories serves as a resistance against regional erasure and the invisibility often felt in the global cultural landscape.
0:00 Introduction
1:52 The "Near East" Section: Geographic and Linguistic Scope
3:02 The Library's Path
4:46 Overview of the Arabic Collection
5:20 The Library's Oldest Items
7:06 Digitization Efforts and Copyright Restrictions
9:10 The Purpose of the Library of Congress
13:24 Regional Context and Cultural Insight
16:00 A Public Resource and Supporting Global Scholarship
18:36 Overseas Offices and Book Dealers
19:17 A Typical Week with Rare Materials and Scholarly Research
22:11 The Oldest Piece of Islamic object in the Americas
25:00 Calligraphy Styles: From Kufi to South Asian and Persian Aesthetics
27:03 The Chinese Quran: A Unique Intersection of Cultures
28:03 The Dalail al-Khayrat and Mantle of the Prophet
31:55 Manuscripts from Gambia
33:24 Arabic Translations of Greek Medicine
35:45 A Unique Work on Petroleum
36:54 Astronomy and Astrology
39:53 Mapping the Region
44:42 Archiving Historic Newspapers and Pop Culture
48:42 Early Arabic Printing
52:10 The Jefferson Quran: Myth vs. Reality in Pop Culture
57:00 Arab-American Literature: Ameen Rihani's The Book of Khalid
58:20 Iraq's Most Wanted Deck of Cards
01:00:22 A Lost Letter from West Africa
01:02:15 Photography Archives
01:03:33 The Items That Got Away
01:06:08 What Policymakers Should Understand About the Region
Muhannad Salhi is the Arab World Specialist in the African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress, where he covers the Arab world, North Africa, and Islam. He received his doctorate in history and his MAs in history and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Palestine in the Evolution of Syrian Nationalism (1918-1920) as well as other book chapters, book reviews, and blogs. His interests include the Ancient Near East, Classical Islam, the Modern Middle East, and Islamic studies. Prior to coming to the Library of Congress, he taught courses on the Arab World and Islam at various colleges and universities in the Chicago area, including the University of Chicago and Governors State University.
Connect with Muhannad Salhi 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/muhannad-salhi-09b20549/
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Beyond the Orientalist myth of being seductive, mysterious, and dangerous, what is the reality of Tangier? Professor of anthropology Majid Hannoum deconstructs the invention of the Maghreb and delves into the complex socioeconomic and racial fabric of contemporary Moroccan cities. He explores how colonial legacies continue to shape identity, from the very term "Maghreb" – which he argues did not exist in pre-colonial Arabic historiography in its current sense – to the phenomenology of color that influences modern social hierarchies in Tangier.
00:00 Introduction
01:50 The Colonial and Post-Colonial Invention of the Maghreb
03:31 Neighborhood Politics and Class Dynamics in Meknes, Morocco
06:12 Historical Evolution of Maghreb in Arabic Historiography
09:17 Deconstructing Orientalist Myths and the Seductive Image of Tangier
12:47 Historical European Gazes
18:03 Tangier in Pre-Colonial Times
19:41 Tangier in Fiction, Songs, and Folktales
23:41 Exploring Migration, Sexuality, and the City’s Unseen Sides
25:59 Socioeconomic Realities
30:23 Migration Patterns and the Phenomenology of Color in Moroccan Urbanism
32:59 The Native Colonial Gaze and Socioeconomic Racialization
39:46 Decolonizing Ibn Khaldun & Challenging the Myth of European Discovery
43:24 Translation Ideology
50:43 Discourse Analysis and the Radical Critique of Academic Categories
53:40 Scholarly Recommendations for Unlearning and Decolonizing Knowledge
Majid Hannoum is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Kansas whose extensive research focuses on North Africa. Growing up in Meknes, Morocco, his personal history is rooted in the very urban and socioeconomic dynamics he explores in his academic work, such as the internal class and neighborhood hierarchies within Moroccan cities. His scholarship is deeply concerned with deconstructing colonial narratives and unlearning entrenched mindsets.
Connect with Majid Hannoum 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/majid-hannoum-04661ab/
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Modern Egyptian art was not simply an institutional byproduct of the 20th century, but rather a profound ontological shift in how the nature of the art object was fundamentally understood. Moving beyond traditional nationalist timelines, this transformation was deeply intertwined with the physical dismantling of historic Cairo, where stripped architectural fragments were repurposed into autonomous art objects for a new elite. Today, reclaiming these narratives serves as an urgent resistance against the regional erasure and invisibility often felt in the global cultural landscape.
00:00 Introduction: Defining the Autonomous Art Object
02:28 Challenging the "East Meets West" Trope
05:28 The Ontological Shift
10:20 The Nahda Influence
13:31 Memories of Gaza and the Weight of Regional Crisis
18:03 The Urgency of Representation and Invisibility
22:22 Huda Sha'arawi: Feminist Icon and Anti-Colonial Art Patron
25:32 Disrupting Colonial Markets
30:14 Mahmoud Mukhtar & Publicly Funded Neoperonism
34:02 The Rise of Surrealist Criticism
37:06 Connectivity Across Lebanon, Syria, and the Cairo Salon
41:44 The National Salon vs. the European Cairo Salon
46:13 Confronting Pseudomorphism
51:39 Scholarly Recommendations for Re-centering Arab Art History
54:03 The Art and Liberty Group’s Interruption of Futurism
56:11 Marxism, Feminism, and the Social Unconscious
Clare Davies is an associate curator at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. She has contributed to a wide range of research, programming, and archival projects related to art and photography in the Middle East since serving as associate curator of the Townhouse Gallery in Cairo between 2004 and 2006. She completed her doctoral dissertation at New York University Institute of Fine Arts and was subsequently awarded the inaugural Irmgard Coninx Prize Fellowship at the Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin. She is the coauthor of "Robert Morris: Object Sculpture, 1960–65" and has published regularly on contemporary art from the Arab world.
Connect with Clare Davies 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-davies-a49a9b143/
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Connect directly with Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://instagram.com/mikey_mu
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
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Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Unveiling the suppressed history of "Shar," Professor Ali Abdellatif Ahmida details the forgotten genocide of the Libyan people under Italian settler colonialism in 1911. As a distinguished political scientist and historian at the University of New England, Professor Ahmida dedicated 15 years to investigating why this mass tragedy was systematically erased from global scholarship and collective memory. Through meticulous research and rare oral testimonies from survivors, he reconstructs the horrors of forced displacement and concentration camps that claimed the lives of tens of thousands. He offers a nuanced critique of the "collective amnesia" in Western academia and the strategic silence of post-war Italy, challenging myths of "moderate" Italian fascism.
00:00 Introduction: An Extensive Scholarly Void
02:28 Beyond the Stereotypical Image
05:28 Navigating the Colonial Transition in 1911
10:20 Perspectives From the Southern Frontier
13:31 The Slow Dismantling of an Empire
18:03 The Ideological Weight of the Roman Myth
22:22 Artificial Lines and the Unified Movement
25:32 The Roots of Organized Resistance
30:14 Negotiating the Terms of Independence
34:02 Contradictions of the Post-War Client State
37:06 The Logic of the Fourth Shore
41:44 The Mechanics of Mass Displacement
46:13 Global Complicity and the Politics of Amnesia
51:39 Reclaiming a Seat in Historical Memory
54:03 The Ethics of the Freedom Fighter
56:11 Shar: The Survivors’ Conceptualization of Death
Professor Ali Abdellatif Ahmida is the founding chair and a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of New England in Maine. Born in Waddan, Libya, and educated at Cairo University and the University of Washington, his scholarship focuses on historical sociology, political theory, and anti-colonial resistance in North Africa. A prolific author, his major works include "The Making of Modern Libya" and his most recent investigative research into "Shar," the forgotten colonial genocide in Libya.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Model and entrepreneur Kenza Fourati discusses her origins, growing up 1990s in Tunisia to becoming a trailblazing figure in the international fashion industry. She reflects on how she initially viewed beauty through a French lens and the subsequent realization of how limiting that perspective was to the beauty of her immediate surroundings. The conversation delves into her brand, Osay (Our Stories Are Yours), which seeks to challenge the traditional fashion hierarchy by making Tunisian artisans the central designers and protagonists of their own craft. Through Osay, Fourati emphasizes the importance of supply chain accountability and human connection, moving away from a model of nameless, faceless hands toward one that celebrates the ingenuity and heritage of the Global South.
0:00 Introduction
2:06 Reclaiming Arab Aesthetics
3:01 Growing Up in Tunisia and Early Notions of Beauty
5:42 Navigating the Modeling Industry
7:52 Lack of Arab Role Models in Global Fashion
9:18 Choosing Creative Freedom
11:04 Finding Power in a Discardable Industry
12:59 Osay: Elevating Tunisian Artisans
14:16 Challenging the Fashion Supply Chain
16:06 Reversing the Design Hierarchy: Artisans as Protagonists
18:05 Modeling as a Blank Canvas vs. Projecting a Story
19:57 A Love Letter to Tunisian Heritage
23:14 Reflections on the Sports Illustrated Milestone
25:52 Amplifying the Tunisian Revolution
27:21 Stereotypes and the Western Gaze
30:23 Finding Your Tribe
35:08 Local Critique and Patriotism
38:06 The Influence of Producer Dora Bouchoucha and Life on Film Sets
42:10 Creative Production in Hollywood and the Middle East
43:24 The Shift Toward Individualism
46:30 Celebrating Tunisian Brands
49:08 Remembering Master Artisan Mansour and the Preservation of Craft
Kenza Fourati is a Tunisian model and entrepreneur whose career is defined by a commitment to bridging global fashion with authentic cultural heritage. After gaining international recognition as the first Arab Muslim woman featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in 2011, she leveraged her platform to advocate for social and labor rights, even sharing personal letters regarding the Tunisian revolution through major media outlets. Fourati co-founded the brand Osay (Our Stories Are Yours), which centers on elevating the visibility of artisans from the global south by making them the primary designers of modern textile and leather goods. Currently based in New York, she continues to challenge traditional industry hierarchies by advocating for transparency, ethical labor practices, and the preservation of ancestral craftsmanship.
Connect with Kenza Fourati 👉 https://instagram.com/kenzafourati
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The concept of domicide and its profound impact on Homs, Syria, is explored through the work and personal experiences of architect Ammar Azzouz. A research fellow at the University of Oxford, Dr. Azzouz discusses the deliberate destruction of homes, the trauma of exile, and his eventual return to his homeland. He examines how international attention frequently prioritizes the loss of ancient heritage sites, such as Palmyra, while often overlooking the intimate grief associated with the destruction of residential areas where people lived their daily lives. The discussion also delves into the slow violence of pre-war urban projects, like the "Homs Dream", which proposed demolishing parts of the historic old city for modern development, and how these top-down models continue to threaten the city's identity during current reconstruction efforts.
01:04 Introduction
01:35 Personal Memories of Home
05:00 The Architectural Identity of Homs
06:11 Exile and Return
10:51 Domicide vs. Urbicide
13:16 Slow Violence and the Homs Dream
17:18 The Politics of Reconstruction and Dubaization
21:04 Alternative Visions for Healing
33:00 Empowering the Next Generation
34:32 The Limitations of International Heritage Organizations
41:06 Highlighting Favorite Historical Sites
Dr. Ammar Azzouz is a British Academy Research Fellow at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. Originally from Homs, Syria, he studied architecture before moving to the UK to complete his PhD. Since leaving Syria in 2011, he has not been able to return. Dr. Azzouz is the author of Domicide: Architecture, War and the Destruction of Home in Syria (2023, Bloomsbury), with a foreword by Lyse Doucet, the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent. He is the Principal Investigator of the Slow Violence and the City research project, which explores the connection between violence and the built environment in both wartime and peacetime. His current research focuses on art and culture in exile, particularly within the Syrian diaspora. Dr. Azzouz has contributed to platforms such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and The New Statesman, and has been invited to speak at over 130 events worldwide, from Mexico and the US to Germany, the Netherlands, and Qatar.
Connect with Dr. Ammar Azzouz 👉 https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ammar-azzouz
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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What made Egypt the longest-surviving country in the world? Aidan Dodson is a professor and author of over 30 books and helps us explore fundamental shifts in our understanding of ancient Egypt. The discussion spans the civilization's long run, from the unification around 3000 BC—a feat commemorated by the crucial Narmer Palette—until Christianity began to erode its religious and linguistic foundations around 300 AD. Dodson examines the Pyramid Era, explaining these structures as magical machines designed to transition the dead king into a god. He also covers the rise of the sun cult and the political power of female pharaohs, including Nefertiti, whose historical importance lies in her role negotiating the religious transition from Akhenaten's revolution to Tutankhamun's return to tradition. The episode concludes with Dr. Dodson's top archaeological discoveries he wishes he had witnessed.
00:00 Introduction
01:30 A Passion for Egyptology
02:47 How Ancient Egypt is Presented to Young Audiences
03:47 Defining the Span of Ancient Egypt
04:21 The Unification of Egypt
08:18 Narmer: The Unifier of Egypt
09:56 Daily Life in Early Ancient Egypt
11:31 The Political Center: Memphis
12:57 Knowing the Personalities of Ancient Rulers
15:48 The Narmer Palette and the Discovery of Human Sacrifice
24:29 The Dawn of the Pyramid Era
27:44 Imhotep: Djoser’s Right-Hand Man
30:38 Sneferu: The Greatest Pyramid Builder
33:36 The Purpose of the Pyramids
38:35 The Elevation of the Sun Cult
40:34 The Pyramid Texts and Egyptian Religion
44:49 The Female Pharaohs
49:25 Nefertiti: From Glamour to Political Power
53:57 Dr. Dodson’s Top Archaeological Moments
54:50 The Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
01:00:04 The Imperial Relationship of Ancient Egypt and Nubia
01:03:17 The Nubian Pharaoh
Aidan Dodson is honorary full professor of Egyptology in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol, and has authored some thirty books. He was also Simpson Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo in 2013, and Chair of the Egypt Exploration Society during 2011–16. Awarded his PhD by the University of Cambridge in 2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2003.
Connect with Aidan Dodson 👉 https://uk.linkedin.com/in/aidan-dodson-57179434
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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As the daughter of the renowned intellectual Edward Said, Najla Said discusses the unique pressures of navigating her family's legacy while forging her own creative voice in the shadow of his immense influence. The conversation explores her journey from attempting to assimilate into American culture as a youth to confronting her heritage during a pivotal trip to Palestine and Lebanon. Said details her entry into professional theater and the development of her acclaimed one-woman show, Palestine, which grew from an intimate journal entry. She also offers a personal perspective on her father's moral backbone, the impact of recent global events on her sense of safety in New York, and the evolution of her activism through new collaborative theater projects. The discussion touches on the enduring intimacy of her memoir, Looking for Palestine, and how sharing her inner monologue has helped her find a community based on genuine solidarity.
0:00 Introduction
1:37 Childhood Stories and Typewritten Plays
2:54 Growing Up in the Shadow of Intellectual Giants
7:23 The Weight of Family Legacy
10:00 Journaling and the Discovery of a Personal Voice
12:47 Acting, Identity, and Hollywood Reality Checks
20:36 Defining "Arab" through Theater
22:10 Navigating Identity Shifts: Lebanon, Palestine, and New York
33:32 Misunderstandings and the Moral Backbone of Edward Said
36:58 Current Work: Dialogue in a Time of Hostility
44:30 Erasing Legacy: Columbia University and Global Activism
47:40 Politics and Perception
52:14 Looking for Palestine: The Vulnerability of Memoir
56:56 Shedding the Need to Be Liked
58:07 Solidarity as the Greatest Expression of Love
Najla Said is a Palestinian-Lebanese-American actress, playwright, author, and activist, recognized for her memoir Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family (2013), which chronicles her struggles with cultural identity amid a privileged New York City upbringing as the daughter of prominent Palestinian intellectual Edward W. Said and his Lebanese-born wife Mariam Cortas Said. Said initially distanced herself from her Arab heritage, assimilating into American and Jewish social circles while attending elite institutions like Dalton School and Princeton University, before a transformative trip to the Middle East prompted her to embrace Palestinian roots more fully. Said's career spans theater and performance, including her solo show Palestine, which she has presented at over 25 high schools, colleges, and universities worldwide since its off-Broadway debut, addressing themes of diaspora, stereotyping, and Arab-American experiences. She has worked with New York institutions such as New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, and Second Stage, and maintains affiliations like a "Usual Suspect" at NYTW. As an activist, Said advocates for Palestinian self-determination, drawing on her father's legacy of critiquing Western orientalism, though her public engagements, including support for campus protests, reflect a personal evolution from identity confusion to vocal solidarity with causes tied to her heritage.
Connect with Najla Said 👉 https://instagram.com/kittybubble
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We explore the interconnected artistic and political lives of figures from the Maghreb and the Black diaspora who collaborated in North Africa from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, forming what our guest calls the Maghreb Generation, and cover the iconic 1969 Pan-African Festival of Algiers, where cultural figures like Nina Simone and political groups like the Black Panthers were present. Assistant Professor of History at Cornell University and author of "Maghreb Noir: The Militant Artist of North Africa and the Struggle for a Pan-African Postcolonial Future," Dr. Paraska Tolan-Szkilnik discusses her work which re-centers artists and intellectuals from Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia as key political actors in the mid-20th-century anti-colonial and pan-African movements. Dr. Tolan-Szkilnik explains how these militant artists (deeply influenced by thinkers like Frantz Fanon) championed a philosophy of continued, revolutionary decolonization beyond flag independence. The episode details the political and personal risks these activists faced, including imprisonment for figures like Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laâbi and the assassination of Algerian poet Jean Sénac. Finally, the conversation explores film as a revolutionary form of culture for the highly illiterate populace and the enduring legacy of this generation’s radical vision for South-South solidarity.
0:53 Introduction
1:37 The Path to Pan-Africanism and the Maghreb
5:51 The Pan-African Festival of Algiers (1969)
7:23 The Substance of Revolution: Beyond the Speeches
10:00 The African Union, Liberation Movements, and Algiers
12:47 Questions of Race and Algerian Reactions to Blackness
14:19 North Africa as One Entity and French Colonial Borders
16:40 Central Figures of the Maghreb Generation
23:34 Defining the "Militant Artist"
25:15 The Philosophical DNA: Continued Decolonization
26:38 Frantz Fanon as Intellectual Forefather
27:44 The Autocratic Grind: Exile, Jail, and Death
34:54 The Moroccan Poet Abdellatif Laâbi and Souffles
40:09 Film as Revolutionary Culture
45:48 Turning Away from the West
49:00 The Striking Life of Jean Sénac
53:11 Poetry of Enthusiasm and Disillusionment
Paraska Tolan-Szkilnik is a historian of 20th century Africa and the Middle East. She specializes in questions of race, gender, and sex in the post-colonial Maghreb. She has published in Jadaliyya, the Arab Studies Journal, World Art, Monde(s), The Markaz Review, and the International Journal of Middle East Studies, amongst others. Her first book "Maghreb Noir: The Militant-Artists of North Africa and the Struggle for a Pan-African, Post-colonial Future" (Stanford, 2023) tells the story of a group of militant-artists, some Maghrebi, others Angolan, Haitian, or American, who led Pan-African cultural and political projects out of the recently decolonized cities of Rabat, Algiers, and Tunis.
Connect with Paraska Tolan-Szkilnik 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/paraska-tolan-163846201
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Historian Faisal Husain wrote the book "Rivers of the Sultan: The Tigris and Euphrates in the Ottoman Empire" and in this episode, helps us explore the history of the Tigris and Euphrates. He argued for the necessity of understanding human history within the context of geological time, discussing the rivers' origins roughly 20 million years ago, tracing their influence on civilization from the "agricultural revolution" (which some scholars argue was a mistake leading to health issues) to the rise of early urban centers like the Sumerian cities. The conversation highlights the difference between the gentle Euphrates, which attracted early settlements, and the fast and unpredictable Tigris. Shifting to the Ottoman era, Husain examines the environmental challenges of Ottoman Iraq, which was poor in essential resources like grain, metal, and wood suited for construction, and details the extraordinary story of the Euphrates river changing its course in the late 1600s due to a poorly dug irrigation canal. He emphasizes the cultural importance of the palm tree and the vital role of water buffaloes, which made life possible for a quarter of the Iraqi population in the wetlands, whose fate would have otherwise been migration to seek resources and refuge elsewhere.
0:00 Introduction
1:47 When Did the Tigris and Euphrates Start?
3:04 The Importance of Deep History
5:49 Geological Origins: 20 Million Years Ago
7:37 When the Rivers Began to Matter to Homo Sapiens
10:40 The Rationale for Writing Deep History
12:00 Starting Middle East History Before 6th Century Arabia
14:45 The Difference Between the Twin Rivers
17:05 Why Sumerian Civilization Clustered on the Euphrates
20:36 Questioning the Agricultural Revolution
23:16 How Agriculture Began: Trial and Error
27:00 The Consequences of Taming Nature
30:40 The Ottoman Conquest of Iraq
32:20 Why Iraq Was Environmentally Poor for a Major Power
36:06 Iraq’s Default Status Under Iranian States
38:25 Baghdad in the 16th Century
42:25 The Euphrates Shifts Course (Late 1600s)
47:09 Water Buffaloes: The Essential Technology of the Wetlands
49:28 Ranking the Most Important Crops
51:03 Evliya Çelebi: The Traveler
54:49 Ottoman vs. European Traveler Perspectives
58:35 The Book Cover: Baghdad on the Tigris
Faisal Husain is an environmental historian of the Ottoman Empire, with a geographical focus on its eastern provinces in Anatolia and Iraq and a temporal focus on the early modern period. His first book "Rivers of the Sultan" examined the role of the Tigris and Euphrates in the establishment of Ottoman state institutions in the Ottoman eastern borderland between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. His second book project is an environmental history of Ottoman frontier expansion east of the Euphrates during the sixteenth century. He is co-editing a book on the global histories of animals (under contract with Oxford University Press) with Emily Wakild (Boise State University) and Nancy Jacobs (Brown University). In 2024-2025, he served as a senior lecturer at Boğaziçi University’s Department of History in Istanbul through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. He serves on several editorial boards, including those of Marmara Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi (Marmara University), Global Environment (White Horse Press), and the “Middle East Environmental Histories” book series (Leiden University Press).
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Award-winning creative director Ruba Abu-Nimah (known to many as @ruba on Instagram) discusses the state of creativity in the Arab world, the importance of young Arab talent embracing their culture, and the challenges of navigating corporate spaces as a Palestinian in the West. She talks about the foundational skills of graphic design, the vital role of design in communication, spaces and politics, and about her career so far. She also shares her strong belief that the Arab world is now the next frontier in global creativity.
0:00 Introduction
1:46 Passion For Graphic Design and Swiss Modernism
3:05 The Difference Between Past and Present Graphic Design Education
4:45 The Craft of Graphic Design and the Importance of Traditional Language
6:00 First Gig: Disruptive Innovation at French Glamour
8:02 Ingredients for Success: Passion, Nerdiness and London's Creative Influence
12:48 Defining Graphic Designer vs Creative Director
14:40 Graphic Design as the Foundation of Communication
15:40 The Subjectivity of Taste and the Role of Instinct
17:50 Design in the Arab World: Considered Cities vs Chaos
21:45 The Arab Creative Inflection Point: Youth, Voice and New Trends
22:47 Rejecting Emulation: Talent Rooted in Culture and Heritage
24:34 The Arab World Is the Next Frontier in Creativity
25:17 Navigating Prominent Positions as a Palestinian
26:35 Hiding in Plain Sight: The Forced Negation of Arab Origins
28:24 "Loud and Proud": The Momentum of the Arab Diaspora Today
30:21 The Prevailing Attitude: a Son's Act of Defiance
33:47 Corporate America vs Street Change
36:09 Corporate Structures Will Eventually Catch Up With Culture
40:03 The Brilliance of the Mamdani Campaign Design
41:17 Conspicuous Consumption vs Useful Design
48:45 Relationship With Social Media Platforms: Instagram and the Unhinged Threads
50:51 Instagram's Value: Finding and Commissioning Creatives
53:23 The Sweetest Revenge: Upscrolled and the Irony of Palestinian Tech Success
54:00 Recommendations: Arab Creatives To Look Up
Ruba Abu-Nimah is a Swiss creative executive of Palestinian descent who has worked in the fashion and cosmetic industries. She was the executive creative director for marketing and communications at Tiffany & Co. from March 2021 to February 2023. She previously worked at Revlon, Elle magazine, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, and Shiseido. She was the first female creative director at Elle magazine in the US. In 2018, Ruba collaborated with Nike to design the Air Force 1 Low "Love" shoe embodying equality and acceptance. She has collaborated with Phillip Lim on the New York Tougher Than Ever initiative, as well as a limited-edition sweatshirt to raise funds for Lebanon following the 2020 Beirut explosion.
Connect with Ruba Abu-Nimah 👉
https://instagram.com/ruba
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We delve into the stark realities of learning inequality, the crucial role of the science of teaching, and the transformative power of education, even in the face of conflict. Dr. Asyia Kazmi, CEO of WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education), an organization that is part of the Qatar Foundation, helps us explore the challenges and solutions in global education. As a former math teacher, Dr. Kazmi offers specific, evidence-based strategies for improving learning outcomes — including the concept of structured pedagogy — and discusses the nuances of AI and education, urging caution and the need for region-specific, full-stack solutions. Dr. Kazmi emphasizes that improving learning (not just access to schooling) must be the primary goal for policy. She confronts the notion that poverty is an insurmountable barrier to educational success, asserting that educators have a deep responsibility to provide a pathway out of poverty for low-income students. The conversation also delves into the unique challenges of the Arab world, highlighting the 60% learning poverty rate in our region.
This episode was produced in collaboration with Qatar Foundation.
Find out more about WISE 👉 wise-qatar.org
0:00 Introduction
2:01 From Classroom Teacher to Education Policy
6:03 Challenging Assumptions: Pedagogy Is a Science
10:18 The Focus on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
16:42 Teacher Responsibility to Overcome Poverty
21:49 Education Challenges in the Arab World
26:14 Resilience and Integrity: Lessons from Gaza
30:28 The Perils and Promise of AI in Education
39:35 Leveraging AI to Support Teachers
44:44 The Secrets of Successful Education Systems
Dr. Asyia Kazmi brings over 30 years of experience in education across government, philanthropy, and international development, with a distinguished track record of improving learning outcomes for underserved communities. Before joining Qatar Foundation, she served as the Global Education Policy Lead at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where she helped create a global edtech and AI portfolio that positively impacted 2.5 million children. She began her career as a mathematics teacher and teacher coach before moving into leadership roles in the public and private sectors. At PwC, she led the UK government’s $1 billion Girls’ Education Challenge, supporting 1.5 million girls across 17 countries. She has also served in senior roles across three UK Government departments, including as Senior Education Adviser at DFID, Project Director at the Department for Education, and Her Majesty’s Senior Inspector at Ofsted. She holds a Master’s in Applied Mathematics from Imperial College London, a Doctorate in Education from University College London, and two PGCEs in mathematics teaching and leadership development. She was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s 2022 New Year’s Honours List for her contributions to girls’ education.
Connect with Asyia Kazmi 👉
https://instagram.com/wiseqatar
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The president of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), discusses her unique vision for innovation in the Arab world, emphasizing the crucial need to tie technological advancement to our roots, culture, heritage, and fundamental needs. Rama Chakaki shares insights from her career, which is defined by bridging the gap between impact and financial return, and explains QSTP's role as a platform for global innovation, nurturing deep-tech companies in sectors like AI, robotics, and biotech, with a focus on impact. The discussion delves into the pervasive "brain drain" phenomenon, with Chakaki observing a "reverse brain drain" as Arabs return to Doha and the region due to safety, resource availability, and a culture of belonging. She champions a bottom-up approach to innovation and addresses common misconceptions about Arab women in tech, highlighting their high representation in tech degrees and leadership roles. Finally, Chakaki challenges the Silicon Valley "unicorn" model, advocating for a community-built "elephant" model that prioritizes the double or triple bottom line—caring for people, the environment, and financial returns.
Explore Qatar Science and Technology Park 👉 https://qstp.qa/
This episode was produced in collaboration with Qatar Foundation.
01:33 Introduction
02:55 Defining Deep Tech
04:08 An Innovative Vision for the Arab Region
07:38 The Communal Education Framework
10:59 The State of Innovation: Green, Yellow, and Red Lights
13:42 Blending Impact and Financial Return
18:57 The Global Phenomenon of Brain Drain
26:43 QSTP's Global Mandate
28:37 Examples of Culturally Rooted Innovation
36:18 The "Elephant" Model and Triple Bottom Line
44:00 The Risk of Free Products and Data
48:15 Misconceptions About Arab Women In Tech
51:26 Advice To Her Younger Self
55:16 Suggested Reading
Syrian-American Impact Tech Entrepreneur, Investor and philanthropist, Rama Chakaki is the president of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). Prior to her role at QSTP, she was a partner at Transform VC, a Silicon Valley firm enabling 1000 tech founders to impact a billion and make a billion by investing in deep tech with climate and social impact. Rama was instrumental in building the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Middle East. In addition to her corporate roles, Rama runs an edTech nonprofit (VIP.fund) supporting youth impacted by conflict. Rama has been featured in Forbes, Bloomberg, the Monitor, Arab Women Rising, a Wharton School of Business Publication and The power of presence, a book by Joy Moore.
Connect with Rama Chakaki 👉
https://instagram.com/rchakaki
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The unifying youth culture across the Arab region is characterized by a proud new Arab identity and the changing standards of beauty with the rise of "Arab beauty" (A beauty), which celebrates Arab features and aesthetics. The founder of Mille World and Mille Creative, Sofia Guellaty, talks about her journey launching the first Arab youth platform in the Arab world, the role of media professionals as "editors of conversations," and the emergence of a new, proud Arab identity among both Gen Z and millennials. She discusses how she uses fashion and pop culture as a tool for "soft power" to talk about liberation, representation, and diversity, moving away from superficial content. She reflects on her early career, her shift from being fascinated by the West to "unbashedly proud to be Arab," and the challenges faced by Arab talent, including visa issues and the lack of an Arab-centric market. The conversation also delves into how her platform, Mille World, aims to address the lack of authentic Arab youth representation by giving a voice to young creatives who want to define their own stories, not be perceived through a "western gaze".
Explore Mille World 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mille_world/
0:00 Introduction
2:06 The First Arab Youth Platform
3:51 Media Consumption and Identity & Obsession with the West
7:20 Fashion’s Role: Beyond Clothes to Communication Techniques
10:47 Becoming Editors of Conversations
18:47 Representation in Modeling: the Arab Face
20:07 Barriers for Arab Talent: Visa Issues and Market Size
24:46 Structurally Flawed Media and the Need for Critique
29:27 The Complexities of Arab Identity and Community
34:04 The Unifying New Arab Identity and Its Pillars
36:16 Changing Standards: The Rise of Arab Beauty
40:56 Cultural Blind Spots and Local Talent in the Region
45:00 Homegrown Talent Shaping the New Narrative
49:14 Fixing the Creative Industries with Unlimited Capital
52:57 Stories of Pride: Being the Torchbearer of Anti-Colonial Sentiment
Sofia Guellaty is the founder and creative director of Mille World, a digital magazine that chronicles Arab youth culture and style currents. She has grown the Dubai-based business into a cultural platform covering art, fashion, beauty, music and travel scenes across the Middle East and North Africa, featuring bold storytelling and sharp commentary from underrepresented voices in both Arabic and English. Under Guellaty’s leadership, Mille has become a vital alternative voice in the Arabic media landscape and a refreshing read for Gen Z and Millennials across the region. Blending her sleek editorial vision with fearless cultural commentary and an unconventional perspective, Mille explores everything from Libyan streetwear to Palestinian DJs and Lebanese jewellery designers. Beyond her editorial work, Guellaty serves as a board member of Fashion Trust Arabia and operates Mille Creative, a Dubai- and Riyadh-based marketing and creative agency producing campaigns for global brands. She launched Mille in 2017 after serving as editor of Condé Nast’s first Middle East venture, Style.com/Arabia, while contributing to Vanity Fair France. Born and raised in Tunisia, Guellaty began her media career in Paris, freelancing for Elle France and later publishing her novel ‘Le Sablier’.
Connect with Sofia Guellaty 👉
https://instagram.com/sofiaguellaty
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The conversation covers the historical emergence of Algeria as a political and territorial unit, starting in the Ottoman period in the 16th century. Key pivotal moments in Algerian history are highlighted, including French colonialism beginning in 1830, which led to a settler colonial project, the rise of the modern mass nationalist movement in the interwar period, the War of National Liberation (1954–1962), and the decade of violence in the 1990s. The latter half of the conversation focuses on the "Worlds of Islam," emphasizing a polycentric history with no single center. A historian, professor at the University of Oxford, and author of books "A History of Algeria" and "The Worlds of Islam: A Global History", James McDougall details the diverse "technologies" of Islam's spread, including its compelling initial mission, the appeal of social mobility for non-Arabs, trade networks, and the influence of Sufism. He also discusses the historical roots of Islamophobia, which is traced to the 19th-century colonial moment. He discusses why he was drawn to studying Algeria, a country he notes is often ignored in Middle East studies and is known as "the land of a million martyrs" for its iconic history of resistance to colonialism.
0:00 Introduction
2:08 Intellectual Curiosity and Addressing Poor Understanding of the Region
7:37 When Did Algeria Begin to Exist? Debunking the Colonial Narrative
12:38 Pivotal Moments in Algerian History
13:48 The Ottoman Period (16th–19th Century) and Connection to the Levant
16:29 Settler Colonialism Under the French (1830 Onwards)
19:46 The War of National Liberation (1954–1962)
20:41 The Violence of the 1990s
21:35 Is the War of Independence Connected to the 1990s Civil Strife?
23:34 The Legacy of French Colonial Misunderstanding and Racism
31:27 Algeria as an Anti-Colonial Symbol Across the Arab World
32:18 Leadership of the Algerian Revolution
38:37 The Worlds of Islam: A Polycentric Global History
46:05 Technologies of Islam's Spread
49:18 Muslims as a Minority in the Middle East After the Early Conquests
53:15 Why Islam Did Not Spread Everywhere Earlier
55:20 The Historical Development of Islamophobia
Readings on Global history and Islamic history:
Josephine Quinn, How the World Made the West: A 4000 Year History (2024)
Cemil Aydin, The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History (2017)
Readings on Algeria:
Natalya Vince, The Algerian War, the Algerian Revolution (2020)
Malika Rahal, Algérie 1962, une histoire populaire (2022)
Jeffrey James Byrne, Mecca of Revolution: Algeria, Decolonization, and the Third World Order (2016)
Thomas Serres, The Suspended Disaster: Governing by Crisis in Bouteflika’s Algeria (2023)
Muriam Haleh Davis, Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria (2022)
Christopher Silver, Recording History: Jews, Muslims and Music across 20th century North Africa (2022)
Sara Rahnema, The Future is Feminist: Women and Social Change in Interwar Algeria (2023)
Arthur Asseraf, Electric News in Colonial Algeria (2019)
James Robert McDougall is a British historian and Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Oxford and Laithwaite Fellow in History at Trinity College, Oxford. His research mainly addresses the modern and contemporary Mediterranean; Middle Eastern, African and Islamic history, especially Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, but also the history of European imperialism in the Arab world, modern Arab intellectual and political history, and the global history of Islam since c.1700; the French colonial empire in Africa; the Sahara; nationalism and revolutionary movements in Asia and Africa; comparative imperial history; historiography and critical theory.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Discover the interconnectedness of peddling and factory work, the surprising origins of the Aloha shirt, and the key role Syrian workers played in major labor actions like the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Associate Professor of History at the University of California and author of "Unmentionables: Textiles, Garment Work, and the Syrian American Working Class" Dr. Stacy D. Fahrenthold discusses her work which offers a class-conscious history of the Syrian-American diaspora, a community of about half a million people in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s. While the "peddler" is often the central figure and icon of this diaspora's economic history for over a century, Fahrenthold shifts the focus to the new immigrants who came to the U.S. and found work in the textile industries. The conversation explores the hidden role of Syrian-American garment workers, particularly young women, who produced goods like "kimonos", undergarments, stockings, and household textiles.
0:00 Introducing Unmentionables & Shifting the Icon from Peddler to Laborer
0:40 Lawrence, Massachusetts: The Second Largest Arab-American Community
1:48 Who Was The Syrian American Working Class?
2:41 The Gap in Arab-American Diaspora History
3:14 Textiles and Garment Work
4:50 The Peddler: Icon vs Reality
7:12 Labor Experience In The U.S. vs Greater Syria
8:50 Skilled Silk Weavers and First-Time Proletarians
10:14 Syrian Workers and Global Labor Movements
11:27 The Bread and Roses Strike of 1912
15:09 Dynamite, Arrests and Militarization of the Syrian Neighborhood
19:16 Scale of Syrian Immigration Compared to Other Groups
22:14 The Majority of Textile Workers Were Women
24:43 The Connection to the Silk Industry in Mount Lebanon
27:28 A Look Inside a Syrian-American Garment Factory
29:04 The Kimono: Branding and Orientalism
31:50 The Effacement of Origins in the Marketplace
35:36 Economic and Social Mobility For Syrian-American Families
39:03 The Legacy of Syrian-American Textile Companies
40:01 The Lebanese Origins of The Aloha Shirt
43:14 Marghab Linen and Racial Stereotyping
44:22 Geographic Dispersion of Syrian Communities
47:09 Illicit Activity and Contraband in the Diaspora
49:22 Recommended Readings In Arab-American History
Stacy Fahrenthold is a historian of the modern Middle East specializing in labor migration; displacement/refugees; border studies; and diasporas within and from the region. Her new book "Unmentionables: Textiles, Garment Work, and the Syrian American Working Class" examines how Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian immigrant workers navigated processes of racialization, immigration restriction, and labor contestation in the textile industries of the Atlantic world. It recently received the Middle East Studies Association's 2025 Nikki Keddie Award for "outstanding scholarly work in religion, revolution, and/or society." Her award-winning first book, "Between the Ottomans and the Entente: The First World War in the Syrian and Lebanese Diaspora" examines the politics of Syrian and Lebanese migration to the Americas during the First World War, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the rise of European Mandates in the Middle East. Fahrenthold is Associate Editor of Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle Eastern and North African Migration Studies.
Connect with Stacy D. Fahrenthold 👉
https://instagram.com/sdfahrenthold
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The discussion covers the evolving role of debt as an instrument of empire, the emergence of sovereign wealth funds, and the ways financial instruments and flows of money subtly shape political realities and people's lives in the region. Professor Elyachar discusses her latest book "On the Semicivilized: Coloniality, Finance, and Embodied Sovereignty in Cairo" and how she challenges the notion that global finance originated solely in the West. The conversation delves into the history of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and their role in economic development, particularly in "pushing debt as a form of development". A Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University whose work examines the intersection of finance, political economy, and the Arab world, Elyachar also shares her family's history as sarrafs (bankers/brokers) in Ottoman Palestine, and how this tradition sparked her interest in finance and economics. She also explains the historical legal category of the "semicivilized," a term used in international law to describe the Ottoman Empire and other non-European powers who were recognized as legitimate sovereigns.
01:13 Introduction
03:31 A Family History of Finance in Ottoman Palestine
06:52 Fieldwork in Cairo: Informal Economy and Debt
10:15 The Problem of NGOs and "NGOification"
15:53 Debt As an Instrument of Empire
23:28 Defining "Semicivilized"
37:57 The Central Question: Finance and Violence
50:12 The Rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds
56:11 Turning Debt Into Assets
Julia Elyachar is an anthropologist, political economist, and award winning author. She was trained in anthropology, economics, history of political and economic thought, political economy, social theory, Middle Eastern Studies, and Arabic language. She is an associate professor of anthropology at Princeton University, and associate professor at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies. She is a Faculty Researcher with the Dignity and Debt network and serves on the Executive Boards of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, and the Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies. She has published the books "Markets of Dispossession: NGOs, Economic Development, and the State in Cairo" and "On the Semicivilized: Coloniality, Finance, and Embodied Sovereignty in Cairo" (2025).
Connect with Julia Elyachar 👉 https://twitter.com/JuliaElyachar
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Connect directly with Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://instagram.com/mikey_mu
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The discussion delves into the complex historical eras of Iraq, challenging binary understandings of its past and present. A professor at Haverford College and author of "Political Undesirables: Citizen Denaturalization and Reclamation in Iraq and Return to Ruin: Iraqi Narratives of Exile and Nostalgia", Zainab Saleh discusses how the Iraq she grew up in—during the Ba'ath Party reign and under Saddam Hussein—was a time of fear and repression, despite the earlier period of high hopes and political aspirations in the 1940s and 1950s. She explores the concept of nostalgia for the Saddam era, which exists even among those who suffered under the regime, because of the basic services that were provided. The conversation offers a nuanced timeline of modern Iraqi history, from World War I's role in creating Middle Eastern nation-states through the Ottoman and British rules, the monarchy, and the Ba'ath Party. A key focus is placed on the 1990s as a major turning point, with the 1991 bombardment and subsequent sanctions leading to the rapid deterioration of infrastructure, increased social problems like begging and corruption, and environmental collapse. We consider the argument that the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the US invasion should be viewed as one long, continuous war. Saleh critiques the simplistic narrative that Americans brought to Iraq after 2003, arguing that it institutionalized a sectarian political system. She emphasizes that the American discourse—classifying Sunnis as loyalists and Shia or Kurds as oppressed—ignored the reality of mixed communities and complex political loyalties. Saleh explores the historical use of denaturalization in Iraq, a topic central to her latest book. She details how the British and subsequent Iraqi regimes used the pretext of "political undesirables" to strip citizens of their rights, citing examples such as Iraqi Jews in the 1950s and Iraqis of Iranian origin in the 1980s.
0:00 Introduction
1:50 When Did The Iraq You Grew Up In Start?
2:54 The High Hopes of the 1940s and 1950s
3:33 Nostalgia, Time, and Loss
7:09 The Broad Phases of Iraqi History
9:33 Cultural Renaissance Under the Monarchy
10:00 Vibrant Leftist Politics in the Monarchy Era
11:39 Nostalgia for the Monarchy
13:00 The Largest Effect on Daily Life: 1991 Bombardment and Sanctions
16:29 Connecting the Wars: One Long War
17:59 The Lead-up to Saddam's Invasion of Kuwait
19:33 The Vision of the Neoconservatives
20:40 Misunderstandings about US Imperialism
22:11 The Myth of Iraqi Sectarianism
23:24 The Institutionalization of a Sectarian System
25:27 The Role of the Iraqi Opposition Abroad
28:29 Phases of Post-2003 Iraq
29:12 The Civil War and Proxy War (2006-2008)
30:20 Displacement and the Reorganization of Iraqi Society
30:52 Social Mobilization: 2011 and the Tishreen Uprising (2019)
31:24 The Catastrophe of ISIS
34:29 The Problem with Nostalgic Photos
40:14 When One Dictator Becomes a Source of Nostalgia
41:16 The Book: Political Undesirables and Denaturalization
41:59 The Deportation of Iraqis of Iranian Origin (1980)
44:48 Denaturalization as a Systemic Pattern
48:19 Issuing Passports After World War I
51:00 The Expulsion of Iraqi Jews (1950)
51:25 Iraqi Jews as an Integral Part of Society
52:44 The Ancient History of Babylonian Jews
55:20 The Basis for Expulsion
58:19 Recommended Readings on Iraqi History
Zainab Saleh is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Haverford College and the author of books "Return to Ruin: Iraqi Narratives of Exile and Nostalgia" (2020) and "Political Undesirables: Citizenship, Denaturalization, and Reclamation in Iraq" (2025).
Connect with Zainab Saleh 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/zainab-saleh-669a7b253
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Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
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🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We visit Basel Dalloul at the Dalloul Artist Collective to discuss the genesis of the Dalloul Art Foundation and the mission of the new artist collective. A technologist and lawyer by training, Basel shares his family’s journey into collecting art and the vision his father had for a Pan-Arab art collection in Beirut. They discuss how Arabism failed politically, but that culturally, the art from the region shows a great deal of sync and kinship, with artists empathizing with their Arab brethren. Central to the discussion is the role of art as an archive of history. Basel highlights the importance of Arab art as a reference site and how connecting artists from Morocco to Iraq reveals common themes that some may find inconvenient to tell. The conversation then shifts to the need to decolonize the art world, critiquing the tendency to celebrate Western art and seek validation from Western curators. Basel challenges the routine belief that Arab artists or art professionals are "not competent or good enough". He also addresses the broken global gallery system, which often dictates terms to artists and unfairly takes up to 50% of an artist's take. The mission of the Dalloul Artist Collective is to shift focus from the art to the artist, acting as an artist management agency to empower and educate the artist community.
0:00 Introduction
2:12 The Vision for the Dalloul Art Foundation: Pan-Arab Art
3:36 Relationship to Art Growing Up
5:55 Shifting from Western to Arab Art Collecting
8:45 Failure Is Not An Option
10:47 Authenticating Art and The Lack of a Reference Site for Arab Art
12:53 Organizing the Single Largest Private Collection of Modern Contemporary Arab Art
15:05 The Kinship of Arab Culture
17:57 Artists as Archivists of History
19:46 Beirut: A De Facto Cultural Hub With No Taboos
22:54 Critiquing the Celebration of Western Art Over Arab Art
25:57 Dalloul Artist Collective: Focusing on The Artist
27:18 The Broken Global Gallery System
32:11 The State of Art Collecting in The Arab World
35:56 Artists Basel Dalloul Adores
38:02 The Need to Educate the Arab Youth on Arab Artists
38:48 The Story Behind Ayman Baalbaki’s Moulatham
41:26 Empowering Artists with Transparency and Business Savvy
Basel Dalloul Founded the Dalloul Art Foundation in 2017 to manage and promote his father’s (Dr. Ramzi Dalloul) vast collection of modern and contemporary Arab art. At around 4000 pieces it is the largest collection of its kind in private hands. The collection includes but is not limited to paintings, photography, sculpture, video and mixed media art. Basel has had a passion for art since he was very young, inspired by both his mother and father, whom are also passionate about art in all its forms. Basel also founded NOOR Group in 2000 in response to the Egyptian government’s announced goal of becoming the hub of the information technology (IT) industry in the Middle East. As Chairman and CEO, he has set the overall direction of NOOR, bringing the first region-wide, full-service IT development program to the area. He holds a Bachelor of Science in finance from American University and a Juris Doctor and MBA from Georgetown University, both in Washington, DC. Basel also studied electrical engineering and computer science at Rice University in Houston, TX, and undertook comparative studies of American and British common law and procedural law at Oxford University in England. He co-taught a course in entertainment law and the Internet at Georgetown University Law Center and is a frequent speaker and seminar leader at IT conferences worldwide.
Connect with Bassel Dalloul 👉
https://instagram.com/dafbeirut
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Curator of "Niyū Yūrk: Middle Eastern and North African Lives in the City", Hiba Abid, joins us to talk about the exhibition, housed at the New York Public Library's iconic 42nd Street building, which challenges dominant narratives by presenting New York as a city deeply intertwined with Middle Eastern and North African history and culture. Abid delves into the diverse stories of immigration, the often-overlooked North African presence, and the revolution in Arabic publishing in New York. Through fascinating primary documents and personal stories, the discussion explores everything from the surprising origins of the Statue of Liberty to early 20th-century American citizenship guides published in Arabic, revealing the long, complex, and vibrant history of Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York.
The exhibition remains until March 8, 2026. On December 5, is a Middle Eastern/North African take over of the flagship building of the NYPL that's not to be missed 👉https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/niyu-yurk
0:00 Introduction
1:18 Meet Hiba Abid and the NYPL Exhibition Title
2:16 The Exhibition's Core Idea and Historical Scope
5:41 Is New York a Middle Eastern City?
6:33 The Arab Roots of the Statue of Liberty
9:15 The 1910 Portrait of Mohamed Juda and Early Exclusion
12:34 Citizenship Guides for Early Arab Immigrants
16:45 Amplifying North African Stories in New York
20:47 Photography and a History of Arab Tattoos
24:19 The Explosion of Arabic Publishing in New York
28:27 Assimilation and Critique: Arab Views of America
31:14 "America Ya Hilwa": An Arab Immigrant's Bid for the US National Anthem
42:06 Salloum Mokarzel and the Arabic Linotype Revolution
43:25 A 1917 Menu from a Syrian Restaurant in New York
46:25 Confronting Anti-Arab Sentiment Through Archives
51:53 Upcoming NYPL Middle Eastern/North African Takeover Event
Hiba Abid oversees the New York Public Library’s collections of general and special materials produced in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and diasporic communities in the United States. Before joining NYPL, she taught courses on Islamic manuscripts and material culture at New York University’s Department of Art History and Institute of Fine Arts. She has also served as an Associate Researcher at the National Library of France, and contributed to exhibitions at the Louvre Museum, the Musée des Augustins, and Le 32bis: Center for Contemporary Art in Tunis. Hiba Abid received her MA in Art History from the Sorbonne University in Paris and PhD in Islamic Art History, Codicology and Philology from the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris.
Connect with Hiba Abid 👉
https://instagram.com/nypl_archives
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We visited renowned architect Bernard Khoury in his studio in Karantina, who offered a critical, unvarnished look at the reality of practicing architecture in Lebanon, contrasting it with the sugarcoated story of the "Phoenix coming out of its ashes". He discusses his career beginnings, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and how his first project—the infamous B018 nightclub—was a radically specific and necessary response to the city’s complex, macabre history and unstable political and economic context. Khoury shares his philosophical approach to architecture, which rejects stylistic gestures in favor of an obsession with specificity and a direct confrontation with Beirut's explosive nature, arguing for a practice that produces honest, if sometimes "sour" meaning in the present rather than succumbing to toxic simplifications.
00:00 The Sourness and Complexity of Beirut
01:23 Bernard Khoury's Karantina Studio and the Beirut Explosion
03:12 His First Project: B018 in Karantina
04:01 The Illusion and Disillusion of the Post-War Era
05:42 An Architect's Dilemma: Designing for an Expiry Date
12:56 Solidere, Immaterial Ownership, and a New Urbanism
15:44 The Cultural Significance of B018
17:05 B018's Site: A Macabre History
19:40 From Furniture Factory to Architecture Practice
22:52 Khalil Khouri: Modern Architect with Certainties
27:23 A Generational Difference in Practice
28:57 Rejected Labels: What Bernard Khoury Hates to Be Called...
31:41 Style vs. Specificity
36:00 Estrangement and Addiction to a Very Intense Environment
42:00 Bernard Khoury's Criticism of Solidere's Historical Narrative
Born in Beirut (1968), Bernard Khoury studied architecture at the Rhode Island school of Design (BFA 1990 / B.Arch 1991) and Harvard University (M.Arch 1993). He was awarded by the municipality of Rome, the Borromini Prize honorable mention given to architects under 40 years of age (2001), the Architecture + Award (2004), the CNBC Award (2008) and nominated for several awards including the Aga Khan award (2002 / 2004/ 2021), the Chernikov prize (2010) and the Mies van der Rohe Award (2021). He co-founded the Arab Center for Architecture (2008), was a visiting professor in several universities including the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and L’Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris. He has lectured and exhibited his work in over 150 institutions, including solo shows at the Aedes gallery in Berlin (2003), the Spazio per l’architecttura Milano (2016) and numerous group shows including YOU prison at the Fondazione Sandretto in Torino (2008), the opening show of the MAXXI museum in Roma (2010), the Frac Architecture Biennale in Orleans (2018), the Oris House of Architecture in Zagreb (2020) and the Architecture Biennale of Seoul (2021). He was the architect and co-curator of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2014). Over the years he has developed an international reputation and a diverse portfolio of projects in over fifteen countries. Khoury was nominated by the French Ministry of Culture Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2020)
Connect with Bernard Khoury 👉
https://instagram.com/bernardkhourydw5
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We delve into the evolving landscape of filmmaking in the region, the importance of authentic, locally rooted narratives, and the critical role of institutions like the Doha Film Institute in fostering emerging talent. Award-winning filmmaker and associate professor at Northwestern Qatar, Rana Kazkaz, offers a glimpse into her current project "The Hakawati's Daughter," and provides recommendations for essential Arab cinema. She shares her experiences teaching film in the Arab world, highlighting the unique challenges and immense joys of mentoring a new generation of storytellers.
This episode is in collaboration with Qatar Foundation.
0:00 Introduction
0:23 The Joy of Mentoring Arab Students
3:19 The "Why" of Storytelling: Finding Your Authentic Voice
4:44 Navigating Censorship and Risk in Filmmaking
7:24 How Technology is Shaping New Narratives
10:47 Shifting Away from the "Other" Narrative
14:55 Building the Filmmaking Pipeline: The Role of the Doha Film Institute
19:39 The Critical Need for Producers in the Arab World
21:39 The Impact of Non-Regional Producers on Arab Films
26:12 Recommending Authentic Arab Films for Students
29:28 Addressing Class Bias in the Film Industry
31:19 Unlearning Self-Orientalism in Storytelling
33:40 The Genesis of "The Hakawati's Daughter"
41:26 Essential Films from the Arab World
Rana Kazkaz is a filmmaker and associate professor in residence at Northwestern University Qatar. Her films have been recognized at the world’s leading festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Tallinn, Tribeca, and Abu Dhabi. She received her MFA from Carnegie Mellon University/Moscow Art Theater and BA from Oberlin College. With a focus on Syrian stories, her producing, screenwriting, and directing portfolio includes The Translator (2020), Mare Nostrum (2016), Searching for the Translator (2016), Deaf Day (2011), and Kemo Sabe (2007). Her current film projects include The Hakawati’s Daughter and Honest Politics. She is a member of the Académie des César and was awarded fellowships with the Buffett Institute, MacDowell and the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women.
Connect with Rana Kazkaz 👉
https://www.instagram.com/ranakazkaz
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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"The Future Is Not a Grave" is a three-day workshop happening next week at NYUAD which explores futurisms and futurescapes across the MENA, Gulf, and Indian Ocean regions. In this collaborative episode with NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, conveners Tishani Doshi and Masha Kirasirova delve into challenging despair, fostering collective imagination, and integrating diverse perspectives from artists, scholars, and performers. Discover how this initiative seeks to redefine conversations about the future, moving beyond conventional narratives and embracing a more open-ended, tolerant, and inclusive approach.
November 10-12, 2025 in Abu Dhabi 👉 https://publicprograms.nyuad.nyu.edu/en/the-institute/events/2025/november/the-future-is-not-a-grave.html
0:00 The Future Is Not A Grave: Provocative Title and Imagining Possibilities
2:50 The Role of Imagination and Counteracting Despair
4:01 Future-Oriented Projects Across the Middle East
4:38 Comparing Futurescapes and Broadening the Academic Framework
7:31 Imagining Different Outcomes: A Collective Task
9:19 Futurisms: An Intellectual History of Future-Oriented Projects
11:13 Contextualizing the Present and Artistic Currents
12:31 Is Futurism Decidedly Optimistic?
14:02 The Interconnectedness of Future and Past
15:16 The Role of Language and Performance
17:46 Imagining a Future Tolerant of Darkness
20:00 Creating Space for Conversation, Not Just Conclusions
21:11 Bringing Diverse Disciplines Together
24:06 Gulf Futurism and Connecting Students
26:19 Diverse Panels: From Graphic Novels to Environmental Law
27:11 The Ancient Theater Tradition of Kutiyattam: Emperor Ashoka's Transformation
29:40 The Radical Possibility of Performance and Nonviolence
31:09 The Gulf, South Asia, and the Indian Ocean: A Unique Focus
32:55 Rethinking Historical Space and Eurocentrism
34:06 Prioritizing Local Perspectives and Interdisciplinarity
36:46 Soviet Visions of the Arab World
38:49 Development Schemes and Shifting Conversations
39:56 The Academy's Value of Storytelling and Artists
42:01 Breaking Down Formalized Barriers
43:10 Rethinking Systems and Collective Support
43:54 Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration
44:50 Academic Conferences as Art Projects
46:08 Untapped Topics and Intergenerational Knowledge
48:58 Collective Power vs. National Identity
52:42 Workshop Dates and Further Information
Masha Kirasirova is a historian of exchanges between the Soviet Eurasia and the Middle East. Her work approaches modern Middle Eastern history from a “Second World” perspective. It brings together several hitherto separate scholarly domains: Soviet nationalities policy with regard to the USSR’s Muslim populations; social and cultural history of Stalinism in shaping the experience of Arab communists in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s; cultural exchange with Arab leftist intellectuals during the Cold War; and the impacts of these exchanges on artistic, bureaucratic, and political practices inside the USSR and on those exported to Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and Egypt.
Tishani Doshi FRSL is an Indian poet, journalist and dancer based in Chennai. In 2006 she won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection due to Countries of the Body. Her poetry book "A God at the Door" was later shortlisted for the 2021 Forward Prize for Best Collection. She is widely acclaimed as a creative writer; her first book of poetry, Countries of the Body (2006), won a Forward Prize for Best First Collection.
Connect with Tishani Doshi 👉
https://instagram.com/tishanidoshi
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Award-winning sculptor and artist Najla El Zein is most recently known for her work on a public commission by Qatar Museums for Doha's cultural district — a work titled "Us, her, him". She joins us to talk about her creative process, the evolution of her work, and the profound impact of personal experiences on her art. Based between Beirut and Amsterdam, Najla's work explores the relationship between space, object, and the human body, often challenging conventional perceptions of sculpture. She delves into the emotional depth behind her most significant projects, including her iconic spoons sculpture, the "Distortion" series, as well as her monumental public commission in Qatar, reflecting on themes of motherhood, female identity, and collective creation amidst challenging times.
0:00 Introduction
1:21 The Artist's Studio and Creative Process
2:46 From Childhood Curiosity to Sculptural Expression
5:36 Embracing the Unromantic Side of Sculpture
7:45 The Spoons Sculptures: A Defining Project
8:42 Moving to Beirut and Accessing Craftsmanship
10:18 Process and Meaning Behind the Spoons Sculture
11:39 Capturing Movement and Life in Static Forms
12:57 The Significance of Process and Durability
14:10 "Distortion" Series: Motherhood and Identity
18:50 "Fragmented Pillar": Fragility and Strength
21:28 "Seduction" Series: The Journey of Connection
23:17 A Deepening Relationship With Stone
25:06 "Group of Five": Dynamics and Discovery
27:49 The Qatar Museums Project: A Public Commission Amidst Crisis
30:58 The Vision for Qatar's Cultural District
34:12 Craftsmanship and the Human Element in Public Art
37:16 The Collaborative Process: From Lebanon to Qatar
40:34 Influences: Saloua Raouda Choucair, Noguchi, and Hockney
Najla El Zein's work embodies an intuitive approach to art and design, where narrative, craft, and materiality are central to her creative process. Each piece offers a personal yet universal language that evokes curiosity and emotion. Born in Beirut in 1983, she is a Lebanese-French artist and designer based in Amsterdam. She graduated from the École Camondo in Paris with a degree in Product Design and Interior Architecture, Spatial Design. In 2024, she received the Dia Al-Azzawi Prize for Public Art for her monumental installation "Us, Her, Him" in Doha, Qatar. In 2025, she was honored as one of the AD100 most important influential figures in art and design. Her works are part of prestigious collections, including Dallas Museum of Art, Saint Louis Art Museum, Qatar Museums, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Connect with Najla El Zein 👉
https://instagram.com/najlaelzein
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We delve into the UAE National Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale, titled "Pressure Cooker" with curator Azza Aboualam. An assistant professor at the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University Dubai and co-founder of Holesum Studio, Aboualam explains how architecture can be a cornerstone for achieving food security, particularly in challenging climates like UAE's and the broader Gulf region. Inspired by a simple question from her mother about the origin of blueberries in the UAE, Aboualam's work explored the intersection of architectural design and food production, focusing on innovative greenhouse typologies. The "Pressure Cooker" exhibition showcases how traditional and high-tech architectural elements can be reconfigured to prolong growing seasons and expand food production within the UAE. We unpack the complexities of food security as a national priority, the economic and environmental costs of imported food, and the surprising prevalence of individual-led greenhouse projects in the UAE. We also touch upon the fascinating historical context of food in the UAE, the impact of population growth on food systems, and a unique architectural cookbook attached to the project, which frames the conversation around food and built environments.
0:00:00 The UAE's Vision For Food Security
0:02:40 "Pressure Cooker": Architecture and Food Flow
0:03:33 The Blueberry Revelation: Origin of the Idea
0:04:38 Why Food Security Is an Architectural Problem in the UAE
0:05:48 The Urgency of Food Security In The UAE
0:07:08 Global Warming and Food Production Challenges
0:08:08 Inside The "Pressure Cooker" UAE Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2025
0:10:41 A Call to Action and Moment of Reflection
0:11:55 The True Cost of Food
0:12:21 Greenhouses: a Common Practice in the UAE
0:14:16 The "Kit-of-Parts" Innovation
0:14:42 The Adaptable Greenhouse System
0:16:07 Food Production in Apartment Living
0:16:44 Sparking Broader Conversations
0:17:30 Individual vs. Urban Scale Food Production
0:19:08 Who Is Doing Food Security Well?
0:20:32 Food Infrastructure in the UAE
0:21:56 Regional Knowledge Sharing
0:23:02 Local Food Production and Sufficiency
0:23:53 Oil Revenue's Impact on Food Security
0:25:01 Pressure Cooker Recipes: An Architectural Cookbook
0:26:44 Engaging With Local Farmers
0:28:18 Pathway to Food Independence
0:29:03 Defining Food Independence
0:30:54 Supermarkets: a Changing Landscape
0:32:08 Historical Food Production in the UAE
0:33:11 Migration and Food Systems
0:35:00 Resources for Learning About Food Security
0:36:51 The Problem of Food Waste
0:39:17 Packaging Waste in the F&B Industry
Upcoming event 👉 https://publicprograms.nyuad.nyu.edu/en/the-institute/events/2025/october/pressure-cooker-curated-by-azza-aboualam.html
Azza Aboualam is an Emirati architect and curator of the National Pavilion UAE for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2025. She is an Assistant Professor at the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University in Dubai and a co-founder and Director of Research at Holesum Studio, an interdisciplinary architecture and design practice based between New York, USA, and Sharjah, UAE. She co-founded the studio in 2021 a few years after graduating from the Yale School of Architecture. She worked with the UAE Ministry of Culture’s Architecture Initiative, and her field research, sketches, and writing were published in the book "In Search of Spaces of Coexistence: An Architect’s Journey" (2019), edited by Dr. Alamira Reem Al Hashimi and Adina Hempel. While working in Sharjah’s Department of Public Works, Aboualam managed the design and construction of large-scale projects such as the Aga Khan Award–winning Wasit Wetland Center.
Connect with Azza Aboualam 👉 https://instagram.com/azza.aboualam
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We visit Maktabi's flagship store in Beirut to unravel the rich history and intricate artistry of carpets. A third-generation carpet dealer from the renowned family behind Iwan Maktabi, Mohamed Maktabi delves into everything from the first carpet every discovered, the ancient origins of carpet weaving and the unique characteristics of tribal versus city carpets, to the esteemed legacy of Persian rugs and the evolving nature of the carpet dealing business. Maktabi shares personal family anecdotes, discusses the cultural significance embedded in some woven masterpieces, and offers insights into caring for these cherished objects. Whether you're a long-time admirer or new to the world of carpets, this conversation offers a deep appreciation for an art form that has captivated humanity for millennia. Maktabi also gives us his carpet wishlist from around the world.
0:00 Introduction
0:22 The Oldest Carpet and Persian Heritage
0:46 Tribal vs. City Carpets: Craft and Purpose
0:50 The Evolution of Carpet Dealing: From Bazaar to Flagship
1:08 Mohamed Maktabi's Role and Family Legacy
3:31 The Craft of Hand-Knotted Carpets
4:57 Tribal Weaving: A Woman's Art
9:01 The Unparalleled Quality of Persian Carpets
15:15 The Rise of Carpets in Every Household
17:40 The Golden Age of Classical Carpets
19:24 The Shifting Landscape of Carpet Dealing
20:30 Contemporary Creations and Embedded Stories
21:20 Mass-Produced vs. Hand-Knotted Carpets
24:26 A Tour of Curated Antique Pieces
25:06 Shahabs Suzani: A Needlework Diary from Central Asia
28:32 The Paisley Design in Khorasan Carpets
29:55 Isfahan Quran Cover Design: A Family Heirloom
33:37 The Enduring Value and Care of Carpets
35:11 Japan's Appreciation for Persian Carpets
35:48 The Future of Classical Carpet Making
36:38 Mohamed's Dream Carpet Collection
38:32 The Legendary Ardabil Carpet
40:33 Proper Carpet Care and Maintenance
Mohamed Maktabi is a third-generation carpet dealer and a scion (and now CEO) of the Iwan Maktabi family, an institution in the carpet business established in Beirut in 1926. His grandfather immigrated from Isfahan to Beirut, with his father, Abbas Maktabi, continuing the family tradition. Mohamed, alongside two of his five sisters, joined the family business, which his father initially envisioned as a small gallery for esoteric textiles and unique tribal pieces. Mohamed is known for his deep knowledge of carpet history, from ancient origins to contemporary creations, and his appreciation for the cultural and artistic significance embedded in each piece. He maintains a focus on both traditional and modern designs, ensuring the legacy of hand-knotted carpets endures.
Connect with Mohamed Maktabi 👉 https://instagram.com/mo_maktabi
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Amir Moosavi discusses the profound impact of the Iran-Iraq War – the longest two-state war of the 20th century – on the literature of both nations. Through his book "Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War," he explores in this conversation the official state-sanctioned narratives that emerged during and after the war, comparing them with the more nuanced, critical, and often experimental literary responses from writers in Iraq and Iran, including those in the diaspora. The conversation also highlights how these diverse literary works grapple with the war's legacy, from its human and environmental costs to its enduring presence in collective memory.
0:00 The Enduring Legacy of the Iran-Iraq War
1:03 Introducing Amir Moosavi's Book
3:39 A Historical Primer on the Iran-Iraq War
7:16 Shifting Narratives: Qadisiyyat Saddam and Operation Karbala
11:49 Bridging Arabic and Persian Literary Worlds
15:51 Understanding State Literature and Propaganda
20:11 Examples of State Literature and Narrative Shifts
29:36 Post-War Writers: Challenging Official Narratives
35:26 Warfront Depictions and the Quest for Truth
38:31 Artistic Communities and Collective Memory
40:41 The Meaning Behind "Dust That Never Settles"
43:18 Ecological Damage in War Literature
48:22 Misconceptions and Nuances in War Literature
50:39 Diaspora Authors and Freedom of Expression
Amir Moosavi is an assistant Professor in the Department of English at Rutgers University- Newark. He started teaching at Rutgers-Newark in the fall of 2018, following a year-long EUME postdoc funded by the Volkswagenstiftung and Mellon Foundation in Berlin (2016-17) and a visiting assistant professorship in modern Iranian studies at Brown University (2017-18). His research and teaching interests cover modern Arabic and Persian literatures and the cultural history of the Middle East, with an emphasis on Iran, Iraq, and the Levant. At RU-N, he teaches courses on Arabic and Persian fiction and film, world literature, translation studies, and war culture. He is particularly interested in how cultural production deals with violent pasts, wars, notions of transitional justice, representations of urban space, and the climate crisis. He has written a book manuscript titled "Dust That Never Settles: Literary Afterlives of the Iran-Iraq War."
Connect with Amir Moosavi 👉
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amir-moosavi-1b348224
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We challenge contemporary perceptions of Yemen as a "backwater" by revealing the pivotal role of its port city, Mocha, in the making of our modern world. Historian Nancy Um delves into the fascinating history of coffee, from its origins in 15th-century Yemen to its global spread and the economic transformations it spurred. She explores the rich maritime trade routes of the Indian Ocean, highlighting Yemen's centrality as a crossroads for goods, ideas, and people long before European influence. Um discusses the Ottoman Empire's cultivation of coffee in Yemen, the rise and decline of Mocha as a trade hub, and the unique cultural adaptations of coffee consumption within Yemen itself, such as the popular Qishr drink. We also touch upon the broader impact of hot beverages and porcelain on global social and consumption patterns, revealing how these everyday items were once revolutionary technologies. Um shares insights into the ongoing efforts to revive Yemen's coffee industry and offers recommendations for further reading on Yemen's vibrant history.
0:00 Mocha: A Bustling 17th-18th Century Trade Center
0:50 Yemen's Monopoly on Coffee
2:46 Nancy Um's Interest in Maritime Trade and Yemen
3:40 Yemen's Historical Significance Beyond Recent Decades
5:51 What Made Mocha a Prime Trade Hub?
7:58 Mocha's Rival: Aden
8:11 The History of Coffee as a Drink
10:01 Debunking Coffee Origin Myths: The Story of Kaldi and the Goats
12:20 Coffee as a Hot Brewed Beverage from Yemen
12:32 The Evolution of Coffee as a Commodity and Social Habit
13:21 Early Suspicion and Prohibitions Against Coffee
14:41 The Global Journey of the Coffee Plant
15:57 The Dutch and Coffee Cultivation in Java
17:22 Yemen's Shifting Coffee Fortunes
18:14 The Ottomans and Yemen's Coffee Cultivation
19:06 Ottoman Control of the Red Sea Trade
20:37 Diversification of Trade Beyond Coffee
21:37 European Influence on Mocha's Popularity
22:21 Qishr: Yemen's Unique Coffee Husk Drink (aka Cascara)
24:19 Efforts to Rebuild Yemen's Coffee Industry
26:01 The Red Sea Trade Route's Enduring Importance
29:02 The Indian Ocean: A Space of Exchange and Imagination
30:51 Reconsidering Land-Based vs. Water-Based Cultural Identities
33:20 Nationalizing Watery Metaphors and Icons
35:10 Historical Naming Conventions and Cultural Continuities
37:39 Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate: Technologies Reshaping Society
40:30 The Coffee House and the Enlightenment
42:07 The Decline of Mocha as an Economic Hub
43:10 Beneficiaries of Mocha's Decline
44:58 Challenge of Contradictory Stories in Historical Narratives
47:20 Disproving Coffee Plant Smuggling Myths
50:27 Misunderstandings About Yemen's History
51:34 Book Recommendations on Yemen
53:56 Access to Local Historical Documents in Yemen
Nancy Um is Associate Director for Research and Knowledge Creation at the Getty Research Institute. Her research program explores art, architecture, and material culture around the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Peninsula, with a focus on trade and cross-cultural exchange in the early modern era. She is also the author of "The Merchant Houses of Mocha: Trade and Architecture in an Indian Ocean Port," and "Shipped but Not Sold: Material Culture and the Social Protocols of Trade during Yemen’s Age of Coffee."
Connect with Nancy Um 👉
https://twitter.com/NancyUm1
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Author of "Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual," professor Nubar Hovsepian joins us to delve into the nuanced legacy of Edward Said, exploring common misunderstandings of his work, the reception of "Orientalism" within academia, and Said's vision of the "oppositional intellectual." The discussion also covers the evolving discourse around Zionism and Palestine, the challenges faced by the Palestinian liberation movement, and the critical need for new forms of struggle and organization. This conversation offers a candid look at the intellectual journey of Edward Said and its enduring relevance in contemporary Arab and global contexts.
0:00 Edward Said: The Oppositional Intellectual
0:20 Orientalism as a System of Domination
1:07 Misunderstandings of Edward Said's Work
3:18 The Reception of "Orientalism" in Academia
11:00 Columbia University and Ideas About Israel and Zionism
14:00 The Evolving Discourse on Zionism
18:24 Defining the Oppositional Intellectual
20:59 Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will
22:50 The Palestinian Liberation Movement: Peaks and Valleys
30:47 The Democratic Secular State and Its Opponents
34:09 Shifting Perceptions of Palestine Among Youth
37:00 Advice for Young Activists and Intellectuals
38:57 Mistakes of the Palestinian Movement
44:30 The Concept of Citizenship Versus Subjecthood
47:00 Edward Said's Relationship with America and the Arab World
50:27 Recommended Readings by Edward Said
Nubar Hovsepian is associate professor emeritus of political science at Chapman University in Orange, CA. He is the author of "Edward Said: The Politics of an Oppositional Intellectual," "Palestinian State Formation: The Construction of National Identity," and editor of "The War on Lebanon." Hovsepian served from 1982 to 1984 as political affairs officer for the United Nations conference on the Question of Palestine.
Connect with Nubar Hovsepian 👉 https://instagram.com/nubar.hovsepian
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The author of "Sustainable Qatar: Social, Political and Environmental Perspectives" delves into the multifaceted meaning of sustainability, especially within the context of the Arabian Peninsula. Our guest unpacks the region's unique environmental challenges, including sea level rise, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss, and explores the innovative strategies being implemented to build a more resilient future. An Associate Professor at the College of Public Policy at Hamad bin Khalifa University, Logan Cochrane, also critically examines the concept of "greenwashing," the complexities of global sustainability metrics, and the challenges of policy making.
0:00:00 The Nuance of Sustainability
0:03:05 Environmental Challenges in the GCC
0:06:08 Time Scale of Environmental Issues
0:09:42 Food Security in the Arabian Peninsula
0:17:40 Water Sources and Challenges in Qatar
0:20:25 Future Challenges and Adaptation in Arid Environments
0:22:53 Skepticism Towards Energy Transitions
0:24:50 Defining Greenwashing
0:31:11 The Politics of Sustainability Metrics
0:38:10 Global Leaders in Sustainability
0:41:09 The Environmental Impact of Electric Vehicles
0:48:10 The "Game of Telephone" in Policy Making
0:51:30 Non-Governmental Efforts in Sustainability
Logan Cochrane is an Associate Professor at the College of Public Policy at Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU). His research includes diverse geographic and disciplinary foci, covering broad thematic areas of food security, climate change, social justice and governance. For the last 15 years, he has worked in non-governmental organizations internationally, including in Afghanistan, Benin, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Logan has served as a director for two non-governmental organizations, and worked as a consultant with clients such as Global Affairs Canada, International Development Research Centre, Save the Children, Management Sciences for Health, the Liaison Office, UNICEF and UNAIDS.
Connect with Logan Cochrane 👉 https://qa.linkedin.com/in/logancochrane
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
A captivating episode with Yemeni-Egyptian artist Yumna Al-Arashi who discusses her upbringing in Washington D.C., the impact of the 2017 executive order (often referred to as the "Muslim ban") on her family, and how her art explores themes of identity, feminism, sexuality, healing, and human rights, frequently challenging the misrepresentation of Muslim women in Western media. Al-Arashi delves into her projects, including her first solo exhibition in Switzerland "Tears For The Future," her film "99 Names of God," and her powerful book "Aisha," which examines facial tattooing traditions from South Arabia to North Africa and the Sahara. She also shares her thoughts on self-portraits, the discomfort her work can evoke, and the importance of authorship and challenging orientalist desires in art.
0:00 Growing Up Egyptian-Yemeni in Washington D.C.
0:09 The 2017 Executive Order and Its Impact
0:49 The Salt Project: Healing and the Vulnerability of Movement
7:13 Childhood George Bush’s America
10:04 Growing up in Washington D.C.
12:05 Balancing Complexity and Tropes in “99 Names of God”
19:09 The Evolution of Resistance in Art
21:29 Filming “99 Names of God” in Oman and References to Yemen
22:50 Introducing the Book “Aisha”
23:55 the Connection Between Al-Arashi’s Projects
24:50 Reclaiming Narratives and Challenging Colonial History
28:20 The Importance of Authorship
32:23 The History and Meaning of Facial Tattoos
36:58 The Awkwardness and Power of Self-Portraits
Yumna Al-Arashi is a Yemeni-Egyptian artist, photographer, filmmaker, and writer born and raised in Washington, D.C. She studied International Politics with a focus on the Middle East at The New School. Her work, which is often self-taught in photography, explores themes of identity, feminism, sexuality, and human rights, frequently challenging the misrepresentation of Muslim women in Western media. Her notable works include the award-winning short film "The 99 Names of God" (2018) and the monograph "Aisha," which documents the ancient art of women's facial tattooing in North Africa and West Asia. Her photography has been featured in publications and exhibitions worldwide, and she has received support from organizations such as the International Women's Media Foundation and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture. She has lived and worked in various locations, including New York, Los Angeles, London, and Zürich.
Connect with Yumna Al-Arashi 👉 https://instagram.com/yumnaaa
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We challenge the conventional perceptions of home and identity in a diasporic context and delve into South Asian art. An art collector, entrepreneur, and the founder and chairperson of the Ishara Art Foundation, Smita Prabhakar shares personal anecdotes, including her move to Dubai 45 years ago and the evolution of her understanding of community and belonging. The discussion highlights the importance of contributing to the place one calls home, regardless of origin or citizenship, and breaks down geographical and cultural silos in the art world. Smita touches upon the challenges and future aspirations for Ishara, emphasizing its role in fostering cultural understanding and appreciation through art in the Arab Gulf region and beyond.
0:00 Introduction to the Ishara Art Foundation
2:58 The Importance of Humility and Valuing People
6:30 The UAE as Home and Giving Back to the Community
10:20 Ishara: Bridging South Asia and the Gulf
15:21 The Ambition of Ishara: South Asian Art on the World Map
25:39 The Imperative of Investing in "Two Homes"
32:28 Understanding "Histories and Cultures of the Arab World"
41:37 Lines of Flight: Shilpa Gupta's Exhibition
45:41 Challenges for Ishara in the Next 10 Years
51:04 Books and Novels on South Asian Art and History
52:31 Misunderstanding vs Lack of Communication in the Arab World
56:49 Final Reflections
Smita Prabhakar is an entrepreneur, collector and art patron who has been based in the UAE for over four decades. She is the Founder and Chairperson of the Ishara Art Foundation. Smita is also a member of the International Acquisitions Committee at Tate Modern (London), the Middle Eastern Circle of the Guggenheim Museum (New York) and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Venice). Smita’s collection, The Ishara Art Foundation and The Prabhakar Collection, focuses on South Asian contemporary artworks that reflect diverse voices and shared histories from across the region. She has supported the V.S. Gaitonde exhibition, 'Painting as Process, Painting as Life' in New York and Venice in 2015-6, a workshop around Shilpa Gupta’s artwork, 'For, In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit,' organised at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018, and the seventh and eight editions of the Colomboscope Festival in 2022 and 2024.
Connect with Smita Prabhakar 👉
https://instagram.com/isharaartfoundation
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We delve into the need to fill the literary and intellectual gap in Moroccan scholarship, the impacts of notable contemporary Moroccan philosophers and thinkers, and how their ideas engage with local, regional, and global issues like modernity, democracy, and human rights. Dr Mohammed Hashas is an assistant professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata and discusses his new book on contemporary Moroccan thought, which focuses on philosophy, theology, society, and culture. He shares his academic journey and personal experiences that led to the creation of this comprehensive work.
0:00 Introduction
2:26 A Book That Fills a Scholarly Need
3:11 The Book as a Critical Intellectual Gratitude
4:12 Mohammed First University in Oujda
6:08 From Cultural Studies to Political Theory
7:09 A Focus on the Middle East and North Africa
9:15 Defining Moroccan Thought
12:21 Geography & Time of Contemporary Moroccan Thought
16:06 The Beginning of the Movement
19:02 Thinking From the Edge
24:30 Examples of Thinkers and Their Concerns
28:04 Influential Thinkers: Al-Jabri and the Critique of Arab Reason
30:11 Influential Thinkers: Abdallah Laroui, the Liberal Marxist Historian
32:19 Is There an Arab World?
33:32 Influential Thinkers: Taha Abdurrahman and Islamic Moral Philosophy
37:14 Influential Thinkers: Fatima Mernissi and Islamic Feminism
38:17 Influential Thinkers: Abdelkebir Khatibi and Pluralization
39:31 Influential Thinkers: Mohammed Aziz Lahbabi and Personalism
42:15 Influential Thinkers: Abdessalam Yassine and Non-Violent Change
45:17 Influential Thinkers: AbdelFattah Kilito and Bilingualism
47:11 Dream Dinner With Moroccan Thinkers
48:35 Recommended Reading and Scholars
52:20 Contributions of the Rabat School
Mohammed Hashas [“ḥaṣḥāṣ” حصحاص] is a scholar of Islam, contemporary Islamic and Moroccan thought, and Islam in Europe. He holds a PhD from Luiss University of Rome, where he teaches, and is the author of "The Idea of European Islam" (Routledge, 2019) and "Intercultural Geopoetics" (Cambridge Scholars, 2017). He has edited or co-edited four volumes, including "Pluralism in Islamic Contexts" (Springer, 2021) and "Islamic Ethics and the Trusteeship Paradigm" (Brill, 2020). Currently a Research Fellow affiliated with Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin, he has previously held fellowships in Oxford, Copenhagen, Berlin, Tilburg, Palermo, and Virginia. His work focuses on contemporary Arab-Islamic philosophy and theology, European Islam, and Moroccan thought, and he has edited the first comprehensive volume on Contemporary Moroccan Thought.
Connect with Mohammed Hashah 👉
https://it.linkedin.com/in/mohammed-hashas-84674417
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We explore the Arab community's evolution in Montreal, the intent behind Maktaba Bookshop as a space for Arab representation and cultural exchange, and the concept of decolonizing care. The founder of Maktaba in Montreal, Iraqi artist and author Sundus Abdul Hadi shares her immigration story, creative endeavors, and the significance of her community-focused bookstore. Sundus also delves into her books, "Take Care of Your Self: The Art and Cultures of Care and Liberation" and "Shams," and shares her personal experience as a mother in her artistic journey. The episode highlights the role of art and culture in nurturing and preserving Arab identity in the diaspora.
00:00 Introduction: Sundus' Background
01:07 Living in Montreal
03:53 The Arab Community in Montreal
08:40 Maktaba: The Bookshop and Its Mission
20:03 Decolonizing Care and Art
27:20 The Concept of Vacation and Self-Care
31:02 The Impact of Capitalism on Communities
31:39 Complicity in Global Issues
33:30 Challenges of Pro-Palestinian Speech
34:12 Independent Bookshop Ownership
36:47 The 10 Commandments for Independent Artists
41:29 The Role of Motherhood in Art
44:55 Creating Children's Books on Trauma
48:57 Book Recommendations from Maktaba
58:31 The Importance of Storytelling
Sundus Abdul Hadi is an artist and writer of Iraqi origin, raised and educated in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, where she earned a BFA in Studio Arts and Art History and a MA in Media Studies. Articulated through her artistic practice, writing and curation, Sundus’ work is a sensitive reflection on trauma, struggle, and care. She is the author/illustrator of Shams, a children’s book about trauma, transformation and healing. Her book titled “Take Care of Your Self: The Art and Cultures of Care and Liberation” is a non-fiction book about care, curation and community. She is the cofounder of We Are The Medium, an artist collective and culture point, and the founder of Maktaba Bookshop in Montreal. She has also exhibited her work and led workshops, is a two-time recipient of the CALQ Vivacite grant, and has won the Makers Muse award twice. Her work is part of the Barjeel Art Foundation collection.
Explore Maktaba 👉 https://www.instagram.com/maktaba.bookshop/
Connect with Sundus Abdul Hadi 👉 https://instagram.com/sundusabdulhadi
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We welcome back Prof Nasser Rabbat to discuss his latest book "Writing Egypt: Al-Maqrizi and His Historical Project," which focuses on the 14th-century historian labeled as Egypt's greatest historian. The director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT outlines the journey and reasons behind his lengthy process of writing the book, the life and works of Al-Maqrizi, his significance in chronicling Egypt's history, and his unique subjective approach to historiography. We also delve into Al-Maqrizi's relationship with the famous sociologist Ibn Khaldun and the socio-political context of Egypt during the Mamluk period. The episode explores themes of patriotism, scholarly dedication, and the historical narrative of the Arab world.
00:00 Introduction
01:01 Discussing Rabbat's New Book "Writing Egypt: Al-Maqrizi and His Historical Project"
05:16 The Life and Times of Al-Maqrizi
17:17 Al-Maqrizi's Historical Contributions
20:02 The Mamluk Era and Its Impact on Scholarship
26:52 Al-Maqrizi's Legacy and Influence
38:40 Al-Maqrizi's Relationship with Ibn Khaldun
41:54 The End of History and Ibn Khaldun's Influence
43:00 Ibn Khaldun's Theory and Its Application
44:33 Al-Maqrizi's Background and Scholarly Life
47:43 Humor in Historical Writings
49:24 Egyptian Identity and Nationalism
53:09 Al-Maqrizi's Love for Egypt
55:30 Modern Interpretations of Al-Maqrizi
01:10:21 Egyptian Nationalism in the 20th Century
01:19:01 Future Works
Nasser Rabbat is the Aga Khan Professor and the Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT. His interests include Islamic architecture, urban history, Arab history, contemporary Arab art, heritage studies, and post-colonial criticism. He has published numerous articles and several books on topics ranging from Mamluk architecture to Antique Syria, to urbicide, such as "Imarat al-Mudun al-Mayyita" (The Architecture of the Dead Cities) (2018); and online book, "The Destruction of Cultural Heritage: From Napoléon to ISIS," co-edited with Pamela Karimi (2016). Rabbat held several academic and research appointments in Cambridge MA, Princeton, Los Angeles, Cairo, Granada, Rome, Paris, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Munich, and Bonn.
Connect with Nasser Rabbat 👉
https://instagram.com/nasserrabbat
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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A professor of anthropology at the American University of Sharjah and the author of "Impossible Citizens: Dubai's Indian Diaspora" and "Teach for Arabia: American Universities, Liberalism, and Transnational Qatar," Neha Vora talks about her experience living in the United Arab Emirates, the influence of South Asian communities in Dubai, the concept of citizenship beyond legal definitions, and the evolving diaspora dynamics in the Gulf. The conversation touches on the impact of American university branch campuses in the region and their long-term effects on citizenship and community.
00:00 Introduction
00:30 Living in the UAE: An Anthropologist's Perspective
01:31 Exploring the Book "Impossible Citizens: Dubai's Indian Diaspora"
01:52 Dubai: A South Asian City?
03:39 Community vs. Citizenship in the Gulf
06:39 Expat vs. Migrant Worker: Defining Terms
11:24 Researching South Asian Diaspora in Dubai
21:47 Citizenship and Belonging: A Complex Relationship
26:40 The Gulf as a Fluid Space
28:57 Introducing "Teach for Arabia" and Critiques of Branch Campuses
33:29 Impact on Citizenship and Society
42:14 Generational Perspectives in the Gulf
48:32 Retirement and Residency Changes
52:06 Current Research Focus: Stray Animal Care
53:30 Final Thoughts
Neha Vora is Professor of Anthropology in the Department of International Studies at the American University of Sharjah in the UAE. She received her PhD in anthropology and gender studies at University of California, Irvine. Her interdisciplinary research and teaching interests include diasporas and migration, citizenship, globalized higher education, gender, liberalism, political economy, and human-nonhuman encounters, primarily in the Arabian Peninsula region. She is the author of "Impossible Citizens: Dubai’s Indian Diaspora" (Duke University Press, 2013) and "Teach for Arabia: American Universities, Liberalism, and Transnational Qatar"
Connect with Neha Vora 👉 https://twitter.com/nativeinformant
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Considered a key figure within Beirut's creative scene, comics author, visual artist and musician Mazen Kerbaj joins us on The afikra Podcast and discusses his upbringing in Beirut, his creative family background growing up around famous artist as parents, and the influence of the city's tumultuous history on his work. Kerbaj shares insights into his childhood during the Lebanese Civil War, his passion for comics, and the evolution of his artistic identity. He reflects on the impact of fame, the transformative power of creative expression, and the importance of staying true to one's artistic vision. The conversation also delves into his unique experiences with blogging during the 2006 Lebanon War, leading up to his latest journaling work on Gaza which has lead to publishing a book in French – soon to be released in English with the title "Gaza in my Phone." We also delve into his other critically acclaimed works and his thoughtful perspectives on music and visual art.
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Growing Up With Antoine Kerbaj and Laure Ghorayeb as Parents
02:00 The Beginning of a Creative Journey
02:31 Describing Beirut
04:30 Life During and After the Lebanese Civil War
10:28 Musical Influences and Discoveries
14:06 Commitment to Art
20:01 Fame and Family Dynamics
21:58 The Philosophy of Art and Fame
30:57 The Rise and Fall of a Comic Strip
34:06 The Iconic Beirut Posters of Mazen Kerbaj
38:03 Blogging During Conflict
45:07 Creating Art Under Siege
55:00 Music and Visual Art: A Blurred Line
01:01:37 Influences and Inspirations
Mazen Kerbaj is a Lebanese comics author, visual artist, and musician born in Beirut in 1975. He's the author of 15 books translated into more than 10 languages and his work has been shown in galleries, museums and art fairs around the world. Kerbaj is widely considered as one of the initiators and key players of the Lebanese free improvisation and experimental music scene. As a trumpet player, he pushes the boundaries of the instrument beyond recognition. He also works on selective illustration and design projects and has taught at the American University of Beirut.
Connect with Mazen Kerbaj 👉
https://instagram.com/mazenkerbaj
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Nathaniel Mathews is associate professor in Africana Studies at Binghamton University and author of "Zanzibar Was a Country: Exile and Citizenship between East Africa and the Gulf." He tells us about his journey in studying Zanzibar, prompted by his early exposure to Swahili culture. He delves into the historical significance of Zanzibar, its cosmopolitan nature, the Omani influence in East Africa, and the slave trade's impact. He explore Zanzibar's political transitions, from becoming a British protectorate to the post-revolution identity struggles, and the eventual union with mainland Tanzania. He also touches on the complex identities within Zanzibar, such as Afro-Arabs, and the effects of the 1964 revolution which led to a significant emigration of Zanzibar's residents to Oman and other Gulf states. The discussion closes with book and film recommendations related to Zanzibar and East African-Arabian history.
00:00 Introduction
01:32 Historical Overview of Zanzibar
03:55 Omani Influence and Colonization
06:34 Economic and Cultural Transformation
16:49 British Protectorate and the Shortest War
20:25 20th Century Zanzibar: Identity and Belonging
27:52 Path to Independence and Union With Tanzania
29:52 Cultural Nation and Independence Movements
30:48 Colonial Rule and Sovereignty in Africa
32:40 Labor Protests and National Identity
33:44 Understanding Afro-Arabs in Zanzibar
36:41 Economic and Social Dynamics in Zanzibar
39:54 The Zanzibar Revolution and Its Aftermath
44:57 Exodus and Resettlement of Zanzibaris
53:14 Return to Oman and Ethnic Migration
55:58 Recommended Books and Documentaries
Nathaniel Mathews is a historian of East Africa and the Indian Ocean. He received his PhD from Northwestern University and is currently Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at SUNY Binghamton, specializing in the history of modern Zanzibar and the global afterlives of the Zanzibar revolution.
Connect with Nathaniel Mathews 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathaniel-mathews-10430561
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Live from Diriyah Art Futures in Riyadh, we're joined by Haytham Nawar, the director of Diriyah Art Futures, and Ala Younis who co-curated its latest exhibition, which delves into the New Media Art scene in the Arab world. They explore the lack of recognition for Arab names in global media art history, discuss the significance of the word "archeology" in the exhibition's subtitle "Maknana: An Archaeology of New Media Art in the Arab World", and highlight contributions by artists like Lucien Samaha, the first person to click a digital image. The conversation also covers the generational and geographical aspects of New Media Art in the Arab world, and the challenges of curating such an exhibition. The episode provides an in-depth look at the themes, artists, and historical context behind the pioneering Diriyah Art Futures project.
00:00 Introduction
01:47 Exploring the Exhibition's Themes and Research
04:30 Historical Context and Artist Contributions
10:43 Curatorial Approach and Challenges
27:31 Defining the Arab World in Art
30:48 Misunderstood and Favorite Art Pieces
31:23 Curatorial Challenges and Artwork Highlights
33:58 More Artworks and Multiple Interpretations
39:03 The Role of New Media in Telling the Arab World's Story
41:46 Audience Questions and Curatorial Insights
49:54 Gender Balance and Artist Selection Criteria
51:50 New Media Art and Public Sphere
59:11 Future Iterations and Ongoing Research
Ala Younis is an artist, with curatorial, film and publishing projects. Using objects, film and printed matter, she often seeks instances where historical and political events collapse into personal ones. She holds a BSc in Architecture from University of Jordan and MRes in Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths, University of London. She co-curated Diriyah Art Futures' exhibition "Maknana: An Archaeology of New Media Art in the Arab World."
Connect with Ala Younis 👉 https://instagram.com/alayounis
Haytham Nawar is an Egyptian artist, designer, scholar, and educator, and the director of Diriyah Art Futures. He is also Associate Professor of Design at the American University in Cairo and the founder and director of Cairotronica, a festival of electronic and new media arts in Cairo.
Connect with Haytham Nawar 👉
https://instagram.com/haythamnawar
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Host Mikey Muhanna talks to Rana AlMutawa, Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at NYU Abu Dhabi and author of "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City, Making Home in Dubai." They delve into the misunderstood complexities of Dubai's social dynamics, exploring urban ethnography, the mislabeling of spaces as "fake" or "authentic" and the city's multifaceted social hierarchies. AlMutawa provides insights into the real and significant social lives created within Dubai's often-criticized spaces, such as shopping malls, and challenges Western-centric viewpoints on the city's development and social structure.
00:00 Introduction
05:29 Understanding Urban Ethnography
08:59 Middle-Class Dynamics in Dubai
14:16 Neoliberalism and Urban Spaces
17:50 Exclusions in Public Spaces
25:07 Authenticity and Exoticization
27:02 Research Methodology in Urban Ethnography
29:31 Social Hierarchies in Dubai
31:31 Complexities of Privilege in Dubai
32:33 Diverse Urban Spaces and Social Interactions
37:03 Malls as Social Newspapers
40:23 Personalities of Different Malls
45:50 Inclusivity and Accessibility in Public Spaces
49:32 Comparing Cities in the UAE
57:16 Double Standards in Global Cities
01:01:35 Further Reading
Rana AlMutawa is an Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at New York University Abu Dhabi. She focuses on urban ethnography, social hierarchies (race, class, gender, citizenship, Orientalism, and social distinction), and belonging. She completed her doctoral training at the University of Oxford in 2021 and published her first book "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City: Making Home in Dubai" in 2024 with the University of California Press.
Connect with Rana AlMutawa 👉
https://instagram.com/Rana_almutawa
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We're joined by Dr Atif Magbool at Sidra Medicine who talks to us about the immense challenges and efforts in providing mental healthcare to children and women in crisis-affected areas. Dr Magbool shares his journey into pediatric psychiatry – primarily influenced by early experiences in Sudan – and discusses the significant differences between child and adult psychiatry. The conversation explores the Gaza Patient Program initiated by Sidra Medicine, which offers comprehensive medical, surgical, and psychological care to children affected by the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Dr Magbool also touches upon the remarkable resilience observed in children survivors, the continuous trauma faced by Palestinian children, and the critical need for mental health support during and after war. The dialogue sheds light on the importance of providing a safe and supportive environment for affected children and the broader impact of war on the mental health sector in crisis zones.
This episode is in collaboration with Qatar Foundation.
00:00 Introduction
01:29 Dr Magbool's Journey into Psychiatry
04:32 Understanding Pediatric Psychiatry
06:47 The Gaza Patient Program
18:42 Challenges in Palestinian Healthcare
20:49 Personal Reflections and Emotional Impact
30:39 Support for Women in Crisis
35:36 Call to Action
Dr Atif Magbool is the Lead Consultant for the Inpatient Pediatrics Beds Under Psychiatric Coverage (PBUPC) team and a member of the CAMHS outpatient services at Sidra Medicine. He earned his MBBS from Omdurman University in Sudan and completed his psychiatric training in Ireland, obtaining his MRCPsych in 2012. He later specialized in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in Scotland, receiving his CCT before working as a consultant there. He also holds diplomas in Clinical Psychiatry and Health Services Management and has extensive experience in managing a wide range of psychiatric and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents across inpatient, outpatient, and day hospital settings. He is also active in medical education and is fluent in Arabic and English, with proficiency in Serbo-Croatian.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Host Mikey Muhanna interviews emerging artists, Khaled Makshoush, Youssef El Idrissi and Aya Abu Ghazaleh, who share their experiences and artistic practices, covering their backgrounds, inspirations, and the challenges of being a young artist. Recorded live from Riyadh at Diriyah Art Futures, the episode delves into cultural exchanges, technological influences on modern art, and the evolving definitions of digital art in contemporary practice. Key themes include the emotional and cultural impacts of art, the role of social media and AI, and insights into individual journeys and broader artistic trends in the MENA region.
00:00 Introduction
01:31 Meet the Artists
03:48 Why Apply to the Program?
04:54 Daily Life in the Program
06:07 Exploring New Mediums and Styles
09:16 The Concept of Emerging Artists
15:16 Influences and Inspirations
19:27 The Role of Social Media for Artists
22:54 Cultural Exchange and Learning
26:35 Frustrations and Misunderstandings
27:50 Working with a Team
28:31 Tools and Skills for Emerging Artists
30:26 Facing Rejection and Maintaining Confidence
32:39 Defining Art in the Digital Age
36:01 AI's Impact on the Art World
39:39 Exploring Art Futures
40:52 Questions Artists Wish to Avoid
43:02 Current Projects and Research
49:04 Where to Find Them Online
A visual artist and art therapist, Aya Abu Ghazaleh’s work encompasses interactive installations and mixed media, exploring nature, memory, archives, sustainability, and digital tools, to harness art as a tool for resistance and healing. She has participated in residencies, exhibited internationally, and worked on numerous art programmes and workshops.
Connect with Aya Abu Ghazaleh 👉 https://instagram.com/ayaabughazaleh
Khaled Makshoush is a Saudi digital artist from Riyadh specializing in pixel art. He blends reality and imagination to create atmospheric digital paintings that explore the emotional essence of spaces. Through colors, shapes, and patterns, he crafts detailed scenes that invite viewers to experience his vision.
Connect with Khaled Makshoush 👉 https://instagram.com/kldpxl
Youssef El Idrissi is a multidisciplinary artist, cultural engineer, and researcher. His artistic practice utilises generative art as a mode of expression to decolonise imaginaries, explore indigenous mythologies, and engage in healing processes through occult means. He holds a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Cultural & Artistic Engineering.
Connect with Youssef El Idrissi 👉
https://instagram.com/youssefeidrissi_
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley speaks about the complexities of Arabic tracing his personal journey with the language, from early struggles with grammar to a deep appreciation for its richness. We explore the historical and pedagogical challenges of teaching Arabic, especially given its sacred status connected to the Quranic text and the socio-cultural resistance to modernizing its grammatical teaching methods. The conversation also delves into the dual nature of Arabic, the spoken and the written forms, their impact on education, everyday use, and the broader implications of Arabic as a cultural and identity-defining symbol in the Arab world.
00:00 Introduction
00:05 Professor Suleiman-Malley's Early Relationship with Arabic
01:24 Challenges in Teaching Arabic Grammar
05:34 Cultural and Historical Context of Arabic Pedagogy
11:30 Arabic as a Symbol of Identity and Conflict
15:43 The Health of the Arabic Language
23:50 Decolonization and Language
29:45 Reviving and Managing Languages
38:26 The Role of Language in Identity
39:19 Language as a Membership Card
41:04 Diversity and Unity in the Arab World
42:50 Cultural Arabness vs Racial Arabness
45:39 Historical Perspectives on Arab Identity
54:01 The Concept of Diglossia
01:03:08 Challenges of Written vs Spoken Arabic
01:07:11 The Future of Arabic Language and Identity
01:13:30 Final Thoughts
Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley is Chair of the Panel of Judges, British-Kuwaiti Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. He serves as Trustee on the Boards of Arab-British Chamber Charitable Foundation, International Prize for Arab Fiction (in association with the Man-Booker Prize), Banipal Trust for Arab Literature and is trustee of the Gulf Research Centre-Cambridge. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, Chair of the Centre for the Study of the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (CIRMENA), Board Member of the Islamic Manuscript Association, Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Evaluation and Research in Muslim Education, Institute of Education, Member of the Advisory Board of The Doha Institute, Qatar and Member of the Advisory Board of Our Shared Future. He is a member of the editorial boards of a number of journals and book series. He is also Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, formerly Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies.
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Connect directly with Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://instagram.com/mikey_mu
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊
https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We're joined by professor and author Sami Al Daghistani to explore the life and thought of Al-Ghazali, a prominent figure in Islamic intellectual history. We delve into Al-Ghazali's multifaceted contributions to Islamic law, philosophy, and theology, highlighting his major works, such as "The Revival of Religious Sciences" and "Deliverance from Error and the Beginning of Guidance." We examine his ethical system of economic thought, existential crises, and his impact on modern economic theory, ethics, and the philosophical landscape. The conversation also touches upon the relevance of Al-Ghazali's ideas in today's global economy and ethical contexts.
01:00 Introduction
01:28 Who Was Al-Ghazali?
04:04 Al-Ghazali's Journey and Spiritual Crisis
07:33 Al-Ghazali's Intellectual Contributions and Influence
09:59 The Philosophical Environment of Al-Ghazali's Time
15:12 Al-Ghazali's Ethical Economics and Pursuit of Happiness
29:24 Al-Ghazali's Views on Wealth and Economic Engagement
30:49 Active Engagement in Society and Wealth
31:44 Critiques of Materialism and Balance
32:56 Ethical Economics and Wealth Distribution
35:04 Islamic Perspectives on Capitalism and Socialism
39:02 Modern Islamic Economics and Finance
43:24 Connections to Western Philosophers
46:52 Historical Contributions and Misconceptions
51:47 Relevance of Classical Thinkers Today
01:00:09 Conclusion and Contact Information
Sami Al Daghistani is Associate Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Islamic Studies at Lund University, Associate Faculty at the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, and Research Scholar at Columbia University’s Middle East Institute. His research explores intersections of Islamic economics, ethics, law, and the environment through interdisciplinary and historical approaches. He is the author of The Making of Islamic Economic Thought (Cambridge, 2022) and Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī’s Ethical Teachings (Anthem, 2021), among other works. Sami holds a PhD from Leiden University and previously held fellowships in Oslo and New York.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Professor Samer Abboud from Villanova University is an expert on Syrian politics. He joins us to discuss the intricacies of Syria's political history from 1946 to the present, including the impact of French colonial rule, frequent coups, the United Arab Republic, the rise and governance of the Ba'ath Party, and the shift towards crony capitalism in the 2000s. Abboud shares insights on the lived experiences of Syrians through various political changes, the role of the military, and the economic philosophies underpinning different regimes. He also delves into the contemporary relevance of this history and offers a reading list for those interested in learning more about Syria.
00:00 Introduction
02:27 Overview of Syrian Political History
02:56 French Colonial Rule and Frequent Coups
08:21 United Arab Republic (UAR) and Its Impact
16:43 Ba'ath Party and the 1963 Coup
30:55 Brutality and Efficiency of the Regime
33:36 21st Century Syrian Politics
41:16 Role of Security Apparatus and Loyalty
47:38 Journalistic Perspectives on Syria
57:49 Recommended Readings and Films on Syria
Samer Abboud is Associate Professor of Global Interdisciplinary Studies at Villanova University and the author of Syria (Polity, 2018), a book that explores the outbreak and trajectory of the Syrian uprising. His research is broadly interested in warfare in Syria and the emergence of an illiberal post-conflict order in the country. He has recently published articles in journals such as Citizenship Studies, Peacebuilding, Middle East Policy, and The Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding that explore themes of illiberalism, post-conflict order, knowledge production, and Syrian reconstruction. His current research project is interested in the production of fear as a central mechanism of political rule prior to, and during, the period of the conflict, and how Syrians have differentially envisioned and acted upon this fear in cultural production. Samer sits on the Editorial Board of Security Dialogue and is a co-editor of Jadaliyya’s Syria page.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Previously Editor-in-Chief for GQ Middle East and currently for Dazed MENA, Ahmed Swaid has had an extensive career in media. He joins us to talk about his multicultural upbringing, from the UK, Syria and Lebanon, to Sierra Leone, and explores how his diverse background helps shape his unique vantage points in the media landscape. We discuss the challenges and insights of working in different media settings, the importance of representing various voices in the region, and Swaid's personal journey in creative industries. With engaging anecdotes and thoughtful reflections, this episode dives into the intricacies of cultural perspectives, identity, and the evolving content game in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
00:00 Introduction
00:33 Swaid's Multicultural Background
03:58 Early Influences and Pop Culture
09:08 Career Beginnings and Media Journey
12:02 Content Creation in Different Regions
16:53 Challenges in Media and Storytelling
24:11 Creativity in the Age of Chaos
31:43 Exploring the Meaning of "Dazed"
32:26 Cultural Significance and Global Reach
36:10 Casting and Featuring Diverse Talent
39:00 Challenges and Strategies in Media Representation
45:12 Pop Culture in the Arab World
52:56 Rapid Fire Questions
Ahmad Swaid is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Dazed MENA and previously EIC of GQ Middle East. He has led content for Dazed, AnOther Magazine, and Nowness, championing underrepresented voices and regional talent. Raised across London, Beirut, Freetown, and Aleppo, he brings a global perspective to his work, focusing on authentic storytelling from the Middle East and North Africa. He co-founded Creatives for Lebanon to support artists after the 2020 Beirut explosion and mentors young designers through the QASIMI RISING Talent Incubator.
Connect with Swaid 👉 https://www.instagram.com/ahmadaswaid/?hl=en
Explore Dazed MENA 👉 https://www.instagram.com/dazedmiddleeast/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this episode of The afikra Podcast, we're joined by renowned journalist Mona Chalabi who discusses her latest animated series "#1 Happy Family USA" with comedian Ramy Youssef, her unique data-driven and illustrated approach to journalism, and the use of humor as an effective communication tool. The conversation delves into Chalabi's upbringing, her views on authority and respect in journalism, the importance of lived experiences in storytelling, and the ethical complexities of representing marginalized voices. We also explore the challenges of the journalism industry, the impact of social media, and the significance of platforming diverse perspectives in media.
00:00 Introduction
03:18 Childhood Interests and Ambitions
04:53 No to Fan Culture
07:47 Data Journalism and Human Stories
12:15 Challenges in Journalism and Representation
16:39 Economic Crisis in Journalism
21:27 Growing Up During the Iraq Invasion
23:12 The Role of Journalists in Shaping Consent
24:35 The Challenges and Resilience of Protest Movements
26:41 The Importance of Local Reporting
29:12 Journalistic Integrity and Future Reflections
33:16 Balancing Activism and Media Consumption
34:33 The Process of Creating and Revising Work
39:23 The Debate on Platforming Opposing Views
44:46 Final Thoughts
Mona Chalabi's work has earned her a Pulitzer Prize, a fellowship at the British Science Association, and an Emmy nomination and recognition from the Royal Statistical Society. In recent years, her art has been exhibited at the Tate, the Brooklyn Museum, the Design Museum, and the House of Illustration. She studied international relations in Paris and Arabic in Jordan. Mona works beside windows, sometimes in her hometown of London but usually in Brooklyn where she is writing a book about the ways we talk about money. It has been optioned by A24 as a documentary series. She is also the executive producer and creative director of an upcoming animated TV show with Ramy Youssef, A24 and Amazon Studios. Her writing and illustrations have been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Guardian where she is currently the data editor. Her video, audio, and production work has been featured on Netflix, NPR, the BBC, and National Geographic.
Connect with Chalabi 👉 https://www.instagram.com/monachalabi/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
We talk to Mohammed Hafiz, the founder of ATHR Gallery and Foundation, about his journey in the art world, the evolution of Saudi contemporary art, and the founding of ATHR Gallery and the Saudi Art Council. Hafiz shares personal stories from his first experiences with art, the creation of ATHR, and the "Edge of Arabia" exhibition. He discusses the development of the Saudi art scene, its impact on the global stage, and the role of major initiatives like the Islamic Biennale and certain art weeks across the Middle East. Hafiz also provides insights into the challenges and opportunities within the art industry, highlighting the importance of being agile and responsive to dynamic cultural developments.
00:00 Introducing Mohammed Hafiz and His Unique Approach to Art
02:30 Hafiz's Early Encounters with Art
05:19 The Birth of ATHR Gallery
08:55 Challenges and Successes in the Art World
17:42 The Evolution of the Saudi Art Scene
21:30 The Role of Jeddah and the Saudi Art Council
28:10 The Life of an Artist: Challenges and Realities
32:29 The Struggles of Becoming a Full-Time Artist
33:28 Contemporary Art Trends and Public Interest
34:46 Building Saudi Arabia's Art Ecosystem
37:39 Global Art Competitions and Collaborations
41:14 Economic Impact of Creative Industries
46:49 The Future Vision for Saudi Art
57:19 Exploring Art in the Arab World
Mohammed Hafiz (b. 1975, Jeddah) is a prominent advocate for Saudi art, known for transforming the perception of contemporary Saudi art locally and internationally. He supported Edge of Arabia’s touring exhibitions (2008–2014) and curated its first major Jeddah show in 2012. In 2009, he co-founded ATHR with Hamza Serafi—now one of the Kingdom’s leading contemporary art spaces, with a strong educational mission. In 2014, he helped establish the Saudi Art Council and served as Vice Chairman, launching the annual 21,39 Jeddah Arts exhibitions (2014–2022), showcasing Saudi modern and contemporary art. Hafiz was CEO of Al Sawani Group (2005–2020) and currently sits on the boards of Madina Art Center, Misk Art Institute, and Dar Al Fikr Schools.
Explore ATHR 👉 https://www.instagram.com/athrart/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We sit down with Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid, author of "Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and The Birth of History" an honorary fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford. She takes us on an incredible journey through ancient Mesopotamia, exploring the region's rich history, significant cultural innovations, and the development of the first writing system. We delve into the lives and contributions of notable Mesopotamians, including the first named author, princesses, and everyday people. We learn about ancient astronomy, the role of women in Mesopotamia, and the deep historical roots of many concepts we consider modern today. Tune in to understand why studying this ancient civilization remains crucial for our understanding of the present.
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Exploring Mesopotamia: Location and Significance
02:31 The Origins and Use of the Term "Mesopotamia"
03:15 Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization
05:52 The Birth and Impact of Writing Systems
09:11 Deciphering Cuneiform: The Rosetta Stone of Mesopotamia
12:51 The Importance of Studying Ancient History
15:16 Personal Stories and Objects from Mesopotamia
31:43 Understanding Heartbreak and Anxiety
32:45 The Evolution and Loss of Knowledge
35:45 Ancient Mesopotamian Medical Practices
37:20 Origins and Impact of Astrology
43:51 Women in Ancient Mesopotamia
51:53 Top Five Mesopotamians: Dead or Alive
57:09 Recommendations
Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid is an assyriologist and historian based at Wolfson College, University of Oxford, who specializes in cuneiform and the history of science in ancient Mesopotamia. Thousands of cuneiform tablets preserve breathtaking moments in early scientific endeavor, like a 4,000-year-old approximation of pi and ancient observations of Halley's Comet — moments she hopes to bring to a wider audience. She's written "Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and The Birth of History," and practices archaeology in her home country of Saudi Arabia to learn more about the its rich ancient history, from early writing to wild camels in rock art.
Connect with Dr Al-Rashid 👉 https://www.instagram.com/drmoudhy/
Get the book 👉 https://shorturl.at/TFyZl
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Senior visiting research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Dr Shihab-Eldin joins us on The afikra Podcast to discuss his extensive career in nuclear and solar energy research, particularly his work in Kuwait on pioneering solar energy projects. We explore the challenges and potential of transitioning away from fossil fuels, the energy trilemma of affordability, security, and sustainability, and the role of decarbonization technologies. Dr Shihab-Eldin also reflects on the historical and future perspectives of energy supply and demand, the impact of carbon emissions, and the viability of nuclear power. We conclude with a discussion on climate change impacts in the Arab world and the necessity of international cooperation for future energy solutions.
00:00 Introduction
01:12 Early Career and Solar Energy Initiatives
04:10 Challenges and Opposition to Solar Energy
05:37 Energy Reserves and Future Predictions
09:19 The Energy Trilemma
11:57 Environmental Impact and Efficiency
23:40 Global Emissions and Climate Change
29:51 Global Race and Industrialization
31:04 Direct Air Capture Technology
33:33 Scaling and Cost Challenges
34:33 Political Will and Global Cooperation
40:35 Renewable Energy and Solar Power
43:59 Global Warming and Climate Change in the Arab World
54:11 Nuclear Energy: Past, Present and Future
59:24 Final Thoughts
Adnan Shihab-Eldin is a senior visiting research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies and a board member of the Kearney Energy Transition Institute. A former research physicist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, he has held academic and visiting positions at institutions such as Kuwait University, UC Berkeley, Harvard, and CERN. He previously served as director general and board member of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, and held senior roles at organizations including the IAEA, UNESCO, and OPEC. A long-standing member of the World Federation of Scientists’ Energy Permanent Monitoring Panel, he also co-chairs its Management of Catastrophic Risks panel. Shihab-Eldin has received numerous honors, including the IAEE’s 2023 award for Outstanding Contributions, the 2022 Spirit of Salam Award, and UC Berkeley’s 2017 Elise and Walter A. Haas International Award.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The author of "Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain, 1492 to 1614," delves into the complex history of Muslim Spain, starting from the arrival of Muslims in Spain in 711 under a North African general, the formation of al-Andalus, and its eventual decline. Matthew Carr explains how the Spanish Christians perceived the conquest of Granada in 1492 as a divine and final victory, leading to the expulsion of Jews and Muslims. The discussion highlights the forced conversions, the life of the Moriscos (converted Muslims) under Christian rule, and the extreme measures taken by the Spanish Inquisition to ensure religious uniformity. Carr also reflects on the modern parallels of ethnic cleansing in Palestine and societal intolerance, linking historical events to contemporary issues.
00:00 Introduction: The Concept of Blood and Faith
01:10 Historical Context: Muslim Arrival in Spain
02:24 The Fall of Granada and Its Aftermath
03:37 Carr's Inspiration for Writing the Book
03:59 The Moriscos: A Forgotten History
05:20 The Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain
18:49 The Concept of Purity of Blood
22:54 The Fall of Granada: A Religious and Political Triumph
31:07 The Aftermath of 1492: Forced Conversions and Rebellions
34:15 Forced Conversions in Spain
34:50 Muslim Workers in Valencia
37:48 Christian Intolerance and Inquisition
40:38 Cultural Resistance and Rebellion
45:27 The Expulsion of the Moriscos
54:32 Historical Reflections and Modern Parallels
Matthew Carr is a writer, journalist, and author of several books of nonfiction, including Blood and Faith :The Purging of Muslim Spain. He has written for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Observer, The Guardian and others.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
In this episode of The afikra Podcast, Professor Natalie Koch – the author of "Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia" – helps us dive into the unexpected connections between the deserts of Arizona and the Arabian Peninsula, beginning with the story of Hi Jolly and the camel experiments of the mid-19th century. The discussion explores how these arid spaces serve as political and imperial tools, the role of white experts in influencing desert landscapes, and the intricate history of agricultural projects that link these seemingly distant regions. Chapters include the origins of Koch's interest in the subject, detailed histories of desert colonization, and the broader implications of these transnational connections.
00:00 Introduction to Desert Politics
01:20 The Unlikely Connection: Arizona and Saudi Arabia
02:53 The Story of Hi Jolly and the Camel Experiment
11:40 Geography and Its Modern Implications
14:45 The Political Significance of Deserts
18:38 Colonial and Imperial Narratives
22:14 The Role of White Experts in the Arabian Peninsula
24:17 Arizona's Colonial History
27:46 The Influence of Old World Desert Knowledge
30:49 Recruiting White Settlers to Arizona
31:41 The Role of Railroads and Pamphlets
32:56 Western Mythology and Camels in Films
34:41 California's Date Industry and Arabian Influence
36:43 The Short-Lived Camel Experiment
37:40 Global Connections of Deserts
43:42 Transnational Agricultural Projects
51:23 Controversies and Misappropriations
52:50 Recommended Readings and Resources
Natalie Koch is a political geographer working on the topics of geopolitics, nationalism, energy and environmental politics, science and technology studies, and sports geography. Empirically, her research focuses on the Arabian Peninsula, where she studies the many transnational ties that bind the Gulf countries, actors, and ideas to other parts of the world. She has published extensively in journals such as Political Geography, Geopolitics, and Society and Natural Resources, and she is the author of "Arid Empire: The Entangled Fates of Arizona and Arabia," "The geopolitics of spectacle: Space, synecdoche, and the new capitals of Asia" (Cornell University Press, 2018), and co-editor of the Handbook on the changing geographies of the state: New spaces of geopolitics (Edward Elgar 2020). She is currently a professor at Syracuse University in the Department of Geography and the Environment, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.
Find Koch's books 👉 https://nataliekoch.com/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
The CEO of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), Dr Slim Slama, joins us on this episode of The afikra Podcast to give an in-depth look into the complexities and challenges facing global health today, including the rise of non-communicable diseases, the impact of urbanization, and the inequity in health systems worldwide. The conversation also explores the innovative approaches in healthcare, the role of AI, and the specific health issues pertinent to the Arab world. Through his diverse experiences working in crisis-affected areas and his insights on the evolving dynamics between the East and the West, Dr Slama provides an enriching perspective on how to advance global health for all.
This episode was recorded on March 6 and is brought to you in collaboration with Qatar Foundation.
00:00 Introduction
01:23 Defining Global Health
04:12 Evolution of Public Health Issues
06:59 Health Challenges in the Arab World
11:00 Healthcare in Crisis-Affected Areas
14:22 Ministries of Health: Performance and Challenges
25:19 Global Health Workforce Shortages
28:34 AI in Healthcare: Opportunities and Challenges
38:12 Healthcare in Gaza: Current Situation and Future
41:42 Impact of Political Decisions on Global Health
45:03 Future of Healthcare in the Arab World
47:11 Conclusion and WISH's Future Plans
Dr. Slim Slama is the Chief Executive Officer of the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) at Qatar Foundation. He is an internal medicine specialist and a public health expert with over 25 years of experience in global health. For more than a decade at the World Health Organization (WHO), his role was Regional Adviser for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) prevention and management at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. He transitioned to the Head of the Management-Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Unit (MND) where he provided strategic leadership and oversaw the development and implementation of a portfolio focused on early detection, diagnosis, and management of NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, oral health, and digital health solutions. His work also extended to implementation research and managing NCDs in humanitarian settings.
Connect with Dr Slama 👉 https://ch.linkedin.com/in/slimslama
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Artist, archivist, and educator Behzad Khosravi Nouri, and Richard Lackey from Fujifilm Middle East delve into Behzad's unique exhibition at Gulf Photo Plus, titled "The Life of an Itinerant Through a Pinhole," which explores his grandfather's photographic work in Tehran during the 1950s and 60s using a handcrafted camera. Richard explains Fujifilm's involvement in creating a giant walk-in camera obscura for the exhibition. We discover the historical and emotional significance behind Behzad's work and how it sheds light on the working-class immigrant community in Tehran, the democratization of photography, and the concept of "soul catcher" cameras.
This special episode of The afikra Podcast was recorded on the Quoz Arts Fest stage at alserkal in Dubai in January, and is one in five episodes which were published on this podcast or Quartertones. Make sure to check them out!
00:00 Introduction to the Soul Catcher Camera
01:15 Behzad's Exhibition Overview
02:18 Fujifilm's Role in the Camera Obscura Project
04:30 Behzad's Personal Connection to Photography
05:38 The Historical Context of the Archive
06:31 Discovery of the Pinhole Camera
08:27 The Concept of the Soul Catcher
10:43 Photography as a Violent Act
16:07 Self-Orientalism in Photography
17:01 The Itinerant Theme in the Exhibition
18:38 Final Thoughts
Behzad Khosravi Noori is a PhD, artist, writer, educator, playgrounder and necromancer. His research-based practice includes films, installations, as well as archival studies. His work investigate histories from The Global South, labor and the means of production, and histories of political relationships that have existed as a counter narrative to the east-west dichotomy during the Cold War. His work has been shown at Kalmar Museum, Malmö art Museum, Timișoara Biennale, 12.0 Contemporary Islamabad, Tensta Konsthall, Venice Biennale, HDLU Zagreb, WHW Zagreb, Botkyrka Konsthall, CFF (Centre of Photography, Stockholm), Marabouparken, and Centre of Contemporary art, Riga, among other venues.
Connect with Behzad 👉 https://www.instagram.com/behzad.khosravi.noori
Gulf Photo Plus is a center for film photography in the UAE which cultivates visual practices through year-round workshops, art programs, exhibitions, community events, publishing, state-of-the art printing services, and specialized photography resources.
Explore Gulf Photo Plus 👉 www.gulfphotoplus.com
Hosted by:
Bayan Dahdah 👉 https://www.instagram.com/bayandahdah
Bayan Dahdah is a multidisciplinary designer and the founder of Sarj - a mobile seat made for sketching, with which she gives traveling observational sketching workshops in groups. Using the tactile touch of art (sketchbooks, memorabilia), and the freedom/accessibility of digital art (graphic design elements/photographs) she aims to retell her memories and document her journeys. Hailing from an architectural background, she has dabbled in the fields of photography, graphic design and film. Writing and directing a short film titled Shishbarak with the Doha Film Institute, which screened at the Malmo Arab Film Festival and the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, has allowed her to understand the fundamentals of narrative storytelling, as well as how to manifest this visually.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Brazilian artist Zé Tepedino tells his fascinating story of journeying from Rio to Dubai, his innovative public art residency, and the creative process behind his large-scale fabric installation. He shares his unique perspective on materials, their histories, and their transformation into art. Host Bayan Dahdah helps him delve into his childhood, inspirations, and his ritualistic approach to experiencing new cities, culminating in an engaging discussion about his exhibition Passion Fruit.
This special episode of The afikra Podcast was recorded on the Quoz Arts Fest stage at alserkal in Dubai in January, and is one in five episodes which will be published on this podcast or Quartertones. Make sure to check them out!
00:00 Introduction to the Artist and Fabric as a Medium
01:45 Zé Tepedino's Journey to Dubai
04:44 Childhood Inspirations and Early Artistic Influences
07:14 The Significance of Objects and Materials
13:35 The Creative Process and Studio Rituals
18:43 Experiencing and Adapting to Dubai
23:47 The Story Behind "Passion Fruit"
26:23 Closing Remarks
Zé Tepedino was born in 1990 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a contemporary artist renowned for his minimalist approach to abstract forms. He holds a bachelor's degree in Visual Communication from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (2017) and has further honed his craft under the mentorship of Charles Watson at Atelier Novo Mundo in 2016. His artistic practice is characterized by a deep engagement with his surroundings in Rio de Janeiro. He meticulously selects everyday materials and objects, transforming them through techniques such as sewing, painting, and sculpting. His work spans various mediums, including sculptures, installations, and performances, all reflecting a profound connection to Brazilian culture and traditions.
Connect with Ze 👉 https://www.instagram.com/zetepedino/
Quoz Arts Fest is a neighborhood festival by alserkal, where the freshest contemporary culture and creativity collide in one community event that welcomes young, old, families and pets. It features live performances, exhibitions, food trucks, pop-up shops plus a line-up of hands-on workshops, talks, and film screenings that aim to inspire. Artists transform the alserkal avenue's galleries and public spaces with immersive installations, and you get a close-up on them as well as rising musicians and DJs making waves through conversations on stage.
Follow alserkal 👉 https://www.instagram.com/alserkalavenue
Explore Quoz Arts Fest 👉 https://quozartsfest.alserkal.online/
Hosted by:
Bayan Dahdah 👉 https://www.instagram.com/bayandahdah
Bayan Dahdah is a multidisciplinary designer and the founder of Sarj - a mobile seat made for sketching, with which she gives traveling observational sketching workshops in groups. Using the tactile touch of art (sketchbooks, memorabilia), and the freedom/accessibility of digital art (graphic design elements/photographs) she aims to retell her memories and document her journeys. Hailing from an architectural background, she has dabbled in the fields of photography, graphic design and film. Writing and directing a short film titled Shishbarak with the Doha Film Institute, which screened at the Malmo Arab Film Festival and the Chicago Palestine Film Festival, has allowed her to understand the fundamentals of narrative storytelling, as well as how to manifest this visually.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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We dive into the multifaceted life of Asma Elbadawi, a Sudanese British poet, photographer, basketball player, and activist. From her early struggles with dyslexia to lifting the hijab ban on women's basketball, Asma's story is one of perseverance and empowerment. We get an intimate look at her relationship with Sudan and how it influences her art. Asma gives a special poetry performance that encapsulates her experiences and emotions.
This special episode of The afikra Podcast was recorded on the Quoz Arts Fest stage at alserkal in Dubai in January, and is the first in five episodes which will be published on this podcast or Quartertones. Make sure to check them out!
00:00 Introduction
01:16 Meet Asma Elbadawi
02:04 Asma's Multifaceted Journey
03:56 Exploring Poetry and Photography
05:20 Connection to Sudan
08:18 Artistic Expression and Vulnerability
13:08 Cultural and Religious Influences
15:16 Parental Support and Personal Growth
17:20 The Power of Dua and Career Breakthroughs
21:11 Closing Remarks and Poetry Performance
Asma Elbadawi is a Sudanese-British spoken word poet, athlete and photographer. She is known to have petitioned and succeeded in convincing the International Basketball Association (FIBA) to remove a ban on hijabs and religious headwear in the professional sport. She brings unique stories to life through sport, poetry, and visual arts, with a distinctive approach that blends creativity with purpose. Her work is rooted in cultural storytelling, empowering individuals, and creating lasting impact.
Connect with Asma 👉 https://www.instagram.com/asmaelbadawi
Quoz Arts Fest is a neighborhood festival by alserkal, where the freshest contemporary culture and creativity collide in one community event that welcomes young, old, families and pets. It features live performances, exhibitions, food trucks, pop-up shops plus a line-up of hands-on workshops, talks, and film screenings that aim to inspire. Artists transform the alserkal avenue's galleries and public spaces with immersive installations, and you get a close-up on them as well as rising musicians and DJs making waves through conversations on stage.
Follow alserkal 👉 https://www.instagram.com/alserkalavenue
Explore Quoz Arts Fest 👉 https://quozartsfest.alserkal.online/
Hosted by:
Lulwah Ayyoub 👉 https://www.instagram.com/lulwahayoub/
Lulwah is the Director of Social Protection at the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in KSA. She previously worked at The World Bank, holding roles as a Social Protection Specialist and consultant in the Poverty and Equity and Social Protection Global Practices. She's also worked in the Behavioral Economics Unit at Hawaz and occupied various research roles at Georgetown University, The Brookings Institution, and Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD).
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this episode of the afikra podcast, host Mikey Muhanna speaks with His Excellency Rakan Altouq – Vice Chair of the Diriyah Biennale Arts Foundation and Assistant Minister for Culture of Saudi Arabia – and Dr Julian Raby, one of the artistic directors of the Islamic Arts Biennale. Live from the historic Hajj terminal in Jeddah, they discuss the significance of this architectural marvel and its role as a fitting venue for the Biennale, aimed at showcasing the richness and diversity of Islamic arts and culture. This edition, themed "وما بينهما," (AND ALL THAT IS IN BETWEEN), includes seven unique components that explore various aspects of Islamic art, from sacred texts and artifacts to contemporary installations. The conversation delves into the deep emotional and intellectual impact that the Biennale hopes to achieve, the inclusive and interdisciplinary approach adopted by the artistic directors, and the Biennale's resonance with both local and international visitors. The discussion emphasizes the Biennale's potential to reshape narratives, provoke new thoughts, and foster a sense of pride and identity among attendees.
00:00 Introduction
00:32 Significance of the Hajj Terminal
06:00 Overview of the Islamic Arts Biennale
10:06 Exploring ALBIDAYAH
18:46 A Holistic Experience Beyond Objects
25:09 Diversity of ALMADAR Section and ALMUQTANI Collection
30:37 Looking at Islam and Islamic Arts Holistically
43:45 The Role of Contemporary Art
52:56 Impact and Future of the Biennale
His Excellency Rakan Altouq is the Vice Chairman of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and assistant minister of culture of Saudi Arabia.
Dr Julian Raby is a co-director of the Diriyah Islamic Art Biennale and the Director Emeritus of the National Museum of Asian Art of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (formerly known as the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M Sackler Gallery). He served as director of these museums from 2002 until 2017, and previously, he was a university lecturer in Islamic Art & Architecture at the University of Oxford from 1979 until 2006.
The Islamic Arts Biennale 2025 provides a holistic platform for new discourse about Islamic arts, offering an unparalleled space for learning, research, and insight. By juxtaposing contemporary and newly commissioned artworks with historical objects from Islamic cultures, the Biennale explores how faith is experienced, expressed, and celebrated through feeling, thinking, and making. It offers a unique platform for artists to explore themes of spirituality, identity, and the intersection of past and present, while fostering cross-cultural connections and expanding the global understanding of Islamic art and culture.
More about the Islamic Arts Biennale 👉 https://biennale.org.sa/en
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
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In this episode of The afikra Podcast, host Mikey Muhanna speaks with Professor Adam Hanieh, author of "Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making of the World Market," to discuss the transformative role of oil in shaping global economics and politics. The conversation delves into the historical context of oil production, including the rise of Standard Oil and the dominance of the Seven Sisters, the emergence of the term "petrodollars," OPEC's influence, and the strategic movements of oil in the global market. The discussion also addresses the implications of oil on geopolitical relations, particularly in the Middle East, the US, and the emerging role of China. Prof Hanieh examines the flawed solutions proposed to address the climate crisis and the ongoing pervasiveness of fossil fuel reliance.
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Understanding Petrodollars
02:52 The Genesis of "Crude Capitalism"
05:30 Historical Context: Oil as a Commodity
08:22 Oil and War: a Strategic Resource
16:58 The Rise of the Seven Sisters
23:51 US Hegemony and Petrodollars
29:44 The Formation and Role of OPEC
37:33 Oil and Financial Markets
48:13 China's Role in the Global Oil Market
56:39 The Stakes of Energy Politics
01:00:44 Final Thoughts
Adam Hanieh is a professor of Political Economy and Global Development at the University of Exeter’s Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies and a Distinguished Research Fellow at Tsinghua University. A leading scholar of Middle Eastern political economy, his work examines Gulf capitalism, class dynamics, and state formation. He is the author of Money, Markets, and Monarchies (2018) and Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making of the World Market (Verso Books, 2024). His research has been widely published, and he holds a Political Economy Fellowship with the Independent Social Research Foundation, while also serving on several editorial and advisory boards.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this episode of The afikra Podcast, host Mikey Muhanna talks to the director of Diriyah Art Futures, the MENA region’s first hub dedicated to New Media Arts, established by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia. Haytham Nawar discusses DAF’s focus on the intersection between art, science, and technology, aiming to create a hub for new media and digital art in Saudi Arabia and beyond. The conversation covers the hub’s emerging artists program, which includes mentorship, workshops, and exhibitions, as well as the challenges of building and sustaining such an innovative institution. Nawar also delves into the history of New Media Arts in the Arab world and shares insights on the role of AI in contemporary art practices.
00:00 Introduction
01:04 Exploring Art Futures and New Media Arts
02:57 The Importance of art education in the Arab region
05:29 Inside the Diriyah Art Futures hub
07:02 Emerging New Media Artists Programme and pedagogical approach
16:21 Historical Context of New Media Arts
21:55 Challenges and future of New Media Arts in the Arab World
27:29 Inaugural Exhibition: Art Must Be Artificial
33:24 The Role of AI in art and ethical considerations
37:50 Future vision and sustainability of Diriyah Art Futures
42:30 Final thoughts
Haytham Nawar is an Egyptian artist, designer, scholar, and educator. He is the director of Diriyah Art Futures, the MENA region’s first hub dedicated to New Media Arts, established by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia. He is also the founder and director of Cairotronica, a festival of electronic and new media arts in Cairo.
Connect with DAF 👉 https://www.instagram.com/dafmoc/
Learn more about Diriyah Art Futures 👉 https://daf.moc.gov.sa/en
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this episode of The afikra Podcast, host Mikey Muhanna chats with Dr Taous Dahmani, a London-based art historian, writer, and curator. She discusses her career, her ties to Tunis, and curating the exhibitions Unstable Point and Assembly at Jaou Tunis. She explores the socio-political themes in these works, the challenges of political expression in art, and fostering dialogue among artists from Africa and Southwest Asia, reflecting on their impact amid global issues.
00:00 Introduction
02:01 Connection to Tunis and Curatorial Challenges
04:02 Unstable Point Exhibition
06:40 Curatorial Process and Artist Selection
20:35 Political Context and Art
27:21 Emotional and Political Dimensions of Art
35:16 Featured Artists at Jaou Tunis and Their Work
48:31 Upcoming Projects and Final Thoughts
Dr Taous R. Dahmani is a historian of photography, researcher, and writer, who divides her time between London and Marseille. Her PhD focused on the intersection of political actions and photographic practices. She is also editor and content advisor at The Eyes, a trustee of the Photo Oxford Festival, and is on the editorial board of MAI: Visual Culture and Feminism.
Connect with Taous 👉 https://www.instagram.com/taous_r_dahmani/?locale=fr_ca&hl=en
Explore Jaou Tunis 👉 https://www.instagram.com/jaoutunis/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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The afikra podcast is back with a new season hosted by Mikey Muhanna. We kick off with an episode in partnership with Fujifilm and Gulf Photo Plus with Iranian academic, philosophical author, and artist Nadia Maftouni, who delves into the groundbreaking contributions of Ibn al-Haytham to modern science. Known as the father of modern optics, Ibn al-Haytham's extensive work on camera obscura, empirical science, and mathematics laid the foundation for future scientific advancements. Maftouni explores his methodology, significant works like the "Book of Optics," and how his concepts influenced later scholars such as German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler. Additionally, Maftouni sheds light on Ibn al-Haytham's time under house arrest and his enduring impact on science and philosophy.
00:00 Introduction
01:34 Historical Background of Camera Obscura
03:16 Ibn al-Haytham's Contributions to Optics
04:50 Ibn al-Haytham's Methodology and Scientific Approach
06:49 Ibn al-Haytham's Influence on Later Scientists
07:51 House Arrest and Major Works
12:07 Philosophical Views and Scientific Method
16:19 Transmission of Knowledge to Europe
17:45 Ibn al-Haytham's Legacy and Influence
31:44 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Nadia Maftouni is an Iranian academic, philosopher, author, and artist. She's a leading scholar of Farabian, Avicennian, and Suhrawardian philosophy, and also specializes in Jurisprudence and Islamic History. She is a professor at the University of Tehran, a Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School, and serves on the History of Philosophy Quarterly editorial board.
Explore Gulf Photo Plus 👉 https://gulfphotoplus.com/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this episode of the afikra podcast produced in collaboration with Qatar Foundation, we discover the impactful contributions and current challenges faced by Muslim women as Dr Sohaira Siddiqui discusses the vision and mission of the Al-Mujadilah Center and Mosque for Women in Qatar. We explore the center’s role as a community hub fostering civic engagement, education, and debate for Muslim women. Dr Siddiqui provides insights into the unique and essential space aimed at creating a sense of belonging and addressing contemporary issues within the framework of Islamic tradition. Learn about the historical context of Muslim women's participation in public life, as well as the center's efforts to support their development and empowerment globally.
00:00 Introduction: Unrecognized Contributions of Muslim Women
00:26 The Vision Behind Al-Mujadilah
01:22 What is Al-Mujadilah
02:00 The Importance of a Dedicated Space for Muslim Women
04:37 Building Al-Mujadilah from the Ground Up
06:28 The Meaning Behind the Name "Mujadilah"
09:15 Civic Engagement and Women's Agency
13:57 Three Pillars of Al-Mujadilah's Work
16:11 Challenges Faced by Muslim Women
21:09 Community Response and Program Offerings
27:57 Understanding Opinions vs Analysis
29:46 Navigating Religious Questions
31:57 Case Studies and Key Scholars
34:53 Historical Context of Islamic Law
38:48 Colonial Impact on Islamic Law
53:05 Future Vision for Al-Mujadilah
Dr Sohaira Siddiqui is the Executive Director of Al-Mujadilah and Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Georgetown University in Qatar. Her work focuses on the relationship between law, theology and political thought in classical Islam; Islamic law during British colonization; Islamic law in contemporary Muslim societies; and secularism and modernity in relation to Muslims in the West. She is the author of Law and Politics Under the 'Abbasids: An Intellectual Portrait of al-Juwayni (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Locating the Shari'a: Legal Fluidity in Theory, History and Practice (Brill, 2019). She has also published numerous articles in Islamic Law and Society, Journal of Islamic Studies, Journal of the American Oriental Society, and Middle East Law and Governance. She has held fellowships at Cambridge University, Tubingen University and Harvard Law School.
Connect with Dr Siddiqui 👉 https://www.instagram.com/sohairasiddiqui/
Al-Mujadilah is a center and mosque that seeks to cultivate a community of women who are committed to their own growth and that of their communities. It's a community of women who engage meaningfully and sincerely with their histories, who bravely address the injustices they identify, who are inspired by conversation, dialogue and debate, and who are continuously seeking new horizons.
Explore Al-Mujadilah 👉 https://www.instagram.com/almujadilah.qa
https://www.facebook.com/almujadilah.qa
https://x.com/almujadilah_qa
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this episode of the afikra podcast, we chat with Maha El Akoum, the Manager of Content and Policy at WISH, to try to explore the causes of childhood obesity – especially in the Arab world and particularly in the Gulf – and to understand the complexities of dealing with it. Based in Qatar, Maha discusses the alarming rise in childhood obesity within the Gulf region, but also globally. She explores factors contributing to the epidemic such as lifestyle changes, dietary habits, economic factors, and urban planning. The conversation also covers potential solutions, highlighting successful policies in other nations and outlining the comprehensive approach needed to tackle obesity effectively. Maha emphasizes the societal efforts as well as the policy changes required for meaningful impact.
00:00 Understanding the Complexity of Obesity
00:18 Introduction to WISH and Its Mission
02:38 Childhood Obesity in Qatar and the Region
04:07 Factors Contributing to Obesity
04:59 Impact of Lifestyle and Economic Development
08:07 Global and Regional Contexts of Obesity
11:23 Effective Policies and Solutions
12:50 Understanding Taxation on Unhealthy Foods
13:16 Challenges and Successes of Food Taxation
14:33 Public Awareness and Healthy Eating Campaigns
15:53 The Societal Impact of Obesity
19:23 School-Based Interventions
23:22 Trends and Statistics in Childhood Obesity
27:20 Global Perspectives and Effective Policies
28:56 Comprehensive Policy Interventions
39:20 Next Steps and Future Plans
41:41 Recommendations and Resources
Maha El Akoum is the manager of Policy and Content Development at the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). Her particular research interests include genomics and precision medicine, global health, health policy, healthcare innovation and health systems development. With a strong interest in patient safety, Maha has led several initiatives on a national level, such as the Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety in collaboration with MedStar Health, as well spearheading several research projects looking into the role of nurses in creating a culture of safety. Maha also managed what was formerly known as the WISH Young Innovators program (from 2015-2019), where she was involved in the shortlisting of the candidates and overall execution of the program.
Connect with Maha 👉 https://qa.linkedin.com/in/maha-el-akoum-mph-51228b66
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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Habibi Festival is back for another year at Joe's Pub, bringing Arabs, comrades, and lovers of music together in New York in these difficult times that our nations continue to endure. And for another year, afikra was on stage to speak to the musicians and bring their conversations and performances to you on afikra's Quartertones podcast.
Who better to kick off the season with than the one and only Iraqi-Canadian rapper, writer and teacher Narcy who's been – for decades – making music about the atrocities and racism that the Arab region and people have endured. Narcy calls on his friends and peers Hamed Sinno, Nadine El Roubi, Omar Offendum & Niko to join him on stage in an evening filled with poetry, music and solidarity.
Narcy shares his journey of grieving the Iraq War and the blessing and importance of community in the ongoing healing process. He also discusses cultural production as a form of resistance, reflecting on when to be silent, when to be loud, and when to amplify one’s voice in protest. He and his wife, Sondos, have embodied these principles through Maktaba, their Montreal-based library dedicated to celebrating Arab culture, which he also speaks on.
0:00 Narcy Intro Performance
10:21 Poetry on Sudan by Nadine El Roubi
13:57 Narcy Invites Niko on Stage to Perform With Him
21:36 Who Cares If Kamala's Black?: Narcy & Omar Offendum Perform Together
25:10 Poetry by Hamed Sinno
29:36 Narcy Joins Hamed Sinno to Perform a Mashrou' Leila Track & Tribute to Narcy's Brother Nawaf
37:41 Mikey Interviews Narcy on Stage
Yassin Alsalman, better known by his stage name Narcy (formerly The Narcicyst), is an Iraqi-Canadian rapper, author, university instructor and actor who has shaped the music and culture of the Arab world. He currently resides in Montreal and has produced albums such as World War Free Now, We Are the Medium, and SpaceTime.
Follow Narcy 👉 https://www.instagram.com/narcynarce
Check out Maktaba 👉 https://www.instagram.com/maktaba.bookshop
Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional music of the South West Asia North Africa (SWANA) region, every year Habibi Festival takes listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad. This performing arts festival (now in its fourth year) is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world.
Follow Habibi Festival 👉 https://www.instagram.com/habibifestival
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu
FOLLOW & RATE THE QUARTERTONES PODCAST:
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ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this special episode of This Is Not a Watermelon podcast, we speak to Professor Mona Harb, co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab at the American University of Beirut, to help us delve into the intricate socio-political dynamics and historical narratives of Beirut's southern suburbs, known as "Dahiyeh" that's been under severe Israeli bombardment since September.
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
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In this episode, produced in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation, Marc Owen Jones — Associate Professor of Media Analytics at Northwestern University Qatar — talks to us about this age of disinformation and how it manifests in the context of the Middle East. We discuss regulating social media platforms and try to understand what exactly disinformation is and where it came from. Touching on significant socio-political events such as the Arab uprisings of 2011, Professor Owen Jones reflects on the unique role that social media plays in the region. Referencing the dangers posed by monopolized social media platforms and data colonialism, we also talk about how the news industry is changing and what this means for historical records. Finally, the conversation moves to young people today and how they grapple with Ai, disinformation, false and new narratives, and orientalist perceptions of the Arab world.
Marc Owen Jones is Associate Professor of Media Analytics at Northwestern University Qatar. He is the author of Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media.
Connect with Marc 👉 https://www.instagram.com/marcowenjones/?hl=en
Get his book 👉https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/digital-authoritarianism-in-the-middle-east/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Tracy Chahwan's bold and vibrant posters have become a common fixture of Beirut's walls, and her colorful illustrations are known and loved by people across the Arab world and beyond. For this episode of the afikra podcast, she joined us in our Beirut-studio to reminisce on the early days of her career, and discuss key influences and what it means to remain authentic as an artist. Referencing her work for Beirut Groove Collective, Samandal, the Nib and ultimately publishing her own comic novel "Beirut Bloody Beirut", Tracy maps how her style has evolved over time. She talks about the difference between commissioned and personal work, what it takes to brand and market yourself as an artist, and how her relationship with Beirut has shifted and changed over the years.
0:00 Introduction & Relationship to Beirut
1:29 Does Beirut Need to Get Its S*** Together?
5:12 Starting Out & Key Inspirations
9:12 Self-Censorship & Comic Journalism
14:54 Guantanamo & Current Projects
18:36 How the Comics Landscape Has Changed
24:56 Personal vs Commissioned Work
33:10 Emerging Talent & Illustrators From the Arab World
36:40 Beirut Bloody Beirut & How the City Has Changed
42:04 Resource Recommendations
44:38 The World of Comics
Tracy Chahwan is a cartoonist and illustrator from Lebanon. She started her career in Beirut, producing street art and posters for local independent music venues like the Beirut Groove Collective, and working with the Samandal and Zeez comics collective publishing experimental comics and anthologies. In 2018, she published her first graphic novel "Beirut Bloody Beirut", a story of two girls lost in the Beiruti night. After the Lebanese revolution in October 2019, she turned to journalistic comics, contributing to books such as "Guantanamo Voices" and "Where to Marie? Stories of Feminisms in Lebanon".
Connect with Tracy 👉 https://www.instagram.com/tracychahwan/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
What is the difference between being an artist and an entertainer? What are the nuances of conveying humour and comedy through art? In this conversation, multi-creative Raed Yassin gives us his take. From growing up in Beirut during the civil war and how this has impacted his work through to the story behind his "The Best of Sammy Clark" project from 2009, Yassin invites us behind the scenes of his creative practice. The conversation also touches on what it's like to work across disciplines and how being a creative has changed in the wake of October 7th and beyond.
Raed Yassin is an artist and musician. He graduated from the theater department at the Institute of Fine Arts in Beirut in 2003, and since then has developed his conceptual practice through multiple mediums such as video, sound, photography, text, sculpture and performance. Yassin’s work often originates from an examination of his personal narratives and their position within a collective history, through the lens of consumer culture and mass production. He is also one of the organizers of the Irtijal Festival for Experimental Music (Beirut), and has released several solo music albums. In 2009, he founded his independent music label Annihaya. Raed currently lives between Berlin and Beirut.
Connect with Raed 👉 https://www.instagram.com/raedyassinstudio/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
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Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
What does it mean to decolonize our thinking? In this episode of the afikra podcast, we chat with Idriss Jebari, assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin, and discuss language, colonialism and 20th century North Africa. Tracking the transformation of North African countries through colonialism and independence, we learn about the ways that thinkers through the decades have approached decolonization.
Dive deeper into this episode with Idriss' reading list of books about decolonization, nation-building and culture in North Africa 👉 https://www.afikra.com/daftarjournal/decolonization-nation-building-amp-culture-in-north-africa-a-reading-list
This episode was recorded on June 7th 2024.
Idriss Jebari is a lecturer in Middle East Studies at Trinity College Dublin. He is a historian of Arab thought and his upcoming book will address North African cultural and social history after its independence's from France, on the radical sixties and seventies, on collective memory in the Arab world. After completing his doctorate the history of production of critical thought in Morocco and Tunisia at the University of Oxford, he held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), and at Bowdoin College in Maine (USA).
Connect with Idriss 👉 https://carnegieendowment.org/people/idriss-jebari?lang=en
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Venetia Porter is an Honorary Research Fellow at the British Museum. Formerly Curator of Islamic and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art at the British Museum, her published titles include "Reflections: Contemporary Art of the Middle East and North Africa", "The Islamic World: A History in Objects", "Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam" and "Word Into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East".
Her mother, Thea Porter, known as the queen of 1960s Bohemian Chic, fused a love for Central Asian textiles with her personal experiences in Beirut working between Fashion & Interior Design. Her illustrious tapestry kaftans, Iraqi "Samawa" carpet coats, and antique chiffons saturated the pages of the era’s British Vogue. During the key decades of British boho-revival, beloved Porter designs were worn by the likes of Anita Pallenberg, Faye Dunaway, Lauren Hutton, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.
Connect with Venetia 👉 https://www.instagram.com/venetia_porter/
Thea Porter’s Scrapbook 👉 https://www.booksaboutart.co.uk/products/thea-porters-scrapbook
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
BohemianChic #TheaPorter #IslamicArt #Arab #ContemporaryArt #afikraPodcast #Beirut #Bloudan #Syria #Lebanon #ArabFashion
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This episode of the afikra podcast was recorded on April 10th at 1pm Palestine Time
Lorenzo Kamel teaches Global History and History of the Middle East and North Africa at the University of Turin. He has held teaching and research positions at Harvard University, the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, ‘Ain Shams University in Cairo, and a number of other universities in Europe and the Middle East. His most recent books are 'History Below the Global' (Routledge 2024) and 'The Middle from Empire to Sealed Identities' (Edinburgh UP 2020).
Connect with Lorenzo 👉 https://twitter.com/lorenzokamel?lang=en
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Palestinian #Palestine #PalestinianHistory #HistoryPodcast #afikraPodcastNetwork
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSK&si=hSVcqPQlXdqq3sgT
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This episode was recorded on May 3rd 2024.
Maysa Jalbout is a global education advocate, philanthropy
executive and impact advisor. She is an industry veteran and led the establishment of Al Ghurair Foundation, the Queen Rania Foundation and many other private and corporate foundations. A recognized leader in international development and philanthropy, Maysa has over 25 years of experience in building effective organizations, initiatives and innovative partnerships in Canada, the Middle East, and other territories.
Connect with Maysa 👉 https://twitter.com/maysajalbout
Listen to the Impact Room 👉https://open.spotify.com/show/4LJOSKamS6jZbCCVrAJI23?si=eccdb69003de48db
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afikra-book-club/id1646400790
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4khpLDZ77PINLupT7xEIv7
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1044638525
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Brahim El Guabli is the Chair and Associate Professor of Arabic Studies. He is interested in topics of Maghrebi and Middle Eastern literature, including trauma and memory, Saharan imaginations, Jews in Arabic literature and film, transitional justice processes, translation, current events, Marxist Leninist Movements, Afro-Arab solidarities, and decolonization movements. He is the co-founder and co-editor of Tamazgha Studies Journal.
Connect with Brahim 👉https://twitter.com/sahraould
Read more about his book Moroccan Other-Archives: History and Citizenship After State Violence 👉https://www.fordhampress.com/9781531501464/moroccan-other-archives/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
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» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Atef Said is an associate professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, and a sociologist who's passionate about politics, revolutions and social change. His scholarship engages with the fields of sociological theory, political sociology, historical sociology, sociology of the Middle East, and global sociology. His book "Revolution Squared: Tahrir, Political Possibilities & Counterrevolution in Egypt" examines the 2011 Egyptian Revolution to trace the expansive range of liberatory possibilities and containment at the heart of every revolution.
Connect with Atef 👉 https://twitter.com/iAtefSaid
More about his book 👉 https://www.dukeupress.edu/revolution-squared
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
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» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
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Egypt #EgyptianRevolution #TahrirSquare #Egypt2011 #ArabSpring
Roberto Fabbri is an architect, researcher, and associate professor at Zayed University, College of Arts and Creative Enterprises (UAE). His research interest engages with the notion of narrative spaces, reading the role of heritage and architecture in the definition of processes such as modernization, identity-making, knowledge exchange and establishment of traditions. With an emphasis on the Middle East and the Gulf, Roberto’s research embraces 20th-century architecture and its potential reuse as well as cultural spaces (museums and exhibitions) in the Global South. He co-authored the double-volume “Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949 - 1989” with Sara Saragoça Soares and Ricardo Camacho.
Connect with Roberto 👉 https://twitter.com/mchrislow?lang=en
Read more about "Modern Architecture Kuwait 1949 - 1989" 👉 https://www.niggli.ch/en/produkt/modern-architecture-kuwait-1949-1989/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Kuwait #Architecture #ArchitecturalHistory #TheGulf #Modernism
Michael Christopher Low received his PhD from Columbia University in 2015. He is the director of the University of Utah's Middle East Center and his primary research and teaching interests include the Ottoman Empire, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Ocean world, and environmental history. He is the author of Imperial Mecca: Ottoman Arabia and the Indian Ocean Hajj (Columbia University Press, 2020) which in 2021 won the Middle East Studies Association’s Albert Hourani Book Award.
Connect with Michael 👉 https://twitter.com/mchrislow?lang=en
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This episode was recorded on March 27th, 2024.
Zahra Hankir is a Lebanese-British journalist, editor and author. She was awarded a Jack R. Howard Fellowship to attend the Columbia Journalism School and holds degrees in politics and Middle Eastern studies. Her first book "Our Women on the Ground" was a bestseller and won the Susan Koppelman award for best anthology in feminist studies. This second book "Eyeliner: A Cultural History" was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ pick and had starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.
Connect with Zahra 👉 https://www.instagram.com/zahrahankir/?hl=en
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afikra-book-club/id1646400790
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4khpLDZ77PINLupT7xEIv7
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1044638525
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
M’hamed Oualdi is full professor of history at Sciences Po-Paris. He is a historian of Early Modern and Modern North Africa trained in Arabic at Inalco-Paris and in history at the Sorbonne University (Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne) from which he obtained his PhD in 2008. Prior to joining the faculty at Sciences Po, he was associate professor at Princeton University (2013-2019) and maître de conferences at Inalco-Paris (2010-2013). His research has centered on two main topics: slavery and its social impacts on Ottoman Tunisia and the many effects of transitioning from the Ottoman rule to a French colonial domination in North African societies.
Connect with M'hamed 👉 https://twitter.com/oualdi_m?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Mona Fawaz is a Professor in Urban Studies and Planning at the American University of Beirut (AUB). She is also the co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab at AUB, and serves as the director of the Social Justice and the City research program at the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy (also at AUB). Mona was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Studies at Harvard University during the 2014/15 academic year and in Summer 2017.
Connect with Mona 👉 https://www.linkedin.com/in/mona-fawaz-b245058/?originalSubdomain=lb
Beirut Urban Lab is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research space. It produces scholarship on urbanization by documenting and analyzing ongoing transformation processes in Lebanon and its region's natural and built environments. It intervenes as an interlocutor and contributor to academic debates about historical and contemporary urbanization from its position in the Global South.
Discover Beirut Urban Lab 👉 https://beiruturbanlab.com/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This afikra podcast episode with Hamed Bukhamseen and Ali Ismail Karimi of Civil Architecture delves into the architectural, geographic, cultural, and historic fabric of "the Gulf". We ask what and where is the Gulf? Is it a concrete geography or an abstract entity? Ali and Hamed reflect on what it means to be of and from this region and how this has evolved over time.
Through an economic and political lens, they talk about the branding of the Gulf, the intellectual project behind it, and the impact of neoliberal policies on its present and future. Finally, we ask them both to compare and contrast their home cities of Kuwait (for Hamed) and Bahrain (for Ali) — and explain why some people consider highways to be public spaces.
Civil Architecture is a cultural practice pre-occupied with the making of buildings and books about them. Civil's work asks what it means to produce architecture in a decidedly un-civil time, presenting a new civic character for a global condition. Since its founding by Hamed Bukhamseen and Ali Ismail Karimi, the practice has attracted a strong following for its provocative works and its offer of an alternate future for a nascent Middle East.
Connect with Civil Architecture 👉 https://civilarchitecture.org/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Rajat Malhotra — partner at Sole DXB: Dubai's annual footwear, music, art and lifestyle festival — comes on the afikra podcast to talk about bringing street culture to his home city. He shares what it was like starting the festival alongside his co-founders, reflects on his favorite acts from over the years, and what it's really like to curate an event of this scale. Rajat also reflects on Dubai's unique nature as a city that people of mixed heritage can easily make home, what Saudi Arabia's immense cultural investment might mean for Dubai's cultural eco-system, and whether political hip-hop can thrive in the Gulf.
Rajat Malhotra is a partner of Sole DXB alongside Hussain Moloohbhoy and Joshua Cox.
Connect with Rajat 👉https://www.instagram.com/raj9714/
Sole DXB is an annual footwear, music, art, and lifestyle festival that takes place in the Dubai Design District in Dubai, UAE. It launched in 2011 as a modest gathering for sneaker enthusiasts and has since grown into a regional platform that brings global brands and performers to Dubai.
afikra partnered with Sole DXB in December 2023 to facilitate and moderate some talks as part of the festival.
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Renowned professor of ethics, law and political thought and leading scholar of Islamic Legal Studies, Dr Wael Hallaq, joins us on this episode of the afikra podcast to discuss Sharia law, the modern state, Legal Orientalism, and the idea of a "stateless" yet still orderly world.
Dr Hallaq deals with reductionist understandings of Sharia law, critiques modernism and the modern state, and breaks down the successes and shortcomings of Edward Said's Orientalism. We discuss the concept of Legal Orientalism, delve into the advanced complexities of Sharia law, and talk about his book "The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament". Finally, Dr Hallaq talks passionately about what he calls the "bankrupt realities" we're facing in the modern era and calls the very states and systems that make up our world into question.
Wael B. Hallaq is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he has been teaching ethics, law, and political thought since 2009. He is considered a leading scholar of Islamic Legal Studies and Islamic Law. He has written several books including "The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament" and "Restating Orientalism: A Critique of Modern Knowledge".
Connect with Wael 👉https://mesaas.columbia.edu/faculty-directory/wael-hallaq/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Maysoon Zayid, Palestinian comedian, actress, graphic novel author and co-creator of the NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, joins us on the afikra podcast to talk all things comedy, Palestine, Arab-America, and advocating for the disabled community.
Maysoon talks about how she grew up to be the confident, unapologetic, publicly Palestinian comedian we know and love today. She gives us an insight into the world of comedy: from testing new material, getting bored of making fun of Donald Trump, and being vilified as an Arab comedian in the United States. Finally, she tells us about her upcoming graphic novel "Shiny Misfits".
Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian comedian, actress, writer and disability advocate who was born and raised in New Jersey. She is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest.
Connect with Maysoon 👉https://www.instagram.com/maysoonzayid/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
The first of three live Design Doha podcast recordings features an interview with the Biennial's deputy director Fahad Al Obaidly. He takes us behind the scenes of Design Doha, breaks down what "Celebrating Regional Design Excellence" means in practice, and how the Biennial roots itself in locality. Fahad tells us about the strength of the design industry in the Arab World as well as his personal highlights from the Biennial.
Fahad Al Obaidly is the Deputy Director of Design Doha, as well as a fashion designer, artist and filmmaker.
Connect with Fahad 👉https://www.instagram.com/fahadalobaidly/?hl=en
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Design Doha is a landmark biennale dedicated to creative innovation, here to foster the design culture of the MENA region, and create a space of design excellence in Qatar. It provides creatives and institutions with a space to showcase their designs and ideas. The biennale is committed to offering tangible and authentic solutions, showcasing the richness of MENA culture and creativity, while highlighting the exceptional design environment of Qatar on the global stage.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Marwan Kraidy, CEO and Dean of Northwestern Qatar and leading scholar of global communication and media, joins us on the afikra podcast to discuss media, truth, and journalism in the Arab world.
This episode dives into the impact of mobile phones, reflects on whether social media is a force for good or not, and explores the notion of “socio-political maturity”. We discuss how the center of gravity for media in the Arab world has shifted to the Gulf and why the old adage “Cairo writes, Beirut publishes and Baghdad reads” no longer holds true. Finally, we talk about the business model for media in the Arab world right now and why Turkish TV series have seen such major success.
Marwan M. Kraidy is dean and CEO of Northwestern in Qatar. He founded the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, which hosts multidisciplinary teams of faculty and students dedicated to evidence-based storytelling on the diverse histories, cultures, societies and media of the Global south. He is a scholar of global communication and an authority on Arab media, culture and politics.
Connect with Marwan 👉https://twitter.com/MKraidy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Art historian, educator and author Jonathon Bloom joins us on the afikra podcast to talk about paper, print and the Islamic world. He talks us through changing understandings of "Islamic" art and architecture through the decades, explains the premise of his book "Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World" and whether it's worth using the term "Islamic Art" in the first place. We touch on the fascinating architectural history of the Minaret, the cultural impact of paper, and what it's like to co-write and work alongside his wife Sheila Blair.
Jonathon M Bloom is an art historian, author and educator. He retired in 2018 as the Norma Jean Calderwood University Professor of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College and in 2019 as the Hamad Bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, positions that he shared with his wife and co-author Sheila Blair.
Connect with Jonathon 👉https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/morrissey/departments/art/people/retired-faculty/jonathan-bloom.html
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
The chief curator of the UAE's National Pavillion for the 17th Architecture Bienalle di Venezia (2020 and 2021) – and recipient of the Golden Lion Award – architect Wael Al Awar joins us on the afikra podcast for fascinating conversation about the problem with modern and globalized architecture, and building with the future in mind. Waiwai's founding partner and principle architect takes a deep dive into cement as a material and discusses the disconnect between standardized architecture and cultural and geographical contexts. Wael also explains why architecture as a profession has become intertwined with ego, and answers whether we're truly stuck with skyscrapers.
Wael Al Awar is an architect and founder of waiwai alongside Kazuma Yamao — an architectural, landscape, urban, interior and graphic design studio with offices in Dubai and Tokyo. Waiwai takes a highly contextual approach to address social, environmental and technological questions through design. Wael was the chief Curator of the National Pavilion of the UAE for the Bienalle di Venezia 2020 and 2021, and recipient of the Golden Lion Award.
Connect with Wael 👉 https://www.instagram.com/wael.al.awar/
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Waleed Ziad — author of "Hidden Caliphate: Sufi Saints beyond the Oxus and Indus" — joins us on the afikra podcast to demystify Sufism. Ziad explains the mystical and scientific aspects of Sufism and its far reaching geographies that surpass today's "securitized" borders and colonial conceptions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East as "reified zones". We also learn about the concept of sovereignty in the Islamic world and how modern day understandings of Sufism and abandonment of meditative practices differ from the realities of the pre-20th century Muslim world.
Waleed Ziad is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of Hidden Caliphate: Sufi Saints beyond the Oxus and Indus" which won the Albert Hourani Prize. His research concerns the historical and philosophical foundations of Muslim revivalism and revivalist responses to internal political fragmentation and colonialism in the "Persiante" world.
Connect with Waleed 👉https://twitter.com/waleedziad?lang=en-GB
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Professor John Esposito joins us on the afikra podcast to talk about studying Islam, Islamophobia in the US, and what Arabs inside and outside of the Arab region misunderstand about Islam. Esposito shares his roundabout journey into the field of Islamic studies, starting with wanting to become a priest. Finally, he reflects on the Iranian revolution and 9/11 as watershed moments in the (mis)understanding of Islam in the States.
John Esposito is a Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is the Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and The Bridge Initiative: Protecting Pluralism - Ending Islamophobia in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He has written over 55 books including "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam", "The Future of Islam", and "Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring".
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Art historian and author of “What is 'Islamic' Art?: Between Religion and Perception”, Wendy Shaw talks to us about whether art can truly be "Islamic" or "theological", and if so, what that means. We talk about the complex ways in which museums interact with the broader economies and what this means for decolonizing the field of art history, and her roundabout journey into this field all the way from biochemistry.
Wendy Shaw is an art historian and professor of the Art History of Islamic Cultures at the Freie Universität berlin. Her book "What is 'Islamic' Art?: Between Religion and Perception" explores the perceptions of arts, including painting, music and geometry through the discursive sphere of historical Islam including the Qur'an, Hadith, Sufism, ancient philosophy, and poetry. By emphasizing the experience of reception over the context of production, Shaw creates a new approach not only to Islam and its arts, but also as a decolonizing model for global approaches to art history.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
A captivating conversation with theater director and playwright Laila Soliman about theater, cultural discourse and decolonization across the Arab world. Using three of her major works – Zigzag, La Grande Maison and her first opera Woman at Point Zero – as reference, we discuss western-centric art education, dismantle the concept of “alternative narratives”, and collective memory. We think about theater as a medium, what it takes to bring about a cultural “golden age”, and where and how is the best place to pass on knowledge.
Laila Soliman is an independent Egyptian theater director and playwright who lives and works in Cairo. Born in Cairo, she gained a degree in theater and Arabic literature from the American University in Cairo and a MA at Dasarts in Amsterdam.
Her performances have been shown across the Arab world, India, South Africa and Europe. Her first opera production – Woman at Point 0 – based on Nawal el Saadawi’s novel by the same name premiered in 2022.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Al-Andalus exists in history, geography and the Western cultural imaginary. Professor Eric Calderwood talks to us about Al-Andalus, examining it as both a place and an idea which is productive in memory, culture and politics. He explains how this cultural imaginary has transcended its geographic bounds and has created fruitful debates around the identity not only of this place, but of Spain and Morocco as modern nations.
We reflect on why it's difficult to put an exact date on when al-Andalus actually "ended", the brotherhood it has created between Spain and Morocco and the importance of these interconnected histories.
Finally, Eric shares how music and dance led him to study al-Andalus and why he chose to explore this topic from five different perspectives including from Pan-Arab, Feminist and Palestinian viewpoints.
Eric Calderwood is Associate Professor of Comparative and World Literature at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the author of the award-winning Colonial al-Andalus: Spain and the Making of Modern Moroccan Culture. He is a contributor to NPR, the BBC, and Foreign Policy. His most recent publication is On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of Al Andalus.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
AI is upending education and learning as we know it. In collaboration with Qatar Foundation, we wanted to explore the possible impacts, challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence presents for education internationally and more specifically in the Arab world.
We sat down with Mehdi Benchaabane, director of Qatar Academy Doha, to discuss the current advantages and shortfalls of AI in the classroom. We discuss the significant questions AI has raised around educational honesty and integrity, key concerns at all levels from students, educators and policymakers to parents, and whether the educational system as a whole is broken. Mehdi highlights the unique dynamic between teachers and their students who, as digital natives, are naturally adept at working with and leveraging new technologies. Finally, we reflect on whether AI will redefine educators as "master prompt engineers" who are simply teaching their students how to work effectively with these tools and the linguistic challenges of AI in Arabic.
Mehdi Benchaabane is the director of Qatar Academy Doha. Before taking up his current position, he was the director of the Qatar Foundation’s Education Development Institute where his work focussed on teacher professional learning, curriculum improvement and developing school leadership capacity.
The Qatar Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that brings together centers and programs focused on education, research and innovation, and community development.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.
Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the fourth of six, featuring a conversation with and performance by Nesrine Belmokh, along with more snaps from a performance by Bab L'Bluz at Joe's pub.
Nesrine Bolmokh is a Franco-Algerian singer, cellist and songwriter who brings the Mediterranean together with North Africa in her music.
Bab L'Bluz is a Moroccan-French rock band that was formed in Marrakesh in 2018 by Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin. Their music takes inspiration from Gnawa music, blues, Chaâbi and Afrobeat and is born out of the "Nayda" movement which seeks to honor local culture and heritage.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Contemporary Arab art doesn’t always get the attention it deserves or needs. Alia Al-Senussi — cultural strategist and arts affairs advisor — talks to us about the power that museums hold in informing and shaping cultures, forgiving and healing from the pasts, and building resilient economies. Focussing on Saudi Arabia’s cultural revolution in motion, she explains why everyone seems to be obsessed with the so-called “creative economy” and how her own relationship with art started as a tourist, delineating between modern and contemporary art.
Finally, she highlights the critical role that artists and their art play as “interpreters of our time” and the difficulties of building private and public collections, and shares her “playbook” for building a successful cultural institution. For art lovers and curious minds alike, Alia also shares her favorite museums, cultural institutions and galleries, and communities from across the region as well as her favourite North African artists.
Alia Al-Senussi is a cultural strategist and art world affairs advisor with nearly 20 years of experience in the field. She works with cultural organisations across the world to support the creative sector. She is Art Basel's UK and MENA representative and advisor for the Milken Institute of Arts and Culture, and has previously been chair of the Tate Young Patrons, founding member of the Tate's Acquisitions Committee for the Middle East and North Africa, and the board of Patrons of Art Dubai.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.
Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the third of six, featuring a conversation with Bab L'Bluz's Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin, along with snaps from a performance by Tarek Yamani and the the Yacine Boulares Quartet at Joe's pub.
Bab L'Bluz is a Moroccan-French rock band that was formed in Marrakesh in 2018 by Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin. Their music takes inspiration from Gnawa music, blues, Chaâbi and Afrobeat and is born out of the "Nayda" movement which seeks to honor local culture and heritage.
Tarek Yamani is a Lebanese jazz-pianist, composer, producer and educator. Through his music, he explores the relationship between African-American jazz and Classical Arabic music.
Yacine Boulares is a French-Tunisian saxophonist, clarinetist and composer based in New York. His music explores North & West African rhythms as well as Jazz. He founded the Shems Record label and Habibi Festival in 2020.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Goodbye Julia — which played in Cannes’ section Un Certain Regard and won the Freedom Prize — is a poignant reflection on Sudanese society. The film is Kordofani's first feature. He sat down with us to discuss his journey from aviation engineer to film director and screenwriter, achieving the critical balance between "good" and "bad" while portraying humanity on screen, and how it felt to be acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival.
We asked him about his decision to set the film between 2005 and 2011 — a significant moment in Sudan’s recent history — and who he made the film for: international viewers curious about Sudan or Sudanese cinema-goers reflecting on themselves. Finally, we untangle some of the main social critiques and themes that the film seeks to confront — in particular, racism between Northern and Southern Sudanese people.
Mohamed Kordofani is a Sudanese film director and screenwriter. He started out as an aviation engineer, before changing careers to pursue his passion for film. His first feature film, Goodbye Julia, gained international recognition and won the Freedom Prize at Cannes Film Festival. Since then, it has also been screened internationally and was selected by the Sudanese National Committee operating in exile in the category of Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Kawalis is afikra’s Movie Night podcast that dives into all types of production from stage to the small or big screen, zooming in on the work of professionals from the field. This interview series is an opportunity to ask actors, directors, scriptwriters and cinematographers questions about the industry, the writing and production processes, the behind the scenes and genres behind some of the Arab world’s best films, TV series, plays and performances, and to discover some of the best work out there from experts in the field. Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39iF2VuxlZ0&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7IMTj6Jk7yAJXCMMqxaP5A
ABOUT AFIKRA afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.
Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the second of six, featuring a conversation with mother-son duo Firas Zreik – who has previously joined us on Quartertones – and Amal Murkus, as well as snaps from their performances at Joe's Pub.
Amal Murkus is a Palestinian singer, actress, producer, TV & Radio host. Born and raised in Kufer Yasef in the Galilee, her career has been dedicated to the promotion, preservation and enrichment of Palestinian music and culture around the world. Her music is pioneering in its creation of a post-modern musical style that brings different Mediterranean influences together.
Firas Zreik is an artist, composer, lyricist and educator. A Palestine-born New Yorker, Zreik has revolutionized global perceptions of the Kanun instrument. While still preserving its identity as a vital part of the Maqam tradition, Zreik has "stretched its potential as a cultural chameleon enhancing a range of fresh, evolving sounds." He has collaborated with a number of leaders including Roger Waters, Simon Shaheen, Amir ElSaffar, Fabrizio Cassol and his internationally-renowned mother and frequent artistic partner Amal Murkus, for who he works as musical director.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
We're excited to announce that our special episodes on Palestine are turning into their own podcast. The atrocities that continue to take place in Palestine are a reminder that, more than ever, we need to dedicate our platforms to stand for justice and truth.
"This is not a watermelon" is a podcast about Palestinian history and culture. In this episode, we sat down with Andy Clarno, author of "Neoliberal Apartheid: Palestine/Israel and South Africa after 1994" to understand more about transnational solidarity particularly between South Africa and Palestine.
He helped us define apartheid and neoliberalism, sharing what he considers to be a useful working definition of the terms, unpacking their origins, and explaining what systems and realities they actually refer to.
We discussed what it takes to dismantle such systems and how essential the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement is. Andy sheds light on the decades-strong transnational solidarity between South Africa and Palestine, walks through the steps it took to achieve liberation in South Africa, and considers whether the post-apartheid South African model is what Palestine should be aspiring to.
Finally, Andy explains the concepts of racial capitalism and the relationship between neoliberalism and new forms of apartheid.
This episode was recorded on December 21st 2023 at 6pm Palestine Time.
Andy Clarno is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the coordinator of the Policing in Chicago Research Group and specialises in Sociology and Black Studies. HIs research interests include racism, capitalism, colonialism, empire, policing and comparative racial formation. He is the author of Neoliberal Apartheid. About "Neoliberal Apartheid": This book traces the shifting dynamics of racial capitalism and settler colonialism in South Africa and Palestine/Israel after 1994. The book addresses the limitations of liberation in South Africa, highlights the impact of neoliberal restructuring in Palestine/Israel, and argues thata new form of “neoliberal apartheid” has emerged in both regions.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.
Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is one in six, and features a conversation with Hadi Eldebek and Omar Offendum – both of whom have been on Quartertones so make sure to go and check out those podcast episodes – as well as snaps from their performances at Joe's Pub.
Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American rapper and spoken word artist living in Los Angeles. An Architecture graduate, he was able to carve a distinct path for himself as a thoughtful entertainer and activist able to speak to a multitude of relevant issues and a diverse global audience over the course of a decade-long career. Offendum was named a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow for 2018/2019. Known for his unique blend of Hip-Hop & Arabic poetry, he’s been featured on prominent world news outlets, lectured at a number of prestigious academic institutions, collaborated with major museums & cultural organizations, and helped raise millions of dollars for various humanitarian relief groups.
Hadi Eldebek is a musician, educator and entrepreneur based in New York City. He has collaborated with prominent figures and institutions in the Arts, culture, and education sectors, including Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble, Harvard Graduate School of Education, The Kennedy Center, TED, and Disney World Imagineering. His piece for Oud & String Quartet, Istimrar, was played at Farkas Hall in Cambridge, MA featuring Yo-Yo Ma on Cello. In addition, Hadi has founded several cultural startups, including grantPA and Circle World Arts. His TED talk, discussing the importance of funding the arts and artists, has gone viral with over 1.25 million views.
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study.
Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This conversation is a rerun of a 2021 episode with Professor Rashid Khalidi author of "The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017". We are rerunning this episode since our team is on a break until after the second week of January and the episode is filled with lots of great information.
Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies in the department of History at Columbia University. He received his B.A. from Yale in 1970, and his D.Phil. from Oxford in 1974. He is co-editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, and was President of the Middle East Studies Association, and an advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations from October 1991 until June 1993. He is author of: Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. has Undermined Peace in the Middle East (2013); Sowing Crisis: American Dominance and the Cold War in the Middle East (2009); The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood (2006); Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East (2004); Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness (1996); Under Siege: PLO Decision-Making During the 1982 War (1986); British Policy Towards Syria and Palestine, 1906-1914 (1980); and co-editor of Palestine and the Gulf (1982), The Origins of Arab Nationalism (1991), and The Other Jerusalem: Rethinking the History of the Sacred City (2020).
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This conversation offers a brief history of Palestine and its peoples, a look at the Palestinian experience both in exile and within modern-day Israel.
Professor Maha Nassar – author of Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab world – talks us through the daily indignities, state repression, and racism faced by Palestinians in Israel. She unpacks the origins and meanings of the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and how she goes about dismantling false narratives.
This episode was recorded on Friday, November 24 at 5pm Palestine Time Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding the historical context of what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
About Maha Nassar: Maha Nassar is an Associate Professor of Modern Middle East History and Islamic Studies at the University of Arizona. Specifically, she is a cultural and intellectual historian of the 20th century Arab world with a focus on Palestinian history. Nassar's research looks at the intellectual constructs of social, political and cultural identities to trace the circulation of political vocabularies that construct as well as contest nationalist narratives.
Nassar's book "Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World" examines how Palestinian cultural producers in Israel during the 1950s and 60s positioned themselves within an Arab and "Third World", social, cultural and intellectual milieu that extended far beyond the confines of the Israeli nation state. By mapping the strategies they deployed, her book demonstrates the importance of Arabic newspapers and literary journals in traversing national boundaries and in creating transnational and transregional communities of solidarity. In 2018 Brothers Apart received a Palestine Book Award for academic titles.
(via https://menas.arizona.edu/person/maha...)
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Sudan’s ongoing crisis gets little attention in western media if in any media at all. Kholood Khair helps us go beyond the sparce headlines to get a better sense of how the daily atrocities are affecting the broader society right now.
Kholood is a policy and political analyst and founding director of Khartoum-based “think-and-do” tank Confluence Advisory. We spoke to her about what it means to be Sudanese in this moment in time, tried to define "statehood" and "nationhood" in the Sudanese context, and explored the fragile relationship between democracy and stability.
She explains the repercussions of the capital Khartoum being at the epicenter of destruction and the wider impacts this has had on civil society, education and cultural production. Finally, laying bare her frustration around the fact that very few people are paying attention to Sudan, Kholood underscores the importance of transitional solidarity.
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
As journalists on the ground in Gaza are targeted, the “truth” weaponized, and an information war for the ages unravels, we sat down with Professor Ibrahim Abusharif to discuss the construction of narratives, framing terminologies, and the ethics of journalism. Delving into questions of decolonizing journalism, the boundaries between storytelling and reportage, and pushing back against established journalistic practices, we explore the state of (war) reporting and how coverage of the Arab world has changed over time.
Professor Abusharif points us towards the Al Jazeera effect and what he sees as a destabilization of western dominance over media narratives. He also offers some tips for how to decolonize pitches and reporting and some recommendations for what to read.
This episode was recorded in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation.
Ibrahim Abusharif is an associate professor in residence in Northwestern University Qatar’s Journalism and Strategic Communication Program. His research focuses on narrative journalism, religious studies, and the decolonization of storytelling. He looks in particular at the intersection of religion and media, as well as digital media disruptions and their effects on contemporary religious authority. His work also explores the origins, promulgation, and effects of key journalistic framing terminologies used in prominent Western news sources in their coverage and reportage of the Middle East and Muslim minorities in the West.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Farha – the internationally acclaimed film that brought the Nakba to screens around the world – depicts the heartwrenching events of 1948 through the eyes of a 14-year old girl. In her debut film, director Darin Salam creates an intense, feminine story that captures the emotions and human experience of the Nakba in a raw yet approachable way.
In this special podcast episode, Darin explains how the story of Farha found her, offers context for viewers who aren’t familiar with events around the Nakba, and breaks down the logistical elements of casting, shooting and producing the film. She talks about how she positions Farha as a meaningful contribution to a wider conversation that uses art and film as a means to preserve this history for generations to come.
Finally, Darin speaks to the fear and initial reluctance she faced from the film industry as well as the challenges she overcame to secure funding that respected the integrity of the story she was trying to make.
This episode was recorded on November 9 2023 at 11am Palestine time.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in all types of production for the small and big screen to zoom into the work of professionals from the field – from actors and directors to scriptwriters and cinematographers. This interview series is an opportunity to ask questions about the plot, the behind the scenes, themes and information about a film or TV series and discover some of the best work from experts in the field who are from the Arab world.
Explore all Movie Night episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39iF2VuxlZ0&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7IMTj6Jk7yAJXCMMqxaP5A
Colonial violence, resistance movements and French-colonial Algeria. Professor Benjamin Brower explains the ways in which violence is conceptualized, treating it as a historic lens to understand colonial events in the past and what is happening right now in Palestine.
This conversation is key for anyone who wants a detailed history of the French presence in Algeria and their mechanisms for colonial expansion and control, and to have a critical base of knowledge around colonialism and violence that can inform our understanding of what we’re witnessing in Palestine.
Benjamin Brower is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a historian of colonial-era Algeria (1830-1962) whose research focuses on social and political questions, which he approaches through critical and literary theories, and postcolonial studies.
His first book, A Desert Named Peace: The Violence of French Empire in the Algerian Sahara, 1844-1902 (2009) tells the story of colonial violence in nineteenth-century Algeria, and it won two major book prizes.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Dima Khatib, managing director at AJ+, is leading crucial work to speak truth to power in the face of what we’re witnessing in Palestine: tackling misinformation, dismantling false narratives on multilingual platforms, and standing apart in the current media landscape.
We start with a reflection on the targeting of journalists and the assassination of the truth from Iraq to what we’re witnessing right now in Gaza. We explore the idea of war of information and “embedded journalists”. Dima shares her first-hand experience in combating misinformation and replacing dehumanizing narratives, explaining AJ+’s approach to speaking to different audiences in their own languages about what’s happening on the ground.
We ponder about western media, the notable absence of journalists speaking up against injustice and war crimes, and the debilitating but far reaching double standards that permeate western media and popular narratives.
In a more hopeful light, Dima points to the powerful role of Gen Z on platforms like TikTok and Instagram and the fact that vocabulary such as “Nakba” and “settler colonialism” is becoming part of a common, global language.
Finally she shares reading recommendations from Jewish, Israeli and South American writers that have helped her understand what is happening in Palestine and to Palestinians, and the realities of colonialism and idigineity.
This episode was recorded on Tuesday November 14 at 6:45pm Palestine Time
Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
About Dima:
Dima Khatib is the managing director of the award-winning AJ+ channels in four languages: English, Arabic, Spanish and French. She joined the Network in 1997 as a junior broadcast journalist in Qatar and went on to become the first female executive within Al Jazeera. Later, Dima set up bureaus in China and Venezuela where she was Al Jazeera’s bureau chief for almost a decade. Dima has reported from over 30 countries in five continents, interviewing presidents and people from all walks of life. Dima is a polyglot who has published the book “Love Refugee”. She has been classified as one of the most influential Arabs online since the early days of social media.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Peace processes, two-state vs one-state solutions and nonviolent protests. In conversation with Professor Wendy Pearlman from Northwestern University, we take two of her books as a foundation to examine grassroots activism historically and to consider a potential future “just” solution.
Wendy shares her views on realistic outcomes for the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli condition, and takes us through the history of Palestinian grassroots activism both in Palestine and internationally, delving deeper into the parallel between the apartheid in South Africa and in Palestine. Finally, we talk about the atmosphere on US college campuses right now — both for students and teaching staff. Wendy explains why she aims to speak to all her students in the classroom, regardless of where they stand on the Palestine issue.
This episode was recorded on November 8, 17:10 Palestine time
Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
About Wendy:
Wendy is the Crown Professor of Middle East Studies and the interim Director of the Middle East and North Africa Studies Program at North Western University. She is a scholar of the comparative politics of the Middle East, social movements, and forced migration and has studied or conducted research in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. She is the author of five books including Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books, 2003) and Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement (Cambridge, 2011).
Since June 2023, Wendy has served as co-editor-in-chief of the journal Perspectives on Politics. Previously, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, a Starr Foundation Fellow at the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad at the American University in Cairo, a Junior Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and a postdoctoral Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund’s president and founder, Steve Sosebee, joins us to talk about Gaza’s children, the nature of the work that the PCRF is doing and the immense pressure that the healthcare and sanitary systems are under right now in Gaza.
Steve lays out the state of the healthcare system in Gaza pre- and post-October 7 and how the absolute destruction taking place is impacting their ability to support Gaza’s children and vulnerable patients. He conveys the reality of what “operational” means for hospitals doing their best to support the community in Gaza right now, as well as the risks posed by the spread of disease now and in the imminent future.
Finally, he explains why he believes there’s no sufficient psychological treatment or support for the trauma that Palestinian children are facing because the real source of the trauma is the continued occupation and state violence that they are enduring. This episode was recorded on Tuesday Nov 7, at 7pm Palestine time.
Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
About Steve Sosebee:
Steve Sosebee is the president and founder of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). While working as a journalist, Sosebee met two children in Hebron who had been injured by a bombing of their home. He brought them from the West Bank to the USA for free medical care. Following this, he met and later married a Palestinian woman named Huda al Masry, a social worker with the YMCA in Jerusalem. Together, they built the PCRF with the support of a network of volunteers from all over the world. In 2009, Huda passed away from cancer and Sosebee moved back to Palestine with their daughters, building the first public pediatric cancer department in Beit Jala Hospital in his late wife’s name.
About PCRF:
Since its establishment in 1992, PCRF has become the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine that delivers critical and life-saving medical relief and humanitarian aid. To date, they’ve sent over 2000 children abroad for free medical care, as well as thousands of international doctors and nurses to provide tens of thousands of children free medical care in local hospitals. They have also delivered crucial humanitarian aid to Palestine’s children. PCRF has also established two pediatric cancer departments, a new PICU and pediatric cardiology department in Ramallah, amongst other projects that support the country’s healthcare system.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This conversation is about the spatiality and architecture of occupation. Abusaada talks to us about our very understanding of the land of Palestine, how maps invent geography and not the other way around, and why colonialism should be studied while it’s happening and not when it’s over and done with. We examine the way that humans interact with space – specifically under occupation – as well as the history of the Palestinian landscape and how it has been artificially and purposefully manipulated to further the Israeli agenda of control.
This episode was recorded on October 28, 10:42 Palestine time
Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
Dr. Nadi Abusaada is an architect and historian. He is a Zürich Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (GTA) at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zürich. Prior to moving to Zurich he was an Aga Khan Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD and M.Phil degrees at the University of Cambridge and his BA (Hons) at the University of Toronto. Abusaada is also the co-founder of Arab Urbanism which is a global network dedicated to historical and contemporary urban issues in the Arab region.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
A raw and honest conversation about Palestine, Germany and Palestinians in Germany. Sarah El Bulbeisi discusses the history of the Palestinian diasporic experience in Germany, the erasure, tabooization and criminalization of this very experience and the structural hostility, racism and trivialization faced by the Palestinian community and anyone in support of it there. Finally, she grapples with the notion of post-War guilt and its impact (or lack thereof) on the German perception and treatment of Palestinians.
This episode was recorded on Friday Oct 27 at 16:41 Palestine time.
Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.
Sarah El Bulbeisi completed her PhD at the Institute for Near and Middle East Studies at the LMU Munich, Germany and currently works as a post-doctoral research assistant at the Oriental Institute Beirut. Before joining the OIB she coordinated the DAAD project “Violence, Forced Migration and Exile: Trauma in the Arab World and in Germany”, a Higher Education Dialogue between Palestinian and Lebanese universities as well as with the LMU Munich. Prior to that, she worked as a lecturer and research associate at the Institute for Near and Middle East Studies at the LMU Munich. Her PhD thesis “Taboo, Trauma and Identity: Subject Constructions of Palestinians in Germany and Switzerland, 1960 to 2015” draws on conversations, life stories and participant observation and explores the tension between the (family) histories of first and second generation Palestinians, which are characterized by the experience of expulsion and dispossession, and the reshaping of this experience in the Western European representation of the so called Middle East conflict.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
محادثة مهمة وغنية بالمعلومات حول مدينة غزة. من ثقافتها الخاصة وتاريخها الواسع الى الأثر الزلزالي للاستعمار البريطاني. عمر ذوابه يحاور البروفيسور أباهر السقا، مؤلف كتاب "غزة: التاريخ الاجتماعي لغزة تحت الاستعمار البريطاني (1917- 1948)" الذي يرسم صورة حية للحياة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية والثقافية في غزة منذ العصر المملوكي وحتى الاستعمار البريطاني. يسلط السقا الضوء على المدينة من عدسة التاريخ الاجتماعي وعلى الهوية المادية والثقافية المتعددة الأوجه لغزة وكيف تغيرت على مر العقود.
سجلت هذه الحلقة في 26 أكتوبر
يرجى ملاحظة أننا نقوم بتسجيل حلقات بودكاست خاصة لفهم السياق التاريخي لما يحدث في فلسطين. اطلع على المحادثات الأخرى الغنية بالمعلومات مع ضيوف من تخصصات مختلفة والذين يعطون من وقتهم ويشاركون رؤيتهم بسخاء في هذه الأوقات المظلمة
A timely and vital conversation about the city of Gaza: its rich history, culture, and the seismic impact of British colonial rule.
Omar Thawabeh interviews professor Abaher El-Sakka, author of Gaza: A Social History under British Colonial Rule, 1917-1948 paints a vivid picture of Gaza’s social, economic and cultural life from the Mamluk period through to the British colonial rule. He illuminates the city through a social history lens, shedding light on Gaza’s multifaceted physical and cultural identity and how it’s changed through the decades. This episode was recorded on October 26 Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
* ABOUT AFIKRA *
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
In conversation with Professor Beshara Doumani, the inaugural Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies at Brown University. Professor Doumani gives us critical historical context for what's happening now in Palestine. Explaining why and how pre-colonial Palestinian history is relevant today, he draws a stark contrast between pre-WW1 Gaza and the besieged Gaza of the present-day.
This episode was recorded on October 24 at 20:44 Palestine time.
Please note, we are dedicating all the afikra podcast programming to special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Each episode will be recorded in real time and uploaded to YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts.
About Beshara Doumani:
Beshara Doumani is the inaugural Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies, the first chair of its kind dedicated to this field of study. He is also the founding director (2012-2018) of Brown's Center for Middle East Studies (CMES), and founder of New Directions for Palestinian Studies, a CMES initiative since 2012. From 2012-2020 he was the Joukowsky Family Distinguished Professor of Modern Middle East History.
Doumani's research focuses on groups, places, and time periods marginalized by mainstream scholarship on the early modern and modern Middle East, with a focus on the social, economic, and legal history of Eastern Mediterranean. He also writes on the topics of academic freedom, and the Palestinian condition.
His books include Rediscovering Palestine: Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700-1900, and Family Life in the Ottoman Mediterranean: A Social History. He is currently working on the modern history of the Palestinians through the social life of stone. Doumani is the editor of a book series on Palestinian Studies published by the University of California Press, co-editor of the Jerusalem Quarterly and editorial committee member of the Journal of Palestine Studies. From 2009-2011, Doumani led a team that produced a strategic plan for the establishment of the Palestinian Museum. In 2015, Doumani and received the Sawyer Seminar award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the proposal, Displacement and the Making of the Modern World: Histories, Ecologies, and Subjectivities.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
In conversation with interdisciplinary scholar Brendan Ciarán Browne, author of “Transitional (in)Justice and Enforcing the Peace on Palestine”, who has degrees in Law and a PhD in Sociology.
This episode was recorded on October 24 at 11:30 Palestine time.
Please note, we are dedicating all the afikra podcast programming to special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Each episode will be recorded in real time and uploaded to YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts.
About Brendan Ciarán Browne:
A native of Belfast, Dr Brendan Ciarán Browne is an interdisciplinary scholar with degrees in Law (LL.B, LL.M Human Rights) and a PhD in Sociology. He has held academic and research positions at Queen's University Belfast, Al Quds (Bard) University, Palestine and is currently Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution, and a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD). His research interests are focused on transitional justice, settler colonialism and liberal peacebuilding, and conflict and forced displacement. Dr Browne is an award-winning teacher, having been nominated twice for Trinity College Dublin's prestigious Provost's Teaching Award, winning the accolade in 2019. In addition, he has been nominated twice for the Trinity Civic Engagement Award in recognition of his work on community engagement in the North of Ireland and Palestine (being shortlisted in 2018). In 2023 he was again nominated for an award, the Excellence in Research Supervision at Trinity College Dublin, in recognition of his commitment to his research students.
In: 'Refugees and Forced Displacement in Northern Ireland's Troubles: Untold Journeys' (co-authored with Dr Niall Gilmartin, Liverpool University Press) Dr Browne challenges and broadens prevailing understandings of conflict-related violence, harm, and loss in Northern Ireland, so as to demonstrate the centrality of forced movement, territory, and demographics to the roots and subsequent trajectory of the 'Troubles'.
His most recent work: 'Transitional (in)Justice & Enforcing the Peace on Palestine' (Palgrave Macmillan) critically unpacks transitional justice practices that have been trialled in Palestine by arguing that such interventions mimic a deeply flawed liberal peacebuilding agenda, one that has been weaponised against the Palestinian population.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Mara Kronenfeld, the Executive Director of UNRWA-USA, gives context about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza right now and the devastating impact the 17-year-long blockade has had on Palestinian life.
This episode was recorded on October 20 at 15:30 Palestine time.
Please note, that we are dedicating all the afikra podcast programming to special podcast episodes relevant to understanding the historical context of what is happening in Palestine. Each episode will be recorded in real-time and uploaded to YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director
👉: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
This conversation is a deep dive into every corner of the Muslim world. We hear about the story of Slavs and Tatar’s origins, what their work is concerned with, and why much of their activity is about disarticulation and decentering. We reflect on linguistic gravitas, the meaning of language, paying attention to “small peoples'', and the racist origins of the very term “Tatars”. We move onto the role of art, why it’s infantilising, and how it should scramble things and harness its social capital – and about the Slavs and Tatar’s slavic aperitivo “Pickle Bar '' as a facilitating space.
Slavs and Tatars is an art collective and faction of polemics and intimacies devoted to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. It was founded as a collaboration between artists and designers Payam Sharifi and Kasia Korczak. The group’s work is centered around exhibitions, books and lecture performances. Slavs and Tatars has a residency and mentorship program for young professionals from their region, a slavic aperitif bar-cum-project space called Pickle Bar in Berlin, and an online store by the name of MERCZbau.
* ABOUT THIS SERIES ***
The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first.
Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
What does the post-AI era hold? And what do these kinds of conversations look like in the context of the Arab world? In this captivating conversation, Basma Hamdy sheds light on everything AI and the Arab world, from ethics to art. What are ownership, originality and intellectual ownership? How will AI impact the visual arts? How are ethics going to be re-defined? Why is Arabic-language processing lagging behind? And what does algorithmic bias have to do with it?
Basma delineates between the pre and post-AI worlds, pressing for an adaptation of our principles and ethical frameworks that takes the changing landscape into account. We reflect on the influence of Western modernity on the region’s ethics and how collaboration and cooperation may be re-centered in this new AI age. As well as on what skills are going to be lost and gained for the AI-native generation.
Basma Hamdy is an assistant professor of Graphic Design at VCUarts Qatar. She is a research-based designer, author and educator producing work that bridges historical, political and social issues with archival, documentarian, participatory and critical mechanisms. She collaborated with Don Karl to research and document the creative output of the Egyptian Revolution in the book “Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution”. She is currently working on her second book, Found Khatt, in collaboration with Noha Zyed, which documents found typography across Egypt. The Qatar Foundation is a not-for-profit organization which brings together centers and programs focused on education, research and innovation, and community development.
Watch our previous conversation with Basma as part of a panel for Tasmeem 2022: Radical Futures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1sX1pVqpKU
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
In conversation with Professor Hicham Safieddine, we get to grips with Lebanon’s banking system. He walks us through the history of central banks, who Lebanon’s Barons of Banking were, and how Lebanon’s banking sector got to where it is today. We reflect on Beirut’s economy and banking system from the 1800s to the present day, taking into account the Ottoman Imperial Bank, Banque de Syrie et du Liban, Banque du Liban and the Intra-affair. Finally, we discuss the current state of affairs and if change is on the horizon.
Hicham Safieddine is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the History of the Modern Middle East at the University of British Columbia. His research mostly focuses on the 19th and 20th century financial, economic and intellectual history of the MENA region. Safieddine is currently examining the emergence and transformation of global and national monetary regimes and financial systems under capitalist expansion, debt, war, colonial conquest, national liberation and revolution. Outside of his academic work, Hicham is the co-founder of e-zines Al-Akhbar English and The Legal Agenda’s English Edition.
About “Banking on the State: The Financial Foundations of Lebanon”:
Banking on the State reveals how the financial foundations of Lebanon were shaped by the history of the standardization of economic practices and financial regimes within the decolonizing world. The system of central banking that emerged was the product of a complex interaction of war, economic policies, international financial regimes, post-colonial state-building, global currents of technocratic knowledge, and private business interests. It served rather than challenged the interests of an oligarchy of local bankers. As Hicham Safieddine shows, the set of arrangements that governed the central bank thus was dictated by dynamics of political power and financial profit more than market forces, national interest or economic sovereignty.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
With a vast discography featuring both emerging artists and some of the biggest names in Arabic music, Sleiman Damien is completely tapped into the region’s pop genre. We asked him what he thinks of the phrase “Arab pop fusion”, which metrics actuallymatter to him, and why he thinks legacy superstars have more sticking power in today’s fickle industry.
We reflect on the role of ego in the region’s music industry, comparing the “old guard” to emerging musicians and their approach to collaboration. Sleiman also talks about his experience working as a ghost producer and how he reacts emotionally to his own work.
He also shares his mental health journey, especially when it comes to the emphasis placed on performance metrics and an obsession with knowing how people feel about his own creations.
Sleiman Damien is a music producer, DJ and audio engineer from Beirut, Lebanon. Much of his work is focussed on the Arab pop genre.
He has worked with music talents from across the region such as Georges Wassouf, Nassif Zeytoun, Haifa Wehbe, Assi Hallani, Ragheb Alama, Abeer Nehme, Dana Hourani, Maritta Hallani, Adonis, Zef and many more.
Theme music: "Peninsular", Tarek Yamani
👉: https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
🔊: https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director
👉: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
* ABOUT THE SERIES *
Quartertones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience:
https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Watch all afikra Conversations:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Bill Bragin – executive artistic director of the NYUAD Arts Center – talks to us about the center’s upcoming season, how it's impacted the city of Abu Dhabi so far, and what he envisions for the future of both the center and its ripple effect on the country as a whole.
Bill shares his approach to curatorial work and practice, as well as the importance of responding to a space/venue when programming. We also reflect on what it means to exchange culture and build long-lasting educational institutions, and how Abu Dhabi’s unique audience has reacted to the center’s work so far.
This conversation kicks off the second season of the podcast series in collaboration with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and delves deep into the intricate tapestry of the Arab world's histories and cultures. This podcast is your passport to the Arab world's rich and diverse histories and cultures. Get ready to embark on an immersive journey of knowledge, inspiration and endless curiosity.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Join us on an intellectual odyssey with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi Podcast Series that delves deep into the intricate tapestry of the Arab world's histories and cultures.
As our guests share their expertise and personal journeys, we invite you to embark on a voyage of discovery. Prepare to be enlightened, entertained, and intrigued, as each conversation sparks a new flame of curiosity within you.
The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi Podcast Series is your passport to the Arab world's rich and diverse histories and cultures. Get ready to embark on an immersive journey of knowledge, inspiration, and endless curiosity.
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Learn about Arab Marxism, radical patriarchal politics, and Lebanon’s political economy over the last century in this conversation with professor Fadi Bardawil from Duke University. Starting with his book “Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation”, Professor Bardawil maps out the history of the Political Left in Lebanon and more broadly in the region, pointing us to key moments over the past century. We also touch on the New Left, Lebanon’s new political realities and the significance of October 17th as a moment of feminist resurgence.
Fadi Bardawil is assistant professor of contemporary Arab cultures in the Department of Asian Studies and Middle East Studies at Duke university. He also regularly writes for Megaphone, an online independent media platform based in Lebanon. His work is interdisciplinary, combining political anthropology, critical theory and intellectual history. In particular, Bardawil focuses on Lebanon investigating articulations of cultural production and political practice.
About “Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation”:
The Arab Revolutions that began in 2011 reignited interest in the question of theory and practice, imbuing it with a burning political urgency. In Revolution and Disenchantment Fadi Bardawil redescribes for our present how an earlier generation of revolutionaries – the 1960s Arab New Left – addressed this question. Bardawil excavates the long-lost archive of the Marxist organization Socialist Lebanon and its main theorist, Waddah Charara, who articulated answers in their political practice to fundamental issues confronting revolutionaries worldwide: intellectuals as vectors of revolutionary theory; political organizations as mediators of theory and praxis; and non-emancipatory attachments as impediments to revolutionary practice. Drawing on historical and ethnographic methods and moving beyond familiar reception narratives of Marxist thought in the postcolony, Bardawil engages in "fieldwork in theory" that analyzes how theory seduces intellectuals, cultivates sensibilities, and authorizes political practice. Throughout, Bardawil underscores the resonances and tensions between Arab intellectual traditions and Western critical theory and postcolonial theory, deftly placing intellectuals from those traditions into a much-needed conversation.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
P-Thugg, one half of music duo Chromeo, shares the secrets to a successful and long-term musical collaboration. On set with us in Beirut, he talks about the experiences that led to his discovering funk and hip hop, growing up between Lebanon and Canada and his changing relationship with the former, and what it’s like attending the VMAs. He tells us of Chromeo’s early days when he and David “Dave 1” Macklovitch met and started making music together. We also reflect on how the craft of making music videos has changed and how important humor, honesty and musical knowledge are. P-Thugg also talks about the origins of his online marketplace “Ya Habibi Market” and names his all-time-favorite dance artists. P-Thugg, also known as Patrick Gemayel, is a Lebanese musician and one half of the electro-funk duo Chromeo. He’s also the founder of Ya Habibi Market, a collective of multidisciplinary MENA creatives, artists and designers from around the world.
Theme music: "Peninsular", Tarek Yamani
👉: https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
🔊: https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director
👉: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
* ABOUT THE SERIES *
Quartertones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience:
https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Watch all afikra Conversations:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Did “Arabness” die in 1973? How meaningful is the word Arab now anyway? And what role does the internet play in visual culture and civic imagination? In this multifaceted conversation with Dr Omar Kholeif, we explore many strands of thought, venturing from Arab culture as a “creole culture” to looking at the internet as a “pesky medium”. We share afikra’s core tenets and philosophy and reflect on key players in the production of Arab pop culture now in 2023.
Dr Omar Kholeif is an Egyptian-born artist, author, broadcaster, edit and curator (among other things). They are currently director of collections and senior curator at the Sharjah Art Foundation. Kholeif started their career as a music writer, researcher and documentary producer, going on to found the UK’s first Arab Film Festival (now called the Safar Film festival). They have since worked across film, media, fine art and visual culture. They have taught at many institutions including the University of Chicago and University of Oxford.
About their most recent publication “Art_Internet: From the Birth of the Web to the Rise of NFTs”:
“A leading figure in the world of networked culture explores the artists and events that defined the mass medium of our time.”
Since 1989, the year the World Wide Web was born, the art world has grappled with the rise of networked culture. This unprecedented survey of the artists and innovators in this area from 1989 to today is interwoven with the personal narrative of one of the leading voices of the digital world. In this book, Omar Kholeif, whose prolific career parallels the growth of the internet, tells the story of this mass medium and how it has fostered new possibilities for artists, both analog and digital.
The book showcases work spanning a range of media from legendary artists including Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Nam June Paik, Heather Phillipson, and Wu Tsang. Tracing the key artists and innovators from the emergence of browser-based art to the dawn of NFTs, this is a tale for the present and the future.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
What is Syria’s business model? How will the current political constriction, brain and human drain, and regional geo-politics affect the country moving forward? In this fascinating conversation with Bassam Haddad, we consider money as a mentality, Syria’s political economy, and reflect on the growing drug trade and rentierism. He also shares his experience founding (and naming) Jadaliyya and being the executive director of the Arab Studies institute.
Bassam Haddad is the Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and an associate professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He’s also the co-founder and editor of Jadaliyya and executive director of the Arab Studies Institute. He wrote “Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience” and co editor of “A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East.”
About “Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience”:
Collusion between business communities and the state can lead to a measure of security for those in power, but this kind of interaction often limits new development. In Syria, state-business involvement through informal networks has contributed to an erratic economy. With unique access to private businessmen and select state officials during a critical period of transition, this book examines Syria's political economy from 1970 to 2005 to explain the nation's pattern of state intervention and prolonged economic stagnation. As state income from oil sales and aid declined, collusion was a bid for political security by an embattled regime. To achieve a modicum of economic growth, the Syrian regime would develop ties with select members of the business community, reserving the right to reverse their inclusion in the future. Haddad ultimately reveals that this practice paved the way for forms of economic agency that maintained the security of the regime but diminished the development potential of the state and the private sector.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Studying Yemen, al-Shawkani, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and football. In this fascinating conversation with Professor Bernard Haykel, he offers deep insight into contemporary Saudi Arabia, the realities of pivoting an entire economy away from oil, and what MBS’ vision 2030 actually looks like for the country.
We talk about why Haykel started out studying Yemen before moving onto Saudi Arabia, contemporary geopolitics, and key axes of power between China, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies and the director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton University. Between 1992 and 1993, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in Yemen. He has taught at New York, Oxford, and Princeton Universities. His research is primarily focused on the political and social tensions that arise from questions about religious identity and authority. He has written two books: “Saudi Arabia in Transition” and “Revival and Reform in Islam”.
About “Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change”: Making sense of Saudi Arabia is crucially important today. The kingdom's western province contains the heart of Islam, and it is the United States' closest Arab ally and the largest producer of oil in the world. However, the country is undergoing rapid change: its aged leadership is ceding power to a new generation, and its society, dominated by young people, is restive. Saudi Arabia has long remained closed to foreign scholars, with a select few academics allowed into the kingdom over the past decade. This book presents the fruits of their research as well as those of the most prominent Saudi academics in the field. This volume focuses on different sectors of Saudi society and examines how the changes of the past few decades have affected each. It reflects new insights and provides the most up-to-date research on the country's social, cultural, economic and political dynamics.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
DJ Nooriyah’s iconic Boiler room set with her Baba on the oud, growing up between Saudi, Japan and London, and her beloved CDJ 2000s Pioneer decks. We sat down with Nooriyah Qais to talk about everything DJing, her guide to safeguarding yourself in the club industry, and how she transforms a sample into an infectious dance track.
We also touch on the community she’s built with her curated event and party series “Middle of Nowhere”, how she’s bringing SWANA music into the mainstream, and her favorite Arab cities to play.
Nooriyah Qais is a radio host, producer, DJ and journalist. Through her work as a DJ and audio producer, she champions music from the Arab region and diaspora, founding “Middle of Nowhere” which is a “SWANA focused collaborative in London”. Her iconic Boiler Room set reached over 1 million streams in the first 3 months. Nooriyah has performed at global dance festivals including Glastonbury.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
What was it like curating the biggest exhibition of Arab art happening right now? Why is “Kawkaba: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation” such a landmark exhibition? We sat down with the exhibition’s curator and deputy chair of Christie’s MENA, Dr Ridha Moumni, and the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation to go behind the scenes of the curation process.
They share the logistical challenges of putting this exhibition together and share some of their favorite pieces on display including work by: Shakir Hassan Al Said, Ibrahim El Salahi, Mahmoud Sabri, Safia Farhat, Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, Mohammed Melehi, Nadia Saikali, Samia Halaby, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Fahrelniss Zeid, Huguette Caland, Samia Osseiran Jumblatt, Simone Fattal, Kadhim Hayder, Abdel Hadi El Gazzar, Marwan and Hassan Sharif.
“Kawkaba: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation” at Christie’s London is an “immersive journey through the transformative epochs and powerful voices that shaped the modern Arab art landscape.” Drawing from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s rich collection, this gender-balanced exhibition showcases the region’s artistic heritage through the work of both well-known and emerging artists. The exhibition runs until 23rd August 2023. Kawkaba is a gender-balanced exhibition that presents masterpieces of leading figures of the field, such as Huguette Caland, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Etel Adnan, Marwan, Safia Farhat, Jewad Selim, Inji Efflatoun, and Mohamed Melehi.
It concurrently sheds light on underrepresented artists - based in the region, from the diaspora, or exiled -, who have highly contributed to modern Arab Art. Kawkaba is a window into the soul of the Arab world, an exploration of its complexities, and a tribute to its resilience and creativity. Through this exhibition, visitors are invited to traverse the artistic spirit of the Arab world and partake in its unrivalled transformative journey.
Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is an Emirati columnist, researcher, scholar and founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation. He established the Barjeel Art Foundation in 2010 as a Sharjah-based organization dedicated to promoting North African and West Asian art.
Dr Ridha Moumni is an Art and Archaeology historian with a specialist focus on Antiquity and the early and modern art of Tunisia. He is the current Deputy Chair of Middle East and North Africa at Christie’s. Prior to taking up his position at Christie’s, Moumni was an Aga Khan Fellow at Harvard University’s Department of Art History.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
** ABOUT AFIKRA ****
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp
📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
What impact did the 2011 Arab Uprisings have on our use of technology? How should we approach, regulate and manage technologies as they emerge? And is it really possible to make political predictions by analysing tweets?
We talk about cross-cultural communication, her book ‘Arabic Glitch: Techno Culture, Data Bodies and Archives’ and using machine learning to predict the fall of Qaddafi. She explains what sentiment analysis actually means and how she grapples with existential anxiety. We also discuss why she sees the Arab World as the nexus of the technology era and not Silicon Valley.
Laila Shereen Sakr, better known to some as VJ Um Amel, is an Egyptian-American digital media theorist and artist. She is the founder of the digital lab, R-Shief, which is “one of the largest repositories of Arabic-language tweets”. Laila is also an assistant professor of Film and Media Studies, as well as a Faculty Affiliate in the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Writing Between Two Moons: An Arab-American coming of age story set in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn during the “War on Terror”. Author Aisha Abdel Gawad sheds light on her experience writing the novel while balancing her work as a high-school teacher, capturing Bay Ridge’s unique community in her book, and her creative process.
Together, Mikey and Aisha reflect on the post-9/11 War on Terror, age of surveillance, and how this impacted the Arab-American community. Aisha also shares her advice for aspiring novelists and her must-reads for high-school students.
Aisha Abdel Gawad is a writer and high-school teacher. She won the 2015 Pushcart Prize for her short-story “Waking Luna”. After college, Aisha worked at the Arab American Association of New York in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Her debut novel, Between Two Moons, is a coming of age story set in Bay Ridge during the post-9/11 War on Terror.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
The early days of Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, growing up in Lydda, and working with artists across the region and from the diaspora: Suhel Nafar joins us on QuarterTones to discuss his colorful and accomplished musical career to date. We talk about his family’s ‘Bootleg Jackson 5’ group, Palestinian hip hop and his departure from DAM.
Suhel Nafar is the co-founder of Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, which was featured in award-winning documentary Slingshot Hip Hop. Formerly, Nafar was the global lead of Arab music and culture at Spotify and is now the vice president of strategy and market development at Empire Distribution WANA. He is also the music supervisor for Netflix’s show ‘Mo’.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Being a director, winning the Angénieux Encouragement Award at Cannes, navigating the film industry, and differences between working on ads, TV and cinema: award-winning Egyptian director Haya Khairat gives us an insider view on life behind the camera.
In conversation with Mikey, Haya shares her experiences grappling with cynicism, being a women director, and keeping her passion for cinema alive. She also lists her key dos and don’ts for aspiring directors and recommends her top 5 films and filmmakers that keep her inspired.
Haya Khairat is an Egyptian director, cinematographer and photographer. She was the first Egyptian to win the Angénieux Special Encouragement Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Haya worked as first assistant cameraman for “Afrah al-Qobba”, “La Tatfi al-Shams” and “Al-Rehla”. She was also the director of photography for “Dark Chocolate” which won “Best Short Film” at the Cairo Film Festival in 2019.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
What was it like curating the 1st Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale? And how do you capture the essence of a place that is in the hearts and minds of Muslims around the world? Sumayya Vally talks to us about her personal relationship with Saudi Arabia, suspended geographies, adding to the Islamic Art canon, and reimagining Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal as an exhibition space. She talks us through it from the very conceptualization of the Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale in Saudi Arabia to individual pieces that caught Mikey’s attention when he attended the opening. We also touch on what it’s like letting go of a creative project once it has come to fruition, with Sumayya likening the process to post-partum depression. Lastly, we hear about what Sumayya and her research and architecture practice, Counterspace, are working on now.
Sumayya Vally is an award-winning architect from South Africa. In 2022, the World Economic Forum chose her as one of its Young Global Leaders. She has been featured as a TIME100 Next List Honoree. Vally is also on the board of directors for the World Monuments Fund and is the founder of Counterspace, a research and architecture practice.
In 2019, Counterspace was chosen to design the 20th Serpentine Pavilion in London. This made Vally the youngest architect to ever win this prestigious commission. Finally, Vally worked as artistic director for the very first Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah that ran from January through to April of 2023.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Dearborn, capturing the diverse voices of Dearborn’s residents, and doing justice to the myriad Arab-American lived experiences post 9/11. We discuss the complexities of faithfully depicting a multi-layered community through short-stories, the history of Arab-American immigration, and more with author and assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College Ghassan Zeinnedine. We also explore the Arab-American experience in the post-9/11 era, looking at what anxieties and tensions are still felt in the Dearborn and wider communities.
Ghassan Zeinnedine is an author and assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin college. He is also the co-editor of the creative non-fiction anthology Had Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging.
Dearborn: Spanning several decades, Ghassan Zeineddine’s debut collection examines the diverse range and complexities of the Arab American community in Dearborn, Michigan. In ten tragicomic stories, Zeineddine explores themes of identity, generational conflicts, war trauma, migration, sexuality, queerness, home and belonging, and more.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode of Matbakh, we’re joined by Viven Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. This was a really compelling conversation about the politics of environmentalism, her work through the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, and the link between anxiety and agriculture.
We spoke about the importance of indigenous wisdom in farming, changing landscapes in the Middle East, and Vivien’s work in preserving bio-cultural heritage.
Vivien Sansour is an artist, storyteller, food historian, researcher and conservationist. Vivien is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library which finds and reintroduces threatened crop varieties and also collect stories to assert the ownership of seeds by communities.
She also established the Traveling Kitchen, which is an extension of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. This project seeks to engage people in conversations around bio-cultural heritage, agrobiodiveristy and the process of coevolution between human activities in the field and kitchen.
She uses image, sketch, film, soil, seeds and plants to revive old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and thus advocate for the protection of biodiversity as a cultural and political act.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
What does it mean to work across textile and digital mediums? Nour Hage, award-winning British-Lebanese designer and artist, delves into her practice, exploring themes of West-Asian Identities, NFTs and Web3. We discuss traversing the physical and digital realms and why she chooses digital art for her personal exploration. We also explore the meaning of the evil eye and misunderstanding/seeking to understand our grandparents as people.
Nour Hage is an award winning British-Lebanese designer and artist, based between London and Dubai. She works across textile and digital and her practice is centred on the exploration of West Asian identities, culture, history and storytelling, with a particular focus on women, the supernatural and mental wellbeing. She was the inaugural Jameel Fellow at the V&A Museum in 2021 - 2022. Her solo exhibition Kheit at Leighton House is open until 16th July.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
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Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Michelle Keserwany joined us on Movie Night to talk about her and her sister Noel’s short film Les Chenilles. We dive into the 3.5 day filmmaking process, the inspiration behind it and the colonial impact of the silk industry. Michelle also shares her journey into film, why she doesn’t completely consider herself a musician, and her top films of note. And of course, we listen to her and Noel’s viral songs Jagal El Usel and Men3id w Men3id.
Michelle Keserwany is a Lebanese singer, musician and scriptwriter. She’s well known for the songs that she composes and performs alongside her sister Noel. Their lyrics are notable for their incisive satire and criticism of the state of Lebanese society.
Les Chenilles: Short Film:
‘Les Chenilles’ is a short film that follows two women, Asma and Sarah, from the Levant working at the same restaurant in Lyon, France. The film unpicks the colonial legacy of the Silk Road which links both Asma and Sarah to their homeland, exploring themes of exploitation, female solidarity, friendship, and the myriad experiences of forced migration. The inspiration of this story was triggered by an article by Fawwaz Traboulsi called “ Un Amour de Soie” (Beirut-Express - 1996) that explores the relationship between women from Mount Lebanon and foreign silk factories in the 19th century.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Akher Zapheer’s front-man and longest standing member, Basem Sayej, talks to us about Amman as his muse and a misunderstood city, the Arab rock scene, and his favorite places to perform round the world.
We listen to three of Akher Zapheer’s songs from across their albums and get an insight into how Basem approaches song-writing. Finally, Basem shares his personal mixtape for the best alternative bands from around the Middle East.
Basem Sayej is the frontman, guitarist and vocalist of Akher Zapheer, a Jordanian grunge Arabic rock band from Amman. The band’s name literally translates to ‘last exhale’.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode of Matbakh, The VoiceNote Chef tells us about about transforming childhood memories into viral recipes, capturing his mom’s unique voice in voicenote form, and cooking to ease homesick hearts around the world. We discover how the account took off, how its changed his relationship with his mom, and his favourite videos to date.
We also discuss the importance of authenticity, the various aspects of content creation, and how Kareem stays true to no-frills and simple cooking.
Kareem, better known as The VoiceNote Chef, is a New York based Lebanese-Kuwaiti content creator. Kareem launched his now viral platform in April 2020 when he was feeling homesick due to the global pandemic. Now, together with his mom, Kareem creates viral recipe videos that feature audio instructions from his mom in voicenote form. Before launching his viral platform, Kareem worked in advertising.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We’ve all heard of the Arab League, but we wanted to know more about its history, intended purpose and its inner workings. Ambassador Hesham Youssef joined us for a fascinating conversation about foreign-affairs, Arab geopolitics, and to help us better understand this key regional institution.
In this episode, we cover the history of the Arab League, its activities and impact, and what Ambassador Youssef predicts for the future of our region.
Ambassador Hesham Youssef was a career diplomat, posted to Canada and the Egyptian Mission in Geneva during his time at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. He went on to work at the Arab League and now works at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
He has extensive experience working in conflict resolution in the Middle East, with particular focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict, reconciliation in Iraq and the situation in Sudan. He has also worked on economic and trade issues with the UN and the WTO.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode of Quartertones, Thanks Joey takes us on a journey through hip hop, Brooklyn music, and his Syrian grandfather’s old records. We talk about working with Omar Offendum and Narcy, his music making process, and what inspired his Lahme song.
He gives us a sneak preview of unreleased tracks, tours us round his sampler, and reflects on infusing his music with his heritage.
Thanks Joey is a musician, producer, and engineer, and all-round music aficionado. He specialises in producing unique culture sounds in hip-hop, R&B, Reggaeton, and Afropop and is the Founder of Colors of The Culture label.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode, two-time Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist, Nariman El-Mofty, sits down with Mikey for a compelling conversation about photojournalism, capturing history and human stories, and the impact of the Orientalist gaze within the news industry. Nariman shares her experiences in producing coverage about HIV in Egypt, Yemen, and the Tigray War. We discover how Nariman came to photojournalism, how she feels to be in front of the camera instead of behind it, and the importance of being a fly on the wall to capture candid human stories.
Nariman El-Mofty is an award winning Egyptian-Canadian photojournalist based in Cairo. Her work is dedicated to documenting stories on human rights, as well as long-term projects focussed on social and cultural issues. She worked at The Associated Press between 2011 and 2022 and received 2 Pulitzer Prizes for Breaking News for her coverage of the war in Yemen and in Ukraine.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Award-winning director Philippe Aractingi joined us on set for this special episode of Movie Night. We talked about his journey into filmmaking, why he considers himself a ‘storyteller’, and why he shifts between genres: musical comedies to war films, and most recently into theatre.
We also reflect on the notable absence of an ‘Arab Cinema Scene’ or ‘Industry’, the Orientalist gaze in cinema, and the role of film as a form of self-expression and in the search for identity. Finally, Philippe talks about his latest venture into theatre and stage performance with his debut play ‘Sar Wa2t El Hake’ which opens at the Monnot Theatre on the 15th June.
Philippe Aractingi is an award-winning Franco-Lebanese film-director and producer. His two most well-known films are ‘Bosta’ and ‘Under the Bombs’, both of which were the only Lebanese film entries in the 2006 and 2008 Oscar ceremonies, respectively.
His other works, including ‘Heritages’, ‘Listen’, and ‘On The Footsteps of Christ’, are also widely-acclaimed. And he has received awards at international festivals including Venice, Dubai, and Sundance. Philippe is also the co-founder of the Lebanese Cinema Foundation (FLC) and vice-chairman of the Beirut Screen Institute Committee. Philippe was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2018.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mehmed Ali is dubbed the ‘Father of Modern Egypt’, so who was he? And how did he rise through the ranks from soldier to Pasha? Mikey sits down with Professor Khaled Fahmy to discuss this enigmatic figure that shaped and formed Egypt into the nation-state we know today. In Part 2, Professor Fahmy walks us through Mehmed Ali's rule, death, and legacy.
Professor Khaled Fahmy is a historian of the Modern Middle East with an emphasis on the social and cultural history of 19th century Egypt.
His particular areas of interest are military, medical, legal and social history of the Modern Middle East. And through his work, he explores conscription, vaccination and legal torture as mechanisms through which the modern state of Egypt was established. He has written a number of books including ‘All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of Modern Egypt’, ‘Mehmed Ali: From Ottoman Governor to Ruler of Egypt’, ‘Al-Jasa wa-l’Hadatha (The Body and Modernity., and most recently, ‘In Quest of Justice: Islamic Law and Forensic Medicine in Modern Egypt' which won the Social History Society Book Prize.
Professor Fahmy has taught at Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Harvard and Cambridge Universities, and is currently the Edward Keller Professor of North African and the Middle Eastern History at Tufts University.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook -Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode of the afikra podcast, Professor Kirsten Scheid invites us into the world of Modern Art in Lebanon, and Lebanon through the lens of Modern Art.
We explore what art meant in the 1920s, before the establishment of the Lebanese state, how national imaginaries and identities were expressed through art, and the roles of artists during this era.
Kirsten Scheid is an associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology, anthropology, and media studies, and an affiliated faculty in the fine arts and art history department at the American University of Beirut. Her research focuses on themes of the Anthropology of Art, Aesthetics, Art Historiography and Theory, and Modernization and Cosmopolitanism among others. Her book ‘Fantasmic Objects: Art & Sociality from Lebanon, 1920 - 1950’ explores modern art in Lebanon and modern Lebanon through art. Kirsten earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from Princeton University and her BA in Art History from Columbia University. Alongside her research, Kirsten also contributes actively to the art community through curation and exhibitions, as well as writing in art journals.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode, Ummayah Cable weaves together themes of art, media activism, politics, and the social aspects of cinema. Together, we explore the power of cinema and film as a mobilizing agent to catalyse wider conversations and societal discourse. We also untangle questions of categorizing films as 'Palestinian', Israel's Pink Washing, and compulsory Zionism. Ummayyah Cable is a Palestinian-American assistant professor of American Culture and Film, Television at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Their research and teaching interests span the fields of race and ethnic studies, film and media studies, anti-colonial studies, and queer theory. They are currently working on a book that looks at the history of Arab American media activism in the mobilization of Palestine solidarity politics in the US.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
In this episode of Book Club, Malika Gharib joins us to share her musings on what it means to be an artist, the symbiotic relationship between journalism and comics, as well as what the 'American Dream' truly means. She reflects on growing up as a first-generation Filipino Egyptian, her changing relationship with her heritage, and how she uses her work as a medium to grapple with questions of identity, family, and lived experience. Malika Ghareeb, is a journalist, cartoonist, and graphic novelist. She's the artist and author of I Was Their American Dream which reflects on growing up first-generation Filipino-Egyptian, and which was the winner of the 2020 Arab American Book Award. By day Malika is the digital editor of the NPR podcast Life Kit. Her reporting work for NPR has been recognized with two Gracie Awards. Before joining NPR, she worked at the Malala Fund.
** ABOUT THE SERIES ****
afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
John Bakhos talks about forming his metal band, Anuryzm, and the progression of its music throughout the years. In this Quartertones episode, John plays three songs: Cosmos, Neo Luddite, and Ruby Demon.
John Bakhos is a Lebanese musician, guitarist, and the founder of the progressive metal band Anuryzm. Born in Beirut, Bakhos started playing the guitar at a young age and was heavily influenced by bands such as Dream Theater, Metallica, and Iron Maiden.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Ramzi Ghosn talks about the profession of wine and arak-making and its significance in the Levant, notably in Lebanon. From Massaya, he discusses the speaks about how Phoenicians valued viticulture and developed the finest wines that continues to be exported to the world.
Massaya is a Lebanese winery and arak distillery owned and operated by the Ghosn brothers Sami and Ramzi. The outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 forced the family to leave the estate and both Sami and Ramzi Ghosn left Lebanon to study abroad. In the early 1990s Sami and Ramzi returned to Lebanon and decided to work on revitalisating the war-ravaged estate.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rana Husseini talks about the history of the feminist movement in Jordan and how it progressed from the 1940s until now. She explains what women in Jordan have achieved so far and the challenges that they still face; notably honor crimes.
Rana Husseini is a Jordanian journalist and human rights activist who has dedicated her career to raising awareness about crimes against women in Jordan and the Middle East. Her investigative reporting on honor killings and other forms of violence against women has brought these issues to the forefront of national and international discourse, leading to changes in legislation and social attitudes.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Eli Rezkallah talks about the reality and future of photography industry in the Arab region. He delves into the works of Plastik and tells us how the magazine contributes to the creative industry.
Eli Rezkallah is a Lebanese-born photographer and visual artist based in New York City. He is best known for his work in fashion and advertising photography, as well as his creative direction and visual storytelling. Rezkallah studied graphic design at the American University of Beirut and later pursued his passion for photography and filmmaking in the United States. His work has been featured in various fashion publications such as Vogue Italia, Harper's Bazaar Arabia, and Elle Arabia, among others.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Fadi Bou Karam talks about the history of Levantine etymologies and their possible origins. He discusses the influence of the Ottomans on the way certain words are pronounced, notably in Lebanese Arabic. The words include fruits and vegetables, such as artichoke, orange, loquat & more.
Fadi Bou Karam is a photographer based in Beirut, Lebanon. He was born and raised in Beirut, and growing up in a war-torn country, photos held a special significance for him as they were often the only remnant of people who no longer existed.
It wasn't until he reached his thirties that Bou Karam realized how much he needed photography, both as a therapeutic tool and a way to discover oddities within the mundane. In 2013, he and a group of photographers from around the world started the Observe Collective, which was founded on a shared fascination with watching and documenting the diverse humanity that surrounds us.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Aida Abbashar talks about the current situation in Sudan. She discusses how the war is affecting citizens and refugees in the country and explains its future implications.
Aida is a Research Assistant for the LSE Middle East Centre’s project ‘Understanding the Barriers and Enablers to Women’s Leadership in Sudan’ and a PhD candidate at Durham University. Her research focuses on the history of constitution-making in Sudan, where she looks at the role that different actors, policies, and events have played in constitutional development and negotiations since 1956. More broadly, she is interested in Sudanese political history and racialised and gendered discourses in Sudan.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Tahir Shah talks about his experiences in the Arab region. He talks about The Caliph's House, a book he has written that is inspired by his trips to Morocco in his childhood; from Marrakesh to the Sahara.
Tahir Shah is a best-selling author and filmmaker known for his work in both fiction and non-fiction. He has produced over forty works, including books, documentaries, screenplays, and journalism. Tahir's work is characterized by his unique perspective as an "enthusiast and adventurer," which has taken him to some of the world's most exotic and little-known places. His books have been widely translated, and his documentaries have been screened on major channels such as National Geographic TV and The History Channel. Tahir's work is highly regarded for its ability to uncover the hidden and often overlooked aspects of the places and cultures he explores.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
J. E. Peterson talks about his research about the history of the Arab region. In this afikra Conversation, Peterson introduces us to the history of Oman through his books "Historical Muscat," "Oman at War," and "Oman in the Twentieth Century."
Dr. J.E. Peterson is a historian and political analyst specializing in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf. He obtained his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and has worked at the Library of Congress and taught at several universities in the US. He has been a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Middle East Institute and has served on the editorial boards of several academic journals. Dr. Peterson's extensive experience and knowledge make him a valuable contributor to the field of Middle Eastern studies.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
George Khoury (JAD) talks about the history of comics in the Arab region. He discusses how visual storytelling has shaped major events in Arab countries and how he has contributed to the field.
George Khoury (JAD), Comics critique, Comics Artist and Animator since the 80s. Lecturer at the Lebanese American University in the Graphic Design Department, and Manager of the Animation Department at Future Television since its launch in 1993. His artworks and movies have been featured in many local instances and international festivals. His Comics “Shahrazad” is acquired by The National Museum of Comics in (France/Angoulême). Co-founder of the “Lebanese Syndicate of Professional Graphic Designers, Illustrators and Animators”, he earned several awards for his artwork and filmography. Author of the “History of Arabic Comics” in addition to several essays and articles related to the Art of Comics and Animation.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mai Al-Nakib is a Kuwaiti writer and academic. She was born in Kuwait and spent her early years living in London, Edinburgh, and St. Louis, Missouri. She received her PhD in English literature from Brown University and is currently an Associate Professor of English and comparative literature at Kuwait University. Her academic research focuses on cultural politics in the Middle East, with an emphasis on gender, cosmopolitanism, and postcolonial issues. In 2014, she published a collection of short stories titled "The Hidden Light of Objects," which won the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 2014 First Book Award, making it the first collection of short stories to do so. In April 2022, she published her debut novel, "An Unlasting Home," which explores the themes of family, loss, and displacement.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Karen Barkey talks about her research that stems from her fascination in the empire. She discusses how cultural diversity shaped the Ottoman empire.
Karen Barkey’s research has been engaged in the comparative and historical study of the state, with special focus on its transformation over time. Her work has explored state society relations, peasant movements, banditry, and opposition and dissent organized around the state. Her main empirical site has been the Ottoman Empire, in comparison with France and the Habsburg and Russian Empires. She also pays attention to the Roman and Byzantine worlds as important predecessors of the Ottomans.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Blu Fiefer plays three of her songs: Sharaf, Nazele Big Champagne, and Sint El Ew. She talks about her contribution to hip-hop in Lebanon and how she uses storytelling in her music.
Blu Fiefer is a Lebanese-Mexican artist, music producer and director, approaching her art as a multi-faceted platform. Today, Fiefer readies her debut album 'Villain Bala Cause' inspired by the traditions of story-telling and testimony captured in hip-hop while paying tribute to Arabic music. The record will come out on Mafi Budget, her independent label based in Lebanon that’s focused on the Arabic Hip Hop scene emerging from the MENA region.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Fawzi Mesmar talks about the gaming industry in the Arab region. He introduces us to his book which is the first gaming book to be written in the Arabic language. Fawzi explains the challenges in the field, the responsibilities a game designer should have in the region, and pointers to succeed in the gaming industry.
Fawzi is an award-winning Creative Director, Game designer, Leader, author, public speaker, mentor and retired e-sports player that has been in the gaming industry for 2 decades in a career that spanned The Middle East, New Zealand, Japan and Europe working for companies such as Ubisoft, DICE (EA), King (Activision Blizzard), Gameloft and Atlus (SEGA) to name a few.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Ashraf Abi Said
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Omar El Ouaer plays three of his songs: Alif Ya Soltani, Aziza, and Mana3ref Win. He tells us about Tunisian music and how he discovered Jazz.
Omar el Ouaer, a Tunisian jazz musician. He started his music education at the age of 11, studying Arabic music at the conservatory, and later discovered jazz and modern piano. He participated in various jazz workshops and played concerts with local and international musicians, including the JCT Bigband project under the direction of renowned musicians from the New York Vangard Jazz Orchestra. He is currently touring with his own project "Another Perspective" in a quartet and teaches jazz piano at the Higher Institute of Music in Tunis.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mary Ann Peters talks about her art work and productions that stem from the histories of the Middle East. She uses watercolor, gouache, and walnut ink to create pieces that tell stories.
Mary Ann Peters is an artist whose combined studio work, installations, public art projects and arts activism have made noted contributions to the Northwest and nationally for over 30 years. Most recently her work has focused on the overlap of contemporary events with splintered histories in the Middle East. Her awards include the 2015 Stranger Genius Award in Visual Art, a 2013 Art Matters Foundation research grant, the MacDowell Colony Pollock Krasner Fellowship (2011), the Civita Institute Fellowship (2004) and the Behnke Foundation Neddy Award in Painting (2000). She is a founder of COCA (Center on Contemporary Art), a recipient of the Artist Trust Leadership and Arts Award, and former board member and board president of NCFE (National Campaign for Freedom of Expression).
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Haya Bishouty talks about her techniques in recreating traditional Palestinian food through Haya's Kitchen. She speaks about her favorite dishes and desserts such as Christmas Kaak, Rummaniyeh, Shush Barak Bel Laban and more.
Haya Bishouty is the founder of Haya's Kitchen, a supper club that she started in order to revive the tradition of Palestinian grandmothers opening their homes and inviting people to feast communally. While she began with friends, word began to spread and eventually she would have strangers join her traditional Palestinian feasts where she would share the context and stories behind the dishes she was serving.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Daizy Gedeon talks about her work as a filmmaker and activist, producing work about Lebanon from Australia. She discusses the importance of the role of the diaspora in creating change.
Daizy's family immigrated to Australia when she was five years old. She began her writing career as a sports writer in 1987 and was the first female sports journalist on The Australian newspaper and the first female football writer in Australia which led her to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Clive Holes talks about the relationship between standard and non-standard Arabic, cultural myths of the history of Arabic, and the vectors impacting the evolution of Arabic.
Clive Holes received his education from High Arcal Grammar School, Trinity Hall (Cambridge University), Wolfson College (Cambridge University), and Birmingham University. He worked as an Overseas Career Officer of the British Council in various countries and was involved in the establishment of Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman. He served as a Lecturer and Reader in Arabic at Salford and Cambridge Universities, respectively, and held the Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Saud Chair for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World at Magdalen College and the Oriental Institute. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2002 and became Emeritus Professor in 2014. He was also elected as the President of the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) in 2017.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Dorian Paul Rogers, Salem Al Attas & Maryam Alshehhi talk about Rooftop Rhythms and how it aims to add life and positive energy in to the UAE community with culturally-appropriate performance arts and nightlife concepts.
Rooftop Rhythms was founded in March 2012 by award-winning poet and educator, Dorian Paul Rogers, Ed. D. What started as a poetry open mic night in Abu Dhabi quickly grew into a variety of community-based culture, arts, and nightlife event offerings.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Zeid Hamdan introduces us to the Indie music scene in the Arab region. We listened together to songs he produced: Herzan by Soapkills and Zamel by Bedouin Burger, which he forms with Lynn Adib.
Zeid Hamdan is a Lebanese music composer. For the last 2 decades, he's been producing some of the most interesting bands of the Lebanese and regional indie music scene such as Soapkills, The New Government, Hiba Mansouri, Kanjha Kora, Maryam Saleh, Maii Waleed and his own songs under the band name "Zeid and the Wings".
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rami George Khoury talks about the status of politics and journalism in the modern world and how it shapes people's lives. He discusses how the media has shifted in light of today's circumstances.
Rami George Khouri is Co-Director of Global Engagement at the American University of Beirut (AUB) based in NY, an internationally syndicated political columnist and book author, and Journalist-in-Residence at AUB, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nadir Nahdi talks about his exploration of the world's cultures through their different cuisines. He discusses his revelations in Morocco, Yemen, and Palestine through Bastilla, coffee steaks, and Jaffa cakes.
Nadir Nahdi is a presenter, film-maker and producer from London with Yemeni, Indonesian, Pakistani and Kenyan heritage. Nadir was recently voted by the Evening Standard as one of 'the most influential Londoners'. His videos articulate the unique experience of children of the diaspora. His work has acquired 10 million views and has since been selected as a YouTube Creators for Change Ambassador. He is also the founder of BENI, a ‘Culture Lab for innovative Ideas’, providing an online and offline community with engaging events, content and unique products that address social issues.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Maysoon Pachachi talks about her film "Our River... Our Sky," an Arabic language narrative feature film. The film is a web of intersecting stories that describes a collective drama happening in this time and place... in 2006 Baghdad.
Maysoon Pachachi is a London-based filmmaker of Iraqi origin. As a director, she largely works through her production company, Oxymoron Films (www.oxymoronfilms.com). Her documentary films include Iraqi Women — Voices from Exile, Bitter Water about four generations of Palestinian refugees in a camp in Beirut; Return to the Land of Wonders about her return to Iraq after an exile of over 30 years; Iranian Journey and Our Feelings Took the Pictures; and Open Shutters Iraq about a participatory photography project with 12 Iraqi women. She has taught filmmaking and she is a founding member of ACT TOGETHER: Women’s Action for Iraq (www.acttogether.org). In 2004, with London-based Iraqi filmmaker, Kasim Abid, she set up the Independent Film & Television College (www.iftvc.org), a free-of-charge film-training center in Baghdad.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
يتحدث الشيف محمد كمال عن أساليبه في الطهي النوبي في مصر وكيف يحافظ عليه بين الذاكرة والابداع.
محمد كامل هو شيف نوبي متخصص في المأكولات النوبية الحديثة، يمزج تقاليد الماضي مع الأذواق والأساليب الحديثة. نظرًا لأن المطبخ النوبي غير معروف كثيرًا خارج المنطقة النوبية، يطمح كمال إلى الحفاظ على الثقافة حية من خلال تطوره في الأطباق التقليدية. كان أيضًا جزءًا من المنتخب الوطني للشيفات المصريين الذي حصل على كأس 2022 لفنون الطهي الأفريقي.
إعداد مايكي مهنا
تقديم سلمى سري
إنتاج رمزي رمان
موسيقى طارق يمني https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Malika Zarra takes us on a musical journey to discover Moroccan music. She tells about her newest album "RWA (The Essence)" and about who inspires her the most, from Moroccan Hajja Hamdaouia to Lebanese Farid Al-Atrash and Algerian Warda.
Malika is a singer and composer who was born in Southern Morocco and raised in a suburb of Paris. Her musical background is a blend of French and Moroccan influences, with jazz and Arabic music being the most prominent. Her breakthrough came when she started singing in Arabic and writing new lyrics for jazz standards, which evoked a strong emotional response from her audience. In 2004, she relocated to New York City, where she developed her unique repertoire, combining Berber, Gnawa, Chaabi, French pop, and jazz music. With the release of "Berber taxi" in 2011, Malika took her place as a prominent world-jazz artist in New York's multicultural music scene.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rula Alami talks about her work at INAASH and her private work as a collector and artistic curator. She talks about Palestinian embroidery "Tatreez" and how its empowers Arab identity and culture.
Rula Alami is an art collector, assistant curator and art dealer based in Lebanon. She is the vice president of INAASH Association. She has been engaged in Middle East art market for over 15 years. Her area of special interest is Arab modern and contemporary art. She has co-curated thematic exhibitions in Beirut (Art in Iraq Today), Dubai (Art Palestine) and Kuwait (Third Identity), and collaborated with regional galleries (Amman) to curate exhibitions for Lebanese and Palestinian artists.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
What happens when you take a lawyer turned pastry chef trained in France and mix in Egyptian flavors and heritage? Listen to find out. Beware: don't listen while hungry!
After 10 years of experience in law (studying and working), El Charkawy first discovered her love of cooking while pursuing a Master’s degree in Law in France. Prior to her move, she had hardly ever stepped foot in the kitchen.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Iconic Palestinian Artist Sliman Mansour has spent a lifetime inspiring people all over the world with the power of his art. You don't want to miss this conversation.
Sliman Mansour is one of the most distinguished and renowned artists in Palestine. His style embodies steadfastness in the face of a relentless military occupation. His work — which has come to symbolize the Palestinian national identity — has inspired generations of Palestinians and international artists and activists alike.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
From Shankaboot to Brando Al Sharek, we talk with innovative Emmy-winning filmmaker Amin Dora about cinema, advertising, working with George Khabbaz, Shankaboot, Beirut, and where we are today in TV and Film in Lebanon.
Amin Dora is an Emmy-Winning Film Director and Visual Artist, born and raised in Zahle, Lebanon. Dora won "International Emmy Award" in 2011 for Shankaboot, the world's first Arabic Web Drama series he directed, and in which he explored innovative ways of portraying real life in Beirut by depicting tough issues and tackling taboo subjects that mainstream media wouldn't touch, Shankaboot successfully engaged young audiences across the region during the Arab Spring, inspiring discussions across social media networks and in the press and engaged young audiences across the region
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Talking to the Khatt Chronicles team, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Yasmine Taan, Yara Khoury Nammour & Fawzi Rahal, about the new season of the Khatt Chronicles. We talk about the history of graphic design in the region and what people can expect from season 2 of Khatt Chronicles.
Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Helping facilitate positive impact and growth in disaster struck communities, Theresa Chahine talks about the importance of social entrepreneurship and enabling sustainable businesses and organizations.
Teresa Chahine is the inaugural Sheila and Ron '92 Marcelo Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management. She is the author of "Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship," a twelve step framework for building impactful ventures in new and existing organizations..
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Bringing Iraqi food into the English food scene, Chef Philip Juma is keeping the essence of the Iraqi home alive with his Kubba, Quozi, and Dolma at Juma Kitchen.
Philip Juma studied Economics for Business and started his career in finance. Throughout his time in finance, he always loved cooking – he would speak about food, restaurants, hospitality with such enthusiasm but it was just a ‘passion’ of his. He worked for an energy consultancy company and after 18 months there, he made the leap in becoming a chef.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Mysa Kafil-Hussain
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We're delighted to revisit the history of the Ottoman empire with Dina Rizk Khoury in this episode of the Afikra podcast. We learn about the exchanges and interactions between the Ottoman Empire, the British, and the French and the systems they relied on in order to maintain control of their populations. This includes different garments for classifying their internal rankings as well as nationality laws that eventually led to some of the first passports.
Dina Rizk Khoury's research and writing spans the early modern and modern history of the Middle East. Her first book, State and Provincial Society in the Ottoman Empire: Mosul, 1540-1834, which won awards from the Turkish Studies Association and British Society of Middle Eastern Studies, explores the relationship between the Ottoman state and group of local power holders and urban gentry on the eastern Iraqi frontiers of the Ottoman Empire.
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Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Welcome to this episode of the Afikra Book Club with the engaging Joumana Haddad who takes us on a journey through her past and upbringing in Bourj Hammoud to uncover family sorrows and share the stories of those left scathed by the Armenian genocide.
Joumana Haddad is an award-winning Lebanese writer, journalist, university professor and human rights advocate. She’s worked for Lebanon’s An Nahar newspaper and taught creative writingand Italian at the Lebanese American University in Beirut. She has a weekly audio blog on Radio Monte Carlo International, and she writes regularly for several international newspapers and magazines. Haddad been selected as one of the world’s 100 most powerful Arab women by Arabian Business magazine. She speaks seven languages, and has published sixteen books so far. Most of her works of fiction, non-fiction, theater and poetry have been translated into numerous languages. Her titles include I Killed Scheherazade, Superman is an Arab, The Return of Lilith and The Book of Queens.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
On this episode of afikra, Walid Siti shares with us the origins and the stories behind his solemn pieces, from his life in Duhok and Ljubljana, Slovenia, to his start in printmaking, to the creation of works such as the "Seven Towers", "Climbing To Nowhere", and "The Black Tower." We touch upon the themes of large culminating structures, the recurrent climbing in a life, the return to memory, and acknowledgement of change.
Walid Siti was born in 1954, in the city of Duhok, in Iraqi-Kurdistan. Formerly trained in printmaking, Siti works extensively in a variety of mediums including video, installation, 3D works, work on paper and painting. His works traverse a complex terrain of memory and loss, while at the same time offering an acute insight into a world, which for him has been a place of constant change.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Khaled Barakeh talked about his art work on reframing moments of dissonance, and often outright injustice, in political, and social structures.
Khaled Barakeh is a conceptual artist and cultural activist. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 2005 and received his MFA from Funen Art Academy in Odense, Denmark, in 2010. In 2013, he completed a Meisterschuler study at the Städelschule Art Academy in Frankfurt a.M., Germany. In recent years, his projects have delved into the media’s portrayal of victims of conflict, once cohesive communities divided by political strife, and the dynamics of integration for refugees. Barakeh sees art as an opportunity for these moments to be understood, and felt, by a broader audience; not just the individuals which experience their acute effects.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
On this episode of Quartertones we're talking with Nubian-rooted Egyptian singer Nesma Herky who takes us to the origins of her interest in singing. We then listen to her work starting with Amary, continuing with Ne3eesh Be3eed, and end with her rendition of Mohamed Mounir's Ya Marakby.
Nesma Herky is a marvelous Nubian rooted Egyptian singer and a skillful music composer, who is taking steady steps toward the limelight of the music scene in Egypt.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Justin K. Stearns talked about his work as professor of Arab Crossroads Studies at NYUAD and his research in contagion and diseases in Al-Andalus and North Africa.
Justin Stearns received his BA in English and History from Dartmouth College in 1998 and his PhD in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University in 2007. He is a Professor of Arab Crossroads Studies at New York University Abu Dhabi. His research interests focus on the intersection of law, science, and theology in the pre-modern Muslim Middle East. His first book was a comparative intellectual history of Muslim and Christian understanding of contagion, especially in the context of the plague, entitled Infectious Ideas: Contagion in Pre-Modern Islamic and Christian Thought in the Western Mediterranean (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011).
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige talked about their multidisciplinary work as artists, photographers, and filmmakers. They discussed their art work and installations, as well as their movies, notably Memory Box.
Filmmakers and artists, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige question the fabrication of images and representations, the construction of imaginaries, and the writing of history. Their works create thematic and formal links between photography, video, performance, installation, sculpture, and cinema, being documentary or fiction film. The artists are known for their long-term research based on personal or political documents, with particular interests in the traces of the invisible and the absent, histories kept secret such as the disappearances during the Lebanese Civil War, a forgotten space project from the 1960s, the strange consequences of Internet scams and spams or the geological and archaeological undergrounds of cities.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Reem Assil talked about her culinary approach at her restaurant 'Reem's California,' in addition to her chosen single ingredient that can be used in different dishes and desserts: Ashta.
Reem Assil is a Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, CA. She is the owner of Reem’s California, a nationally acclaimed restaurant, inspired by her passion for Arab street corner bakeries and the vibrant communities that surround them.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Amir Nizar Zuabi and Samar Haddad King talk about the inception and process behind Yaa Samar!'s dance theatre performance: Last Ward which follows one man’s journey towards death in a hospital room. They also share with us how they met and began collaborating and discuss how far identity extends into their work.
This episode is in collaboration with the Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi.
Amir Nizar Zuabi is an award-winning theater writer and director, the Artistic Director of ShiberHur, and served as Associate Director of Young Vic London (2009 – 2017). Zuabi is also a member of Union of Theatres of Europe (UTE) for artistic achievement, an artistic advisor for the Palestinian National Theatre, and an alumni of Sundance Theatre Lab.
Samar Haddad King (CBA ’20), Artistic/Founding Director of Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT), graduated cum laude in choreography from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program under the tutelage of Kazuko Hirabayashi.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Manal Al Dowayan talked about her interrogation of the gender-biased customs in Saudi Arabia and its metamorphosis through her art work and installations.
Manal Al Dowayan’s practice navigates a territory where the personal and the political overlap. Her works spring from lived experiences—these intimate encounters with social injustice, the pangs of memory and forgetting. Yet her pieces are consistently galvanizing, sparking identification and engagement, particularly among women around the world.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Vanessa Paloma Elbaz talked about her research in Jewish music. We listened to Chant Juif pour la Naissance by Mme. Azeroual, Habibi Lawel by Habiba Messika, and La Llorona by Chavela Vargas.
Vanessa Paloma Duncan-Elbaz has a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne’s CERMOM research group of the INALCO (Center for Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Studies of the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilization). Her dissertation “Contemporary Jewish Women’s Songs from Northern Morocco: Core Role and Function of a Forgotten Repertoire.” which received “félicitations du jury” was nominated for the best dissertation of the year of INALCO for 2018.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Amal Ghandour talked about her book 'This Arab Life,' where she explores common cultural and societal issues that most generations in the Arab world face.
Amal Ghandour is a Lebanese-Jordanian author and blogger (Thinking Fits), with a career that spans more than three decades in the fields of research, communication, and community development. Her book, About This Man Called Ali (2009), was named the first biography of a modern Arab artist by the renowned Historian Philip Mansel. Ghandour describes her new book, This Arab Life, A Generation’s Journey Into Silence (October 11, 2022), “as a memoir that is not of an individual but of the generation that came of political age in the 1980s in the Levant.” This Arab Life, she adds, “is an intimate rendition of the times that shaped us; the way we internalized our parents’ myriad dejections and disappointments; the pragmatism and silence that defined us; and the dispiriting inheritance we inexorably bequeathed our own children.”
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rami Yasin talked about his movie "Bloodline", “the first Arab vampire film.”
Rami Yasin is a filmmaker and the founder of Breakout Films in Dubai. He was introduced to the world of cinema by his father who worked in film and television. After directing and producing television commercials for almost a decade, Rami seized an opportunity to work as a casting director and first assistant director in ‘Syriana’ starring Matt Damon and George Clooney.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Ashraf Fagih talked about science fiction in the Arab world; a topic yet to be explored. Through his writings, Fagih talked about historical fantasy and mainstream culture.
Ashraf Fagih (Saudi Arabia) is a writer born in 1977. He obtained a PhD in Computing from Queen’s University in Canada and is an assistant Professor at the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. He began writing fiction early and published a science fiction short story collection (The Ghost Hunter) in 1997, aged twenty. He continued writing science fiction until he switched to historical fantasy. His novel The Impaler is in this genre and explores the Eastern origins of the legend of Dracula. He is currently writing a historical novel about the military campaign of the Ottoman ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, in the Arabian Peninsula.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
George Saliba talked about his research in Islamic science. He discussed the works of Muslim astronomers and scholars and how they shape modern-day science.
George Saliba is a Professor of Arabic and Islamic Science. He is currently the Founding Director of Farouk Jabre Center for Arabic & Islamic Science and Philosophy, and holder of the Khwarizmi Chair in Arabic and Islamic Science at the Department of History at the American University of Beirut.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Amr Salama talked about his movie "Asmaa" that tells the story of a woman who suffers from AIDS decides not to surrender to the fatal disease.
Amr Salama is an International Award Winning Film Director, Writer and Producer. Directed Feature Films, Hit TV and Platform Shows, TV commercials, Music Videos and Feature Documentaries.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Lena Merhej talked about her work as an illustrator at Samandal and WatWat. Merhej discussed how her comics publishes provides an alternative expression of cultural and social issues for youths and adults.
Lena Merhej is a visual storyteller and an expert in graphic narration. She taught at several universities in Beirut. She is the founder and director of the Story Center, which offers professional trainings in animation, illustration, and comic books. She was the director of the Beirut Animated Festival, and worked with Tosh Fesh to promote comics and animation in Arab countries. Lena Merhej has illustrated over twenty-five Arabic children’s books and has exhibited her work both locally and internationally. Her animated Drawing the War (2002), her comic book Kamen Sine (Another year, 2009), and her book Mrabba w Labban (Yogurt and jam, 2011) took international awards. She is a cofounder and a member of Samandal, an award-winning comics organization in Lebanon. Recent comics she worked on include Là où il y a la vie, il y a l’amour for Solidarités International and Manarat for OXFAM.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Karim Haidar talked about the future of Lebanese food in Europe through education and restaurant work. Haidar discusses traditional Lebanese food, devoid of fusion, and how he had developed the Academy of Arab Cuisine in Paris.
Renowned chef Karim Haidar has founded the Academy of Arab Cuisine in Paris, a platform to promote Arab cuisine across the world. By offering a space for these cuisines on the international scene, the academy will contribute to their development and will become a long-term repository for culinary knowledge.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Josélia Neves is an expert at Qatar Foundation. She talked about the D'reesha Performing Arts Festival. The inaugural edition brought thousands of people from across Qatar to a week-long event filled with talents in the fields of theatre, music, poetry, storytelling, education, research and much more.
Dr. Josélia Neves is the Associate Dean for Social Engagement and Access and Professor at the Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII) and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). Her expertise and research interests lie in translation studies, audiovisual translation, and multisensory communication.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Bedouin Burger duo artists Lynn Adib and Zeid Hamdan.
ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL
Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad to Brooklyn. This new performing arts festival is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world. Learn more at www.habibi-festival.com.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to classical pianist Hatim Belyamani and rapper Mehdi WMD.
ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL
Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad to Brooklyn. This new performing arts festival is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world. Learn more at www.habibi-festival.com.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Meera Dugal, Habibi Festival
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Kanun player and composer Firas Zreik.
ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL
Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad to Brooklyn. This new performing arts festival is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world. Learn more at www.habibi-festival.com.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Rami Abou-Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to maqamat and awtaar vocalist Zahra Alzubaidi.
ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL
Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad to Brooklyn. This new performing arts festival is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world. Learn more at www.habibi-festival.com.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Rami Abou-Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Mauritanian griot and singer Noura Mint Seymali and Mauritania/Senegal-based producer and musician Matthew Tinari.
ABOUT HABIBI FESTIVAL
Created with the goal of giving a snapshot of contemporary and traditional musics of the SWANA (South West Asia North Africa) region, Habibi Festival aims to take listeners on a journey of the sounds wafting through the airwaves and living rooms of cities spanning Marrakech to Baghdad to Brooklyn. This new performing arts festival is a collaboration between the Director of Joe's Pub at the Public Theater Alex Knowlton, artist/composer/curator Yacine Boulares, and curator/producer Meera Dugal who are bonded by the goal of creating more joyful spaces for performance, conversation, and storytelling from this part of the world. Learn more at www.habibi-festival.com.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Rami Abou-Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Marcia Inhorn talked about her in-depth research on refugee health and healthcare rights for the most vulnerable. She also talked about her work on traditions regarding infertility, gender, and religion in Egypt.
Professor Inhorn is the William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs and Chair of the Council on Middle East Studies (CMES) in the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies. Inhorn’s research interests revolve around gender and health, science and technology studies (STS), feminist theory (including masculinity studies), religion and bioethics, globalization and global health, cultures of biomedicine and ethnomedicine, stigma and human suffering, and the health costs of conflict, especially for refugees and forced migrants.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Wafa Ghnaim talked about the process of establishing Tatreez and Tea and how embroidery plays an important role in the Palestinian society.
Wafa Ghnaim is a Palestinian researcher, author and educator who began learning embroidery from her mother, award-winning artist Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim, when she was two years old. Her first book, “Tatreez & Tea: Embroidery and Storytelling in the Palestinian Diaspora” (2018), documents the traditional patterns passed to her by her mother. Wafa has since become a leading educator in the field as the first-ever Palestinian embroidery instructor at the Smithsonian Museum, Collections Specialist for the Museum of the Palestinian People in Washington, D.C., and a researcher for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Islamic Arts Department. Wafa continues her mother’s educational legacy through The Tatreez Institute (Tatreez & Tea), a global arts education initiative she began in 2016.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rashid Al Rahmani talked about his work as an animator and illustrator. Al Rahmani discussed the superhero projects that AC Comics AE are working on.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Ganzeer talked about his work as a muralist and street artist and how the Egyptian Revolution was a turning point in his career.
Described as a “chameleon” by Carlo McCormick in the New York Times, Ganzeer operates seamlessly between art, design, and storytelling, creating what he has coined: Concept Pop. His medium of choice according to Artforum is “a little bit of everything: stencils, murals, paintings, pamphlets, comics, installations, and graphic design.” With over 40 exhibitions to his name, Ganzeer’s work has been seen in a wide variety of art galleries, impromptu spaces, alleyways, and major museums around the world, such as The Brooklyn Museum in New York, The Palace of the Arts in Cairo, Greek State Museum in Thessaloniki, the V&A in London, and the Edith Russ Haus in Oldenburg. Ganzeer’s current projects include a short story collection titled TIMES NEW HUMAN, and a sci-fi graphic novel titled THE SOLAR GRID, an epic work-in-progress which has awarded him a Global Thinker Award from Foreign Policy in 2016.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Raghad Odeh talked about Arab animation and how it traveled from Japan to the Arab world, in a conversation in collaboration with Manarat Al Saadiyat.
Raghad Odeh started storytelling with my Webtoon (Peasant Queen). She started getting freelance work as a children books illustrator. She was always fascinated with animation, especially Ghibli films. Odeh started Sadeem Studios which is currently doing commissioned animated and illustrated projects.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Joudie Kalla talked about her books "Palestine on a Plate" & "Baladi," how her work connects both food and politics, and her special chosen dish 'Fatteh.'
Joudie Kalla is a Palestinian-British chef and food writer. She is the author of two prizewinning cookbooks, Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen (2016), and Baladi: A Celebration of Food from Land and Sea (2018), and has featured in venues like The New York Times,The Guardian, and Al Jazeera. Although she identifies the food in her cookbooks as Palestinian, some of the recipes reflect British influences, such as her za’tar scones. Others include new ingredients in the Palestinian repertoire, such as chocolate. In some cases, as she acknowledges in Palestine on a Plate and Baladi, her recipes are for dishes that she improvised when she was running her restaurant and supper clubs in London.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Naila Farouky talked about the work of the Arab Foundations Forum: non-profit membership-based association of actors in the philanthropy sector-based or working in the Arab region. She also talked about her career as a co-producer of Sesame Street which helped shape Arab childhoods.
With over 20 years of experience in project management, media production, and strategic communication, Naila Farouky is a Peabody Award-winning executive who has built a career across several continents. In 2014, Naila assumed the role of CEO for the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF), a regional, membership-based association of foundations and other philanthropy actors working across the Arab region. Prior to her role at AFF, Naila served 13 years at the iconic Sesame Workshop in New York, where she was responsible for project management, content production, and other creative elements of Sesame Workshop’s multimedia co-productions of Sesame Street in 17 countries.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Dalia Khamissy talked to Mohamed Somji about her approach in photography and her numerous projects that portray ongoing events happening in Lebanon and her personal life.
Dalia Khamissy is a Lebanese photographer based in Beirut, Lebanon. She received a diploma in photography from the Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik in 1999. Her work since then has revolved around social and political stories in the Middle East. In 2010, Khamissy started her ongoing project The Missing of Lebanon, documenting the families of the estimated 17,000 people who went missing during Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war and whose fate is still unknown, collecting their stories, following their traces and taking photographs of what they left behind.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Mohamed Somji
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Double Exposure:
Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. The series is a collaboration with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai’s center for photography and a community organization cultivating visual practices and cultural production locally in the UAE, and internationally, across the wider MENASA region. Each session, moderated by either Mohamed Somji, Director of GPP, or Mikey Muhanna, Executive Director of afikra, will host two photographers who will run a discussion together. The name “Double Exposure” comes from the structure of the series wherein the two photographers are paired to talk to each other about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogue. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Christopher Silver is the Segal Family Assistant Professor in Jewish History and Culture at McGill University. He is the founder and curator of the website Gharamophone.com, a digital archive of North African records from the first half of the twentieth century.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Lina AbiRafeh, PhD is a global women’s rights expert and gender equality advocate with decades of experience worldwide. Lina worked for over 20 years in development and humanitarian contexts in Afghanistan, Haiti, Central African Republic, Papua New Guinea, and others. Her experience spans global organizations such as the World Bank and various United Nations agencies. Lina advises several organizations and companies at a senior level. In addition, she is also the Senior Advisor for Global Women’s Rights at the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, where she served as Executive Director for seven years. Lina sits on the board of numerous global women’s rights organizations including SheDecides, Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, Forced Migration Review, Society of Gender Professionals, Global Women’s Institute, and others.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Omar Naim spoke to us about his new film, "Route 10," which tells the story of two siblings who must make a journey through the desert in order to attend their father's wedding but underestimate the many hazards of the desert road, which includes an angry stranger whose terrifying pursuit has the brother and sister driving for their lives.
Omar Naim is a Lebanese-born director, writer, and documentarian. His newest film is the Netflix thriller Route 10 (2022), a thriller set in the Saudi Arabian desert starring Fatima Al Banawi and Baraa Alem. Naim's feature debut was the science-fiction thriller The Final Cut (2004), starring Oscar winners Robin Williams and Mira Sorvino. The film premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, and won Naim the Best Screenplay prize at the Deauville Film Festival that same year. In 2020 he released Becoming starring Toby Kebbel, Penelope Mitchell and Jason Patric, ranked as one of the best horror films of 2020 by thrillist.com. His new documentary Two Cities (2021), about the Al Madina Theatre in Beirut struggling to survive against all odds, has recently been broadcast on BBC Arabic and LBC Television. As a writer, Naim has penned screenplays for Oscar-winning producers, including Dan Jinks & Bruce Cohen (American Beauty) and Ed Saxon (Silence of the Lambs). Naim studied cinema at Emerson College in Boston, graduating with a BFA in 1999. His thesis film, Grand Theatre: A Tale of Beirut (1999), was a Student Academy Award documentary finalist and played at numerous festivals around the country.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Kim Ghattas talked to us about her newest podcast, People Like Us, which tackles issues that matter in the Arab world but resonate with a global audience, as well as other materials she has authored such as her book, Black Wave.
Kim Ghattas started her journalism career in 1998 as an intern in Beirut at the local English-language newspaper The Daily Star. Within a couple of years, she was reporting for the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant as well as the Financial Times and the BBC. She covered the Middle East: reporting from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Lebanon. In 2006, she covered the war between Israel and Hezbollah and won an Emmy for international news coverage. After almost two decades roaming the world as a journalist, juggling tight deadlines, adrenaline highs, hours of live television reporting and Twitter addiction, she spent three years focused solely on one project: a new book, Black Wave. Her work has been published in The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Time magazine and The Washington Post. I regularly speak on American television and radio, and at special events, on Middle East issues and American foreign policy.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Kevin Jones talked about poetry in the Middle East and his book, The Dangers of Poetry, which is the first book to narrate the social history of poetry in the region through their function as social acts that critically shaped the cultural politics of revolutionary Iraq.
Kevin Jones is Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia. He earned his PhD in History from the University of Michigan in 2013 and was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the George Washington University Institute for Middle East Studies in 2013-2014 before beginning his current position at the University of Georgia. His work on Iraqi cultural history and Middle Eastern labor history has appeared in Social History and his new book, The Dangers of Poetry: Culture, Politics, and Modernity in Iraq, was published by Stanford University Press in September 2020. The book traces the history of poetry, political protest, and public performance in modern Iraq and demonstrates the unique contribution of nationalist and communist poets to the cultural politics of anticolonialism and national liberation in the twentieth century. He is currently working on two new book projects, a transnational intellectual and cultural history of sectarianism and a political and social history of colonialism and democracy in the modern Middle East. Dr. Jones' teaching has been recognized with the J. Hatten Howard III Award for early career excellence in teaching honors courses and the Parks-Heggoy Faculty Graduate Teaching Award. He has also served as a Special Collections Library Faculty Fellow and University System of Georgia Chancellor's Learning Scholar.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
في هذه الحلقة من رؤوس أقلام٬ تحدثت دينا محمد عن سلسلة كتبها المصورة شبيك لبيك التي نالت على جوائز عدة في فئة الروايات المصورة.
دينا محمد، رسامة ومصممة مصرية. بدأت في مجال الكوميكس في سن الـ١٨ لما نشرت سلسلة الكوميكس الرقمية “قاهرة” اللي كانت تتناول القضايا الإجتماعية من منظور سوبرهيرو مصرية محجبة. ظهرت هذه السلسلة المصورة على عديد من المواقع الإعلامية مثل البي بي سي وفورين بوليسي ونالت جائزة في مهرجان القصة المصورة بالقاهرة عام ٢٠١٥. روايتها المصورة “شبيك لبيك” هي قصة مصورة خيالية عن الأمنيات، صادرة عن دار المحروسة بمصر في ٢٠١٨، و حازت على جائزتا أفضل رواية مصورة والجائزة الكبرى لمهرجان القاهرة للقصة المصورة في ٢٠١٧ وكانت أيضاً معروضة بمتحف القصة المصورة بأنغولم في فرنسا كجزء من معرض الكوميكس العربية المعاصرة. الجزء الأول من شبيك لبيك حالياً متوافر بالأسواق باللغة العربية والترجمة الإنجليزية للثلاث أجزاء ستنشر من طرف دار بانثيون بالولايات المتحدة وجرانتا بالمملكة المتحدة في ٢٠٢١. غير ذلك شاركت في كذه معرض دولي بفرنسا، ألمانيا وإنجلترا وبعيد عن الكوميكس الخاصة بي، بشارك في مشاريع فريلانس داخل وخارج مصر، و أفضل بالذات المشاركة في مشاريع تخص المجتمع والتنمية، و أيضا قصص الأطفال
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Tamara Sleiman
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Sami Zubaida talked about culinary cultures of the Middle East, drinks and social boundaries, and the history of his chosen single dish: Koshari.
Sami Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London and has held visiting positions in Cairo, Istanbul, Beirut, Aix-en-Provence, Berkeley CA, Paris and New York. His research interests include Middle East Politics, Religion and Law, Nationalism, Food and Culture. Professor Zubaida is a regular contributor to the LMEI’s The Middle East in London magazine and has published extensively on the Middle East, most recently an article in openDemocracy on Islam and Reform. He is also a Professorial Research Associate of the Food Studies Centre, SOAS and has published widely on food and culinary cultures including 'Drink, meals and social boundaries', in Jakob A. Klein and Anne Murcott (eds), Food Consumption in Global Perspective: Essays in the Anthropology of Food in Honour of Jack Goody (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) and A Taste of Thyme: Culinary Cultures of the Middle East (ed. with Richard Tapper, Tauris Parke, 2001).
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Suad Amiry talked about her book, "Mother of Strangers: A Novel," which is a story of young love set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951.
Suad Amiry is a Palestinian writer and architect living in the West Bank town of Ramallah. She studied architecture at the American University of Beirut, the University of Michigan, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her parents went from Palestine to Amman, Jordan. She was brought up there and went to Lebanon's capital of Beirut to study architecture. Her book, Sharon and My Mother-in-Law, has been translated into 19 languages, the last one in Arabic, was a bestseller in France. The book was awarded in 2004 the prestigious Viareggio Prize in Italy. From 1991 to 1993 Amiry was a member of a Palestinian peace delegation in Washington D.C. She is Director and founder of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation, the center was founded in 1991; the first of its kind to work on the rehabilitation and protection of architectural heritage in Palestine. Amiry was a member of staff at Birzeit University until 1991, since then she has worked for Riwaq where she is the director. Riwaq received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2013 for the Revitalisation of Birzeit Historic Centre. She was appointed as a vice-chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Birzeit University in 2006.
Created by Mikey Muhanna
Hosted by: Yasmin Khawaja
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Menna Agha talked about Nubian Architecture, its evolution, purpose, history, and more.
Dr. Menna Agha is an architect and researcher who has recently been coordinating the spatial justice agenda at the Flanders Architecture Institute in Belgium. She joins the Azrieli School to promote pedagogy and research in the newly established area of Design and Spatial Justice. Menna holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Antwerp, and a Master of Arts in Gender and Design from Köln International School of Design. In 2019/2020, she was the Spatial Justice Fellow and a visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon. She is a third-generation displaced Fadicha Nubian, a legacy that infuses her research interests in race, gender, space, and territory. Among her publications are: Nubia still exists: The Utility of the Nostalgic Space; The Non-work of the Unimportant: The shadow economy of Nubian women in displacement villages; and Liminal Publics, Marginal Resistance.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Hervé Koubi spoke to us in this special collaboration episode with NYUAD about What The Day Owes To The Night, which tells the story of a young boy from Yasmina Khadra's novel through highly physical, stunningly fluid, gravity-defying piece that combines capoeira, martial arts, urban, and contemporary dance.
Hervé Koubi is a dancer at the National Choreographic Center of Nantes Claude Brumachon and Benjamin Lamarche then at the National Choreographic Center of Caen with Karine Saporta and the Thor Company in Brussels with Thierry Smits, he created his choreographic project in 2000. His choreographic work was born from a mixture of techniques and influences, at the crossroads of urban dances and ballet. Hervé Koubi today wishes to question these choreographic languages to get rid of a unique technique and develop a new style of writing. Considering the porosity of techniques between them as a space for experimentation and going beyond technical and aesthetic frameworks and affiliations, he now wishes to pose the precisely blurred borders of a ballet of the 21st century, precisely open and current. Choreographer committed in the developpement of dance for the communities, it is also in the encounter and sharing between his works, his audiences and his practices that he develops numerous projects of territories and artistic education. He was awarded in July 2015 with the Order of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Ghada Almuhanna talked about her work in storytelling, cultural preservation and cultural exchange.
After graduating with a master of laws (LL.M.), Ghada spent several years working as a researcher within the security and political sector. Over time, she noticed the perceptions revolved around the Arabian Peninsular culture, and shifted my work towards media and public diplomacy to give a better perspective on the region’s rich heritage.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Tasneem Alsultan
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Double Exposure:
Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. The series is a collaboration with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai’s center for photography and a community organization cultivating visual practices and cultural production locally in the UAE, and internationally, across the wider MENASA region. Each session, moderated by either Mohamed Somji, Director of GPP, or Mikey Muhanna, Executive Director of afikra, will host two photographers who will run a discussion together. The name “Double Exposure” comes from the structure of the series wherein the two photographers are paired to talk to each other about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogue. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nadia Kaabi-Linke talked about her work as a visual artist and her process for creating pieces and holding exhibitions.
Nadia Kaabi-Linke was born in Tunis, Tunisia, in 1978, and raised in Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. She graduated from the University of Fine Arts, Tunis, in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. at Université Paris-Sorbonne, in 2008. Growing up between Tunis, Kyiv, and Dubai, and now residing in Berlin and Kyiv, Kaabi-Linke has a personal history of migration across cultures and borders that has greatly influenced her work. Her works give physical presence to that which tends to remain invisible, be it people, structures, or the geopolitical forces that shape them. Using a variety of materials and methods, Kaabi-Linke often works in-situ on projects that relate directly to their exhibition sites.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Reem Almenhali and Joanna Settle spoke to us in this special collaboration episode with NYUAD about their play, Al Raheel | Departure, which is about the depth and diversity of life as a woman in the UAE.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
After graduating from the School of Cinematic Arts at The University of Southern California, Bassel wrote and produced the OSCAR nominated and BAFTA winning film “Theeb.” His directorial debut, “The Alleys,” premiered at the Piazza Grande of the Locarno Film Festival before going on to play at the BFI London and Rotterdam Film Festivals. Bassel is in post-production with Chasing Dreams , a six-part sports docu-series he directed over 4 years, it follows five Syrian footballers who turn professional in Brazil after being scouted from The Zaatari Refugee Camp. Before the above-the-line work Bassel got his first taste of feature film sets as a crew member on The Hurt Locker, Sundance winner Captain Abu Raed, and Disney Arabia's The United. Bassel is currently living in London where he is developing his next film. He is a BAFTA member.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nadine performed three of her songs and spoke about her musical career.
Nadine El Roubi is a Sudanese artist who grew up in Virginia, she hopes to expand the understanding of what it means, and looks like, to be Arab Muslim woman. She takes inspiration from icons like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and more. She debuted in 2018, with her first solo single “gr8ful”. She has performed in Sudan, Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. She will be releasing her debut EP “Triplicity” in October 2022.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Sahar Mustafah talked about her book "The Beauty of Your Face." The novel is about a Palestinian American woman wrestles with faith, loss, and identity before coming face-to-face with a school shooter, it navigates a country growing ever more divided.
The daughter of immigrants, Sahar Mustafah explores her Palestinian heritage in her writing. She earned her MFA in Fiction from Columbia College where she was a Follett Graduate Scholar. Mustafah is a Willow Books Grand Prize Winner for Code of The West, was named one of the 25 Writers to Watch by The Guild Literary Complex of Chicago, and is a member of Voices Protest and Radius of Arab American Writers. Her debut novel, The Beauty of Your Face, was named a The New York Times Book Review Notable Books of 2020 and a Finalist for the 2021 Palestine Book Award. It was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Award and chosen for Los Angeles Times “United We Read.” Mustafah writes and teaches outside of Chicago.
Created by Mikey Muhanna
Hosted by: Yasmin Khawaja
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Febe talked about her work involving food and history, including writing her book with Bogac Ergene of Halal Food: A History.
Febe Armanios received her BA, MA, and Ph.D. from the Ohio State University. Her research interests have focused on the history of Christian communities in the Middle East, particularly on Egypt’s Coptic Christians, on Muslim-Christian relations, as well as food history and media studies. She has been awarded fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the John Templeton Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Luce Foundation-ACLS, and Fordham University, among others. In 2015, she was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School (ILSP), and in recent years, she’s served as an Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Middle East Studies, as well as on the Steering Committee for the Middle Eastern Christianity Unit at the American Academy of Religion. In 2021-22 academic year, she was the Bennett Boskey Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at Williams College. She currently co-Directs Middlebury College’s Axinn Center for the Humanities. Armanios is the author of Coptic Christianity in Ottoman Egypt (Oxford UP, 2011) and co-author with Bogac Ergene of Halal Food: A History (Oxford UP, 2018). She’s now completing a book-length project on the history of Christian television (terrestrial and satellite) in the Middle East (ca. 1981-present) and has also begun research for another book project, which looks at the comparative history of Christian food practices in the Eastern Mediterranean and Southern Europe.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Kinan performed three musical pieces and spoke about his work as a composer.
Originally from Damascus, Syria Kinan Azmeh is a soloist, composer, and improvisor. He has performed in places such as the Opera Bastille, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Damascus Opera House, and more. Kinan’s compositions include several works for solo, chamber, and orchestral music, as well as music for film, live illustration, and electronics. His resent works were commissioned by The New York Philharmonic, The Seattle Symphony, The Knights Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Elbphilharmonie, etc. He has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Dusseldorf Symphony, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Qatar Philharmonic and the Syrian Symphony Orchestra among others, and has shared the stage with such musical luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Marcel Khalife, John McLaughlin, Francois Rabbath Aynur and Jivan Gasparian. Kinan Azmeh is a graduate of New York’s Juilliard School as a student of Charles Neidich, and of both the Damascus High institute of Music where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof, and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering. Kinan earned his doctorate degree in music from the City University of New York in 2013.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Danyel Reiche spoke about his research on the FIFA World Cup 2022 and his book, "Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change."
Dr. Danyel Reiche is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) and an Associate Professor at Georgetown University Qatar where he leads a research initiative on the FIFA World Cup 2022. With Paul Brannagan, he published the book Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change, and edited the volume Handbook of Sport in the Middle East. Dr. Reiche graduated with distinction from Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany. From 2008 to 2020, he was a tenured Associate Professor for Comparative Politics at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. Dr. Reiche's past research has focused on two areas: energy as well as sports policy and politics, with the latter his recent priority. Professor Reiche published other works such as Success and Failure of Countries at the Olympic Games and edited with Tamir Sorek (University of Florida) a volume entitled Sport, Politics and Society in the Middle East. Dr. Reiche has given invited lectures around the world at universities including Harvard University and the University of Cambridge. He has been frequently quoted by major media outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and interviewed by podcasts, radio stations, and TV programs including Al Jazeera's Inside Story.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mohamed spoke about starting Egyptian Streets and how he created the platform.
In 2012, Mohamed founded Egyptian Streets (ES Media) as a blog to share his ramblings about Egypt on. Two years later, Egyptian Streets was founded as a media company in Egypt and has become one of the region’s fastest growing media organizations and Egypt’s leading independent English media organization. In January 2018, Mohamed and co-founder Mostafa Amin were selected among Forbes Europe 30 Under 30 in Media & Marketing for “defining and driving the world of news and content”. In March 2018, Mohamed and Mostafa were also named in the first ever Arab 30 Under 30 list by Forbes Middle East for innovation and transformation of the rules of business.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Meklit Hadero spoke about her career as a singer, this episode is in collaboration with the NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center.
Meklit Hadero, known simply as Meklit, is an Ethiopian-born American singer and songwriter based in San Francisco, California. She is known for her soulful performing style, and for combining jazz, folk, and East African influences in her music. She sings in her native Amharic, and English. Meklit has released five records to date. The first was a self-produced and released eight-song EP entitled Eight Songs (2008). The second, her first full-length LP, On a Day Like This... released to wide critical acclaim in 2010 was produced by Eric Moffat and Unsound Recording.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra & Bill Bragin, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rahim performed 3 pieces from his work and spoke about his work as a composer and musician.
Rahim AlHaj has performed all over the world, on tour with Munir Bashir, his teacher, as well as solo and with his string quartet project, including numerous concerts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and France and hundreds of concerts in the United States. He has released several recordings such as The Second Baghdad, Iraqi Music in a Time of War, and Friendship His When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq (which was nominated for a Grammy). AlHaj's music delicately combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary styling and influence. His compositions are about the experience of exile from his homeland and of new beginnings in his adopted country. He is one of the true oud masters from Iraq. AlHaj says that "my music invites the listener to discover the true spirit of the musician." His compositions are about loss, hope, freedom, and longing. His songs establish new concepts without altering the foundation of the traditional Iraqi School of oud based in Baghdad. AlHaj wrote and performed the music for the award-winning short documentary, The Rest of My Life: Stories of Trauma Survivors.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Shawkat M. Toorawa talked about his work in Arabic translation and literature.
Professor Shawkat M. Toorawa is a Professor of Arabic at Yale, he received his BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Arabic at Duke University, medieval French literature and Indian Ocean studies at the University of Mauritius, and Arabic and other literatures at Cornell University. His scholarly interests include: classical and medieval Arabic literature, especially the literary and writerly culture of Abbasid Baghdad; the Qur’an, in particular hapaxes, rhyme-words, and translation; the Waqwaq Tree and islands; Indian Ocean studies, particularly Creole literatures of Mauritius and the Mascarenes; modern poetry; translation, and SF film and literature. His books include a translation of Adonis’s A Time Between Ashes and Roses: Poems (2004), Arabic Literary Culture: 500–925, co-edited with Michael Cooperson, and more. Toorawa is a Director of the School of Abbasid Studies, on the editorial boards of the Journal of Abbasid Studies, the Journal of Arabic Literature, the Journal of Qur’anic Studies, and Middle Eastern Literatures, and an executive editor of the Library of Arabic Literature.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
مقابلة مع مصممة الأزياء ريم العدل تخبرنا فيها عن خبرتها في عالم التصميم للأفلام والتلفزيون
مصممة أزياء مصرية حاصلة على العديد من الجوائز. لمع اسمها من خلال عدة أعمال مهمة ومميزة تدور أحداثها في أزمنة وبيئات متنوعة. وتمتلك ريم مسيرة تضم أكثر من 30 عمل بالتلفزيون والسينما والمسرح. ومن أبرزهم مسلسلات سجن النسا، واحة الغروب، في كل أسبوع يوم جمعة، وأفلام نوَّارة، اشتباك، شيخ جاكسون، الضيف، أبو صدّام، ومسرحية كوكو شانيل. أحدث أعمالها مسلسلي بطلوع الروح ووش وضهر كما شاركت كاستشاري أزياء في مسلسل موون نايت من إنتاج مارڤل.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Husam Hilali
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Book Club, we talked to Sabrina Mahfouz about her book "These Bodies of Water." The novel is about imperialism, and the history of the Middle Eastern coastlines and waterways that were vital to the British Empire's hold.
Sabrina Mahfouz is a British-Egyptian writer, performer and educator. Her first short play, That Boy, was performed at the Soho Theatre in 2010 and won a Westminster Prize for New Playwrights. In 2011, she was Creative in Residence at The Hospital Club. In the same year, she produced her first solo show, Dry Ice, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won her the Stage Award for Acting Excellence. Subsequent plays, which include Clean (2012) and Chef (2014), have been performed at the Fringe, the Soho Theatre, the Roundhouse and in New York, and have won numerous awards, including a Fringe First and an Off West End Award in 2018 for the children’s show Zeraffa Giraffa. Her 2015 play With A Little Bit of Luck was also adapted as a radio drama for BBC Radio 1Xtra. Most recently, her adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses for Pilot Theatre went on tour around the country. Her latest book, These Bodies of Water: Notes on the British Empire, the Middle East and Where We Meet, was published in 2022.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Claudia Roden talked about her new cookbook MED as well as her other work, and the process behind writing them.
Claudia Roden is an Egyptian-born British cookbook writer with a special interest in the social, cultural and historical background of food. She is best known as the author of many cookbooks including A Book of Middle Eastern Food, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food and Arabesque. Besides her numerous cookery volumes, Roden has also worked as a journalist and a cooking show presenter for the BBC. Food writers and chefs such as Melissa Clark and Yotam Ottolenghi have credited her with playing a large role in introducing the food of Egypt in particular and the Middle East and North Africa in general to Britain, the United States and the English speaking world. She has been involved with Yale, University College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies and is President of The Oxford Symposium of Food. Her latest book MED, contains recipes from the Eastern Mediterranean.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Tony Tahhan
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Ahd spoke about her film, "Sanctity."
Ahd Kamel is an actress, filmmaker from Saudi Arabia. She is most well known for her starring role in “Wadjda” (2012) which is Saudi Arabia’s first feature film. She is multi-lingual and speaks English fluently. She launched her film career in 2005 with a string of internationally successful short films, all three of which have won festival awards. Kamel moved to New York City in 1998 to study law at Columbia University, then completed her BFA in Animation & Communication from Parsons School of Design, after which, she further diversified her education, obtaining a directing degree from the New York Film Academy. Still not satiated, Kamel then went on to study acting under the personal tutelage of William Esper at the Esper Studio. Her first lead role earned her the Golden Gate Award for Best Actress at the San Francisco International Film Festival. “La Sainteté”, her 2nd directorial short, in which she also starred, received a Golden Bear nomination at the Berlinale in 2013 and won the Golden Aleph at the Beirut International Film Festival in 2013. Her move into the world of English-language features began with a position as technical adviser on Peter Berg's “The Kingdom”. Kamel was presented with a Cloeween Connection Award from Spike Lee, by the Abu Dhabi Authority of Culture and Heritage as an emerging Arab filmmaker.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Gilbert Achcar spoke about his work as an academic and his recent book, "The People Want."
Gilbert Achcar is a Lebanese academic and writer. He is a Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. His research interests cover the Near East and North Africa, foreign policy of the United States, Globalization, Islam, and Islamic fundamentalism. He is also a Fellow at the International Institute for Research and Education. Achcar obtained degrees in philosophy and social sciences at the Lebanese University and was a member of the Revolutionary Communist Group. He took up residence in France in 1983, and completed his doctorate in social history and international relations at the University of Paris VIII, where, in 1991, he began teaching political science, sociology and international relations. In 2003 he took up a research position at the Marc Bloch Centre in Berlin, which he maintained until he assumed a professorship at SOAS. His works include The Arabs and the Holocaust, Marxism, Orientalism, Cosmopolitanism, The People Want: A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising, and many more.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
DJ Habibeats talked about how he grew his social media accounts and creating content.
DJ Habibeats is a LA-based DJ/Producer and resident DJ for TikTok Radio on SiriusXM. Originally from the Bay Area, he has been DJing for over 12 years and has held residencies at nightclubs across San Francisco and Los Angeles. Habibeats has accrued over 1 million followers across TikTok and Instagram for his DJ content, innovative mashups, and music sample series. He has shared the stage with artists such as Majid Jordan, Waka Flocka Flame, Iamsu, Rob Stone, and Klingande. He has been featured by WorldStar Hip Hop, Complex Magazine, Serato, XXL Magazine, Def Jam Records, Motown Records, Young Money records, and more.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mostafa talked about his work as a professor and his published books such as, "The Ottoman Scramble for Africa: Empire and Diplomacy in the Sahara and the Hijaz."
Mostafa Minawi researches different forms of imperialism in the Middle East and Northeast Africa at the turn of the 20th century. He also investigate how global events and the internal crisis in the empire were refracted through the lived experience of Arab-Ottoman imperialists and their families, living in Istanbul through the turbulent political and social changes leading up to WWI and the breakup of the empire. He is currently working on two related book projects which he thinks of as two sides of the same coin. The first is a “micro” level look at the lived experience of imperialists at home, focusing on the life-worlds of the families of Arab-Ottomans living in Istanbul as the empire crumbled between 1878 and 1918. It comes out in late 2022 in Arabic, translated by Africa Institute in Sharjah. The second focuses on Ottoman imperialism abroad and is a “macro” level engagement with international diplomacy and questions of sovereignty and colonialism in northeast Africa.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Firas performed three songs, spoke about starting Last Floor Productions, and his work in movie/TV composition.
Firas Abou Fakher is a Lebanese composer, producer, and writer. While attending the American University of Beirut (AUB), he co-founded Mashrou' Leila with Hamed Sinno, Haig Papazian and Carl Gerges and is the band's composer, guitarist, and keyboardist. He also co-founded Last Floor Productions with two longtime friends, writer and Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts screenwriting professor Daniel Habib and writer Nasri Atallah, and it focuses on genre film and television. The company's first production, Al Shak (Doubt), was written, shot and released during the early phase of the COVID lockdown of 2020. It was produced as a Shahid Original for the leading streaming service launched by MBC Group. Last Floor Productions second series, Fixer, was released later the same year. Both series were co-created, co-executive produced and scored by Abou Fakher.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Oualid talked about his feature film debut, "1982."
Oualid Mouaness is an award winning director, writer and producer. His work traverses narrative and documentary features, music films, music videos and commercials. He is a Sundance Fellow and completed his undergraduate studies in journalism and theatre in Beirut, and holds an MFA in film from the Florida State University college of Motion Picture Arts. His first feature film as director, 1982, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 where it won the NETPAC Award and went on to win the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at El-Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. The film was selected to represent Lebanon for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards 2020. It has since received much critical acclaim and won multiple awards at film festivals including France, China, Qatar and the United States.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nasser Jaber talked about his service catering company, The Migrant Kitchen, and the story behind it.
Originally from Ramallah, Nasser Jaber came to the United States as a university student in economics and finance. Working in restaurants to pay for his degree, Nasser soon found that his true passion was food, and that his talents would take him from waiting tables to training under the best chefs in New York City. Nasser broke into the New York food scene when he opened Mazeish, a Palestinian-South American fusion restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, he decided to use the restaurant as a space for chefs to try new concepts, celebrate heritage, or host dinners to address social issues. It was this concept that gave rise to Nasser’s acclaimed project Komeeda, an online platform that helps people connect, taste exciting new foods, and meet the passionate chefs behind their meals. Komeeda is also dedicated to social impact through culinary diplomacy, sharing the values of entrepreneurship, private enterprise and food security to the world. Komeeda has been working with the U.S. government in Turkey and Sweden to provide real solutions to the refugee crisis through food hospitality and farming. Nasser is also the co founder of the Migrant Kitchen with renowned chef Daniel Dorado. The Migrant Kitchen is all service catering company that highlights migrant food through catering and food entrepreneurship.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Heba Gowayed talked about her latest book “Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential.”
Heba Gowayed is the Moorman-Simon Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her research, which is global and comparative, examines how low-income people traverse social services, immigration laws, and their associated bureaucracies, while grappling with gender and racial inequalities. Her forthcoming book, Refuge, is an ethnography exploring the lives of Syrians seeking refuge in the United States, Canada, and Germany. In it she examines whether and how these countries recognize and invest in new arrivals’ humanity and potential, shaping their economic realities and feelings of belonging. As countries receive refugees through their social welfare systems, Refuge raises a mirror to how these systems (re)produce social inequality.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Shahd Alshammari talked about her work as a writer, academic, and researcher in the field of Gulf literature and disability studies.
Dr Shahd Alshammari is a Kuwaiti-Palestinian author and academic. She is the author of Head Above Water (Neem Tree Press,2022). Alshammari teaches literature and has written numerous stories and creative nonfiction. Her research areas include illness narratives and disability studies. She is Assistant Professor of English at the Gulf University for Science and Technology, Kuwait. She has authored an academic monograph, Literary Madness in British, Postcolonial, and Bedouin Women's Writing (2016). Her collection of short stories Notes on the Flesh (2017) is a biomythography that deals with gender, race and disability in Kuwait. In 2019, she was nominated for the British Council Alumni Awards – Social Impact. In 2021 she won Outstanding Monograph of the Year from the National Communication Association’s (NAC).
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Hisham Fageeh talked about his career as an actor, producer, writer & director of the Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.
Recently appointed as Director of the Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Hisham Fageeh is a Hijazi multi-hyphenate creative straddling both Western and Arab audiences. His work has been written about by The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, BBC, Variety, among others. In the Middle East, he’s most known for his video “No Woman, No Drive,” which went viral in 2013. The video remains a hilarious satire on the debates over whether or not Saudi Arabia would let women drive (they eventually did in 2018), and Fageeh’s video was a momentous critical injection. This is part of his pointed charm, Fageeh uses comedy to highlight social issues, by turning them on their head. Using comedic tools, Fageeh questions cultural norms, even the most ubiquitous ones. For acting, he rose to international acclaim when he co-produced and starred in Saudi Arabia’s submission to the Oscars ‘Best Foreign Film’ of 2016, Barakah Meets Barakah. For his role, he was nominated for a Best Actor Award at the Arab Cinema Awards in Cannes, and the film premiered at the Forum section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, winning the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Berlinale. In North America, the film premiered at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres and at the 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival. It made history in 2017, when Netflix bought the distribution rights to the film, making it the first Saudi film to display on the streaming service.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Lynn Adib performed three musical pieces: Youmma, Taht El Ward & Autruche followed by a discussion.
Born and raised in Damascus, Syria. Lynn Adib is a singer, composer who has been exploring Arabic music and improvisation through Jazz music that she discovered around the age if 19 after spending years in the Choir if Joy in and learning classical flute at the National Conservatory, both in her hometown. After moving to Paris in 2009 and since the release of her Debut Album « Youmma » in 2018, Lynn has been collaborating with artists from all around the world giving birth to several projects such as « Bedouin Burger », « Yalla Queen », and preparing to release a duo album with French musician Marc Buronfosse. Lynn has a degree in Jazz studies from Paris conservatory and Pharmacy degree with masters in medical biology, she lives in Paris, France.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
James Zogby talked about his work in the field of political and policy research within the Arab American community.
James J. Zogby is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. He is also managing director of Zogby Research Services, which specializes in groundbreaking public opinion polling across the Arab world. Zogby is a lecturer and scholar in Middle Eastern affairs and a visiting professor of Social Research and Public Polling at New York University in Abu Dhabi. A lecturer and scholar on Middle East issues, U.S.-Arab relations, and the history of the Arab American community, Zogby appears frequently on television and radio. Zogby is the author of Arab Voices (Palgrave Macmillan, October 2010), among other books and publications. Zogby has testified before U.S. House and Senate committees and has addressed the United Nations and other international forums. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Raphael Cormack discussed his new book Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring 20's.
Midnight in Cairo tells the thrilling story of Egypt’s interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its pioneering women. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, it brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art – one which laid the foundations of Arab popular culture today. It is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Faisal Al Yafai talked about the process of establishing New Lines Magazine.
New Lines is a magazine for the best ideas and writing about the Middle East and beyond. Based in Washington DC, New Lines specializes in long-form essays, including reportage, arguments and memoir, which bring together politics, culture and history. The magazine’s celebrated podcast has featured deep-dive interviews with writers, thinkers and politicians.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Dima Adra talked about her new cookbook "Mama Ghannouj" which includes recipes from the Lebanese cuisine.
Dima Adra is the author of Mama Ghannouj, a self-published and crowdfunded Lebanese cookbook. She focused on gathering recipes from 10 moms who are excellent cooks in the community, to have a written record of their recipes (that are usually shared orally) as a way to preserve the cultural traditions and ensure that they are passed down and live on. Her passion for food has always run deep, so after working for a few years in advertising, she made the switch and attended culinary school in Boston. She loves to feed everyone that crosses her path and is obsessed with cookbooks.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Big Hass performed four musical pieces: Iraq Cypher, Arab Femcee Cypher, Sudan Cypher & Khadsha followed by a discussion.
Hassane Dennaoui, aka “Big Hass" is the host of Saudi Arabia's first and only FM hip-hop radio show Laish Hip-Hop? and is also founder of Re-Volt Blog and Re-Volt Magazine. He hosted the radio show Spitter with Big Hass at Sole DXB 2019.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Tala Bashmi talked about her culinary approaches at Fusions and her chosen single ingredient: Mehyawa.
Born in Bahrain, Tala Bashmi is making a name for herself as one of the most promising stars of the culinary world. The MBC Top Chef finalist and winner of MENA’s Best Female Chef award 2022 is on a quest to not only modernize Arabic cuisine but also create a culinary journey like no other in her restaurant, Fusions by Tala.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
David Knox, Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly and Assaad Seif talked about situating heritage and cultural protection fund in Lebanon.
David Knox was appointed Country Director, Lebanon in September 2018. He comes with over 30 years’ experience of cultural relations and international development. Prior to Beirut, in his role as Director, MENA, Governance and Civil Society based in Cairo (2014-18), he led the British Council’s work with a focus on young people’s empowerment and specifically on gender equality. During this period, he negotiated the organisation’s entry into PVE work, building on the strength of the British Council cultural relations approach.
Assaad Seif held first-line positions at the Lebanese Ministry of Culture ranging from the head of the archaeology and heritage research departments to serving as an advisor for the Minister of Culture. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of CMAS - Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites - a Tailor & Francis publication. He is also a research consultant at the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRSL).
Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly is an archaeologist and journalist who has worked from 1998 till 2013 in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq documenting discoveries and destruction of heritage in the Middle East. She wrote in several Lebanese newspapers and co-edited with Professor Peter Stone the book "The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Iraq" winner in 2011 James R. Wiseman Book Award. After witnessing the loss of heritage, she decided to start "working" on the topic. In 2005, she founded Biladi, an NGO dedicated to promote and safeguard heritage through training for professionals and education activities.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
AN OUTLOOK ON CHANGE | Featuring: Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez (curator, educator, writer), Lara Rudar (artist, filmmaker, environmental advocate), Philip Mawn Maughan (writer, editor, co-founder, black almanac).
PART OF CULTURES IN CONVERSATION: PRELUDES & POSTSCRIPTS. The brand new series with Alserkal and powered by afikra.
Cultures in Conversation is commissioned by Expo2020 Dubai and programmed by Alserkal
Laila Lalami talked about her award-winning books, The Other American, The Moor’s Account, Secret Son, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits & Conditional Citizens.
Laila Lalami was born in Rabat and educated in Morocco, Great Britain, and the United States. She is the author of five books, including The Moor’s Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. It was on the longlist for the Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has been awarded fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, and the Guggenheim Foundation and is currently a professor of creative writing at the University of California at Riverside
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
BURNING ISSUES | Featuring: Mary Ellen Carroll (artist and activist), Adib Dada (architect, eco activist, and founder, theotherdada) & Tansha Vohra(researcher and current resident, serendipity arts foundation).
PART OF CULTURES IN CONVERSATION: PRELUDES & POSTSCRIPTS. The brand new series with Alserkal and powered by afikra.
Cultures in Conversation is commissioned by Expo2020 Dubai and programmed by Alserkal
Daniel Newman talked about his work on travel, geography and food in the 19th century.
Daniel Newman holds the Chair of Arabic Studies at the University of Durham (UK). His research and publications have centred on Arabic geographical and travel literature, 19th-century reform movements in Egypt and Tunisia, and medieval Arab culinary history. In 2009, he was the co-recipient of the World Award of the President of the Republic of Tunisia for Islamic Studies for the book entitled Muslim Women in Law and Society. His research interests also include translation studies and mediaeval Islamic medicine. His other books include An Imam in Paris; Account of a stay in France by an Egyptian cleric (1826-1831) and The Sultan’s sex Potions. Arab Aphrodisiacs in the Middle Ages. His latest book is entitled The Sultan’s Feast. A Fifteenth-century Cookbook, which was longlisted for the Peter Mackenzie Smith Book Prize 2021. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Vice President of the British Association of Teachers of Arabic (BATA). He also maintains a blog (http://eatlikeasultan.com/) where he shares his passion for bringing medieval Arab dishes to life by recreating recipes.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry, Kitchen Sufra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Reem Kassis talked about her work on the intersection of food, culture, and politics, notably in Palestine.
Reem Kassis' debut cookbook, The Palestinian Table (2017), won The Guild of Food Writers Award and Gourmand World Cookbook award, was nominated for a James Beard Award, was short-listed for the Andre Simon Award and the Edward Stanford Award, and was picked as one of NPR's best books of 2017. Her second cookbook is The Arabesque Table (2021). You can find some of her writings in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry, Sufra Kitchen
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mounia Akl talked about her latest film "Costa Brava, Lebanon."
Mounia Akl is a director and writer from Lebanon. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from ALBA, Beirut and an MFA in Directing from Columbia University, New York and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®. Her first feature film, Costa Brava Lebanon, premiered in 2021 at the Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival amongst others. Some of her other previous work includes fiction films (Submarine, 69th Cannes Film Festival), web series (Fasateen, Do Not Disturb, BILY) and collaborations with fashion designers and architects (Dior, Sandra Mansour, T Sakhi, Elie Saab). Apart from directing, Mounia has also taught Directing at the NHSI, Northwestern University, Chicago and was a Screenwriting preceptor at Columbia University, New York where she was also Richard Peña's assistant. Mounia is currently developing new projects between Beirut and LA where she was recently a Ted Talk Women speaker.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Dania Bdeir talked about her latest film "Warsha."
Born in Montreal, Dania Bdeir is a Lebanese-Canadian award-winning writer & director with an intense love/hate relationship with Lebanon which she finds to be her biggest heartache and sincerest inspiration. Dania, who’s originally Syrian and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, has a BA in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut and an MFA in directing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where she received a full scholarship in her third year. Her pre-thesis film "Meshkal" (English title: Kaleidoscope), has traveled to film festivals in France, Morocco, Pakistan, Mexico, Czeck Republic, India and many more. It has won a few notable awards including Award of Excellence at the 2014 Canada International film festival and Golden Palm at the 2014 Mexico International Film Festival.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Naomi Shihab Nye talked about her books ‘The Turtle of Oman’ and ‘The Turtle of Michigan. The books are about Aref as he travels from Muscat, Oman, to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her father was a Palestinian refugee and her mother an American of German and Swiss descent, and Nye spent her adolescence in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. She earned her BA from Trinity University in San Antonio. Nye is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, including the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle, the Lavan Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry award, the Robert Creeley Prize, and many Pushcart Prizes. She has received fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Guggenheim Foundation, and she was a Witter Bynner Fellow. From 2010 to 2015 she served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In 2018 she was awarded the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Texas Institute of Letters. Nye is the Poetry Foundation's Young People's Poet Laureate.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Youmna Saba performed three pieces: Al Sobh (الصبح), Madd W Jazr (مد وجزر) & Hubut (هبوط), followed by a discussion.
Youmna Saba (Beirut, 1984) is a musician and musicologist whose current research focuses on the musical dimension(s) of the Arabic language, as a tool to generate new methods of working with electronics. She released 4 albums to this day and collaborated with musicians of different backgrounds, like Kamilya Jubran (PL), Mike Cooper (GB), Jean Marc Montera (FR), Floy Krouchi (FR), Kyungso Park (SK), among others. She took part in international programs and residencies (Hwaeom Residency, South Korea 2017, Sound Development City, 2016, Gyeonggi Creation Center, South Korea 2013...) and is a 3-time laureate of the music residency program at La Cité Internationale des Arts, in Paris (2020-2021). Youmna holds a master’s degree in Musicology, focusing mainly on the parallels between classical Arabic music and Arabic visual art.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Darine Hotait talked about her new film "Tallahassee."
Darine Hotait is a writer and film director. Her work focuses on the politics of identity, Arab & African diaspora, and science fiction. She has written and directed a dozen award-winning narrative films that can be seen on Sundance Channel, The New Yorker, AMC Networks, BBC, Forbes, Outfest Now, ShortsTV, and at numerous Oscar-qualifying international film festivals. Named on Disney's Launchpad 2022 list of directors on the rise, Darine’s latest film “TALLAHASSEE” premiered at the 10th Blackstar Film Festival. It was nominated for Best Narrative Short at the 22nd Woodstock Film Festival and received the Audience Award at Mizna Film Festival. Tallahassee was released exclusively on The New Yorker in January 2022. She is the recipient of the New York Council on the Arts Artist Award, the New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Artist Fellowship, the Jerome Hill Finalist Award, and the AFAC Cinema Award. Her work has received the support of The Sundance Institute, Comedy Central, The Independent Film Project, Maison Des Scenaristes, The Royal Film Commission, the Jerome Foundation, and the Ghetto Film Roster.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Barbara A. Porter talked about archaeological research and heritage preservation in Jordan.
Barbara A. Porter was the Director of the American Center of Oriental Research in Jordan from April 2006 to March 2020. ACOR was established in 1968 and its permanent headquarters in Amman opened in 1986 across from the University of Jordan. From the outset, ACOR (now the American Center of Research, www.acorjordan.org) has been intrinsically involved in the archaeology and heritage of Jordan and has worked closely with the Department of Antiquities. In her 14 years as director, she came to know the country well and she plans to share some insights into certain sites and periods. She also has a deep appreciation of the history of ACOR and its role in helping preserve Jordan’s past and will convey some of those efforts.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Myrna Atalla talked about philanthropy in the Middle East and the work of Alfanar, London.
Since 2010, Myrna Atalla has overseen Alfanar's growth and expansion. Prior to joining Alfanar, Atalla worked for the National Democratic Insititute for International Affairs (NDI) in Beirut, Lebanon from 2004 to 2008, managing its civil society strengthening partnerships. Atalla also engaged in regional initiatives, including women's candidate training and international election observation missions in Egypt, Jordan Morocco and Yemen. Atalla holds a BA in International Relations from Brown University and a dual-degree Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Columbia University and the London School of Economics.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Tijara:
Tijara is an interview series focusing on the history of economics, business, and trade and how these three fields helped shape culture and life in the Arab world. The series will host business historians, economists, and businesspeople who have helped shape companies and economies of the region, while giving afikra’s community a deeper understanding of the forces that have helped shape Arab economies. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Michel Moushabeck talked about his work in writing, editing, and publishing.
Michel S. Moushabeck is a writer, editor, translator, publisher, and musician of Palestinian descent. He is the founder of Interlink Publishing, a 35-year-old, Massachusetts-based independent publishing house specializing in fiction-in-translation, history and current affairs, illustrated children’s books, and award-winning international cookbooks. He is the author of several books including, Kilimanjaro: A Photographic Journey to the Roof of Africa. Most recently, he co-edited the winter issue of the Massachusetts Review focusing on Mediterranean literature and contributed a piece to Being Palestinian: Personal Reflections on Palestinian Identity in the Diaspora (Edinburgh University Press). He is the recipient of NYU’s Founder’s Day Award for outstanding scholarship, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Alex Odeh Award and The Palestinian Heritage Foundation Achievement Award. He serves on the board of directors of Media Education Foundation and on the board of trustees of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF).
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nargisse Benkabbou talked about her approaches to Moroccan Cuisine and her chosen single ingredient: Tagine.
Nargisse Benkabbou was raised in Brussels, where she grew up in a strongly food-oriented family that continually nurtured her connection with her roots and country of origin, Morocco. After living in Brussels and Paris, Nargisse moved to London to pursue her education in Politics only to realize that her love for cooking and food was a real passion. After training at Leiths School of Food and Wine, she started sharing her Moroccan recipes 'with a twist' inspired by her home country. Nargisse is currently Executive Chef at L'Mida Marrakech, her work involves recipe and menu development, cooking classes and hosting supper clubs. Each recipe that Nargisse produces is a celebration of her heritage and a care for simplicity and modernity.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Andrew Simon talked about his latest book "Media of the Masses: Cassette Culture in Modern Egypt." Media of the Masses investigates the social life of an everyday technology—the cassette tape—to offer a multisensory history of modern Egypt. Over the 1970s and 1980s, cassettes became a ubiquitous presence in Egyptian homes and stores.
Andrew Simon is a historian of media, popular culture, and the modern Middle East. He holds a B.A. in Arabic, Middle East, and Islamic Studies from Duke University and was a fellow at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad in Cairo during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and is currently serving as a lecturer at Dartmouth. Andrew's interdisciplinary research has received generous support from the Social Science Research Council and the American Research Center in Egypt, and his work has been published in the International Journal of Middle East Studiesand cited in the Washington Post. Andrew's first book, Media of the Masses: Cassette Culture in Modern Egypt (2022), is forthcoming with Stanford University Press and shares the extraordinary story of an ordinary object.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nada Shabout talked about her research and teaching that address modern and contemporary visual practices and problems of representation from a global perspective, emphasizing on questions of methodology and in relation to the cultural politics of the Middle East.
Nada Shabout is a regent professor of art history and coordinator of the Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Initiative at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, U.S. She is the founding president of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art from the Arab World, Iran and Turkey. Shabout is the Project Advisor for the Saudi National Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2019. She is the author of Modern Arab Art: Formation of Arab Aesthetics, University of Florida Press, 2007; co-editor with Salwa Mikdadi of New Vision: Arab Art in the 21st Century, Thames & Hudson, 2009; and co-editor with Anneka Lenssen and Sarah Rogers of Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2018.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Farouk El-Baz talked about his career in archaeology, electrical engineering, space, and geology. He was a lead scientist on the NASA Apollo 11 team in 1969.
Egyptian born Farouk El Baz has been research professor and director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University since 1986. While working with the Apollo Space Program (1967-72), he applied satellite imagery to moon surfaces and chaired the Astronaut Training Group. He later studied the arid areas of the world and used his analysis of space photography to select areas for investigation on the ground in Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, China, and India. Much of his career has been spent applying space technology to geography, geology, archaeology, and the environment. He used his remote sensing technology to develop underground water resources in Egypt and to document the extent of destruction following the first Gulf war. He was recently appointed a member of the Committee on Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Tijara:
Tijara is an interview series focusing on the history of economics, business, and trade and how these three fields helped shape culture and life in the Arab world. The series will host business historians, economists, and businesspeople who have helped shape companies and economies of the region, while giving afikra’s community a deeper understanding of the forces that have helped shape Arab economies. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Omar Berrada talked about his major written works on migration and racial politics.
Omar Berrada is a writer and curator, and the director of Dar al-Ma’mûn, a library and artists residency in Marrakech. His work focuses on the politics of translation and intergenerational transmission. He is the author of the poetry collection Clonal Hum (2020), and the editor or co-editor of several books, including The Africans, a volume on racial dynamics in North Africa (2016), and La Septième Porte, Ahmed Bouanani’s posthumous history of Moroccan cinema (2020). His writing was published in numerous exhibition catalogs, magazines and anthologies, including Frieze, Bidoun, Asymptote, The University of California Book of North African Literature, and Poetic Justice: An Anthology of Contemporary Moroccan Poetry. Currently living in New York, he teaches at The Cooper Union where he co-organizes the IDS Lecture Series.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Ahmed Al-Refaie talked about his designs inspired by Middle Eastern cultures and traditions and brought in a vibrant and modern style.
Ahmed Al-Refaie (OwaikeO) is an illustrator and graphic designer from Kuwait. Throughout his career, Ahmed’s fascination with the past grew year after year and has become focused on the Middle Eastern cultures and traditions brought in a vibrant and modern style. His work has grown from a personal hobby to a business where he collaborates closely with clients from local and international businesses in creating illustrations brands.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Khaled Beydoun talked his work on race theory, islamophobia, national security policy, civil liberties, and citizenship.
Khaled A. Beydoun is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and Senior Affiliated Faculty at the University of California Berkeley Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project. A Critical Race Theorist, Professor Beydoun’s research examines the legal construction of Arab and Muslim American identity, the foundational and modern development of Islamophobia, and the intersection of national security policy, civil liberties and citizenship. A leading scholar on legal matters germane to civil rights and Muslim America, Professor Beydoun’s scholarship has been featured in top law journals, including: the Columbia Law Review, the California Law Review, the UCLA Law Review, the Harvard Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review, and the Illinois Law Review. His book, Islamophobia: An American Story (Univ. of California Press), will be released in early 2018. Complimenting his legal research and scholarship, Professor Beydoun is an active public intellectual. In addition to his regular commentary in Al-Jazeera English, Professor Beydoun’s insight has been featured in the Washington Post, the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Time, Salon, and ESPN; and television and radio news programming including CNN, the BBC, Fox, NBC and ABC News. In addition, Professor Beydoun has served as a consultant for the U.S. Census Bureau, the African American Policy Forum, and a number of colleges and universities. Professor Beydoun also serves on the U.S. Commission for Civil Rights, appointed to serve on the Michigan State Committee in 2017.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Nadia Bseiso & Farah Foudeh talked about their different approaches to photography.
Nadia Bseiso is a Jordanian documentary photographer based in Amman. She completed a degree in photography from Florence, Italy in 2011, returning for a residency in Fondazione Fotografia in Modena, in 2015. She concentrates on long term projects, based on personal research in geopolitics, history, anthropology and environmental degradation. In 2016, she was selected for the Arab Documentary Photography Program, funded by The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Magnum Foundation and the Prince Claus Fund, for her project “Infertile Crescent”. Selected as Time – Light Box female photographers to follow from around the world, March 2017. She is working with several local and international NGO’s since 2011. Clients include The New York Times, The Telegraph, Reuters, Zeit magazine, the Intercept, The Globe and Mail, U.S News & World Report.
Farah Foudeh was born in Lagos to Palestinian Jordanian parents and spent her early years between Lagos and Amman. Growing up between contrasting worlds led her to develop an interest in cultural identity, and with that she later pursued a BA in International Studies at American University in Washington, DC. Upon graduation, she returned to Amman, where she soon began working in tourism development. Her experience in tourism working with imagery, combined with a personal interest in photography eventually led Farah to complete an MA in Photography and Design at ELISAVA, Barcelona, where she is currently based. Her artistic practice explores themes of identity and representation while studying the role of imagery and travel in shaping both.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Rama Ghanem
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Double Exposure:
Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. The series is a collaboration with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai’s center for photography and a community organization cultivating visual practices and cultural production locally in the UAE, and internationally, across the wider MENASA region. Each session, moderated by either Mohamed Somji, Director of GPP, or Mikey Muhanna, Executive Director of afikra, will host two photographers who will run a discussion together. The name “Double Exposure” comes from the structure of the series wherein the two photographers are paired to talk to each other about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogue. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Christina Riggs talked about ancient Egypt and how the fields of archaeology, art history, and Egyptology developed in tandem with colonial and imperial expansion.
Christina is historian of photography and archaeology, with a particular interest in North Africa and the Middle East. Her research has considered how different people, at different times, have imagined, studied, and represented the culture we know as ‘ancient Egypt’ – and how the fields of archaeology, art history, and Egyptology developed in tandem with colonial and imperial expansion. She see archives and museum collections not as dead legacies of these difficult pasts, but as living expressions of them which, as historians, they have a responsility to analyze, evaluate, and confront.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mariam Al-Dhubhani talked about her latest project, "Musalem: Beekeeping in Yemen - A 360 VR Experience Film."
Mariam Al-Dhubhani is a Yemeni-Russian award-winning journalist, filmmaker, curator, and educator based in the MENA region. She first pursued her passion for media during the 2011 Arab uprisings and co-founded her first media production.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Huda Fakhreddine talked about modernist movements or trends in Arabic poetry and their relationship to the Arabic literary tradition.
Huda Fakhreddine’s work focuses on modernist movements or trends in Arabic poetry and their relationship to the Arabic literary tradition. She is interested in the role of the Arabic qaṣīda as a space for negotiating the foreign and the indigenous, the modern and the traditional, and its relationship to other poetic forms such as the free verse poem and the prose poem. She is the author of Metapoesis in the Arabic Tradition (Brill, 2015) https://brill.com/view/title/31773 and The Arabic Prose Poem: Poetic Theory and Practice (Edinburgh University Press, 2021) https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-arabic-prose-poem.html. She is the co-translator of Lighthouse for the Drowning (BOA editions, 2017), The Sky That Denied Me (University of Texas Press, 2020), and Come Take a Gentle Stab: Selections from Salim Barakat (Seagull Books, 2021). Her translations of modern Arabic poems have appeared in Banipal, World Literature Today, Nimrod, ArabLit Quarterly and Asymptote among others. Her book of creative non-fiction titled Zaman saghir taht shams thaniya (A Small Time under a Different Sun) was published by Dar al-Nahda, Beirut in 2019. She is co-editor of Middle Eastern Literatures and an editor of the Library of Arabic Literature.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Jill Jarvis talked about the aesthetics and politics of North Africa and her book “Decolonizing Memory: Algeria and the Politics of Testimony.”
Jill Jarvis specializes in the aesthetics and politics of North Africa. Her forthcoming book, Decolonizing Memory : Algeria and the Politics of Testimony, brings together close readings of fiction with analyses of juridical, theoretical, and activist texts to illuminate both the nature of violence and the stakes of literary study in a time of unfinished decolonization. She is also at work on a second book project, Signs in the Desert: An Aesthetic Cartography of the Sahara, which envisions the Sahara as a site of material, intellectual, and linguistic exchanges that challenge both disciplinary boundaries and received notions of African studies. Other work appears in New Literary History, PMLA, The Journal of North African Studies, and Expressions maghébrines.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Youssef Rakha talked about his writing on post-Muslim perspectives in Arabic and Egyptian literature.
Youssef Rakha is a novelist, poet, essayist and journalist who writes in both Arabic and English. His interests include Arab porn and the possibility of a post-Muslim perspective. His first two novels The Book of the Sultan’s Seal and The Crocodiles appeared in English in early 2015. Frequently anthologized and translated into many languages, he has written widely on Arabic literature and Egyptian history. Youssef’s 2006 photo travelogue Beirut Shi Mahal was nominated for the Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage. He was among the 39 best Arab writers under 40 selected for the Hay Festival Beirut39 Festival in 2010. His first novel, The Book of the Sultan’s Seal, won the 2015 Banipal Seif Ghobash Prize for Paul Starkey’s translation, and his third, Paulo, was on the long list of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2017 and won the 2017 Sawiris Award.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Malek Rasamny
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Zeyn Joukhadar talked about his book ‘The Thirty Names of Night: A Novel’.
Zeyn Joukhadar is the author of the novels The Map of Salt and Stars, 2018, and The Thirty Names of Night, 2020 and a member of the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI). His work has appeared in KINK: Stories(eds. RO Kwon & Garth Greenwell), Salon, The Paris Review,Shondaland, [PANK], Mizna, and elsewhere. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net. He is also the guest editor of the 2020 Queer + Trans Voices Issue of Mizna and a Periplus Collective mentor. The Thirty Names of Night won the 2021 Barbara Gittings Stonewall Book Award and the 2021 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Fiction, and was a December 2020 Indie Next Book Pick.
Created by Mikey Muhanna
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna & Lina Barkawi
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
John Karam talked about his work on Arab cultural studies in Brazil at Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies at University of Urbana-Champaign.
John Tofik Karam was born and raised in upstate New York, hearing stories that his maternal grandmother recounted of her birthplace, a town she called “trinta e três,” literally thirty-three. He heard fewer stories about his paternal grandparents who departed Kartaba in Ottoman Lebanon for Veracruz in Mexico and after a decade or so permanently moved to upstate New York. There, his paternal grandmother sang Mexican lullabies to his father and his paternal grandfather was affectionally called “el mexicani” (the Mexican, in colloquial Arabic), and his father, “ibn el-mexicani (the son of the Mexican, also in colloquial Arabic).
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Sheikha Reem Al Thani and Abdullatif Al-Jasmi talked about repurposing heritage buildings in Doha, Qatar.
Reem Al Thani is now the Director of Exhibitions at Qatar Museums and is responsible for design and production of all temporary and permanent exhibitions for all affiliated museums and exhibition venues locally and internationally.
Andullatif Al-Jasmi is the Director of the Cultural Heritage Protection Department at Qatar Museums, the manager of the Qatar Cultural Heritage Law Project and of the Director of the Qatar-Sudanese Archaeological Project.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Basma Hamdy, Diane C. Derr, Maysaa Al-Mumin & Denielle Emans talked about the directing processes of Radical Futures.
Tasmeem Doha 2022 is an international, biennial art and design conference hosted and organized by VCUarts Qatar since 2004. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Mohamed Elshahed talked about Cairo Modern. The exhibition showcases works by Egyptian modernists from the 1920s to the 1970s, half a century of rich architectural production that complicate our present understanding of global modernism. The exhibition introduces audiences to key architects from the period such as Sayed Karim (pictured) as well as examples of their works commissioned by the state and the city’s burgeoning bourgeoisie. Modernism in Cairo reflected the aspirations of the new classes that formed after Egypt’s 1919 Revolution who embraced the Modernist house or apartment as the materialization of new notions of class, identity, and modernity. The exhibition accompanies the publication of Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide, the first comprehensive survey of the city’s modern constructions including 226 buildings in 17 geographic areas built from 1900 to the present.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Rami Abou-Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Toot Ard performed three musical pieces: Moonlight, Trouble Watan & Wanderlust.
TootArd, Arabic for "Strawberry", was formed in 2010 by brothers Hasan and Rami Nakhleh. All band members grew up in Majdal Shams. The band started by performing in the Golan Heights, later travelling to Jerusalem, Palestine and Europe. The band's style is mixed. Their first album, Nuri Andaburi, is heavily inspired by reggae music. Their second album, Laissez Passer, combines Tuareg style with psychedelic rock. In general, the band refers to their style as "mountain rock reggae", in reference to their limestone mountainside hometown.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Eve Troutt Powell talked her research on modern Middle East and the history of slavery in the Nile Valley and the Ottoman Empire.
Eve M. Troutt Powell emphasizes the exploration of literature and film in her courses. She is the author of A Different Shade of Colonialism: Egypt, Great Britain and the Mastery of the Sudan (University of California, 2003) and the co-editor, with John Hunwick, of The African Diaspora in the Mediterranean Lands of Islam (Princeton Series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Press, 2002). Her most recent book is Tell This in My Memory: Stories of Enslavement in Egypt, Sudan and the Late Ottoman Empire (Stanford University Press, 2012).
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Lina Mounzer talked about her career as a writer and translator. Lina’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Paris Review, 1843, Literary Hub, and Bidoun, as well as in the anthologies Hikayat: An Anthology of Lebanese Women’s Writing (Telegram Books: 2007) and Tales of Two Planets (Penguin Books: 2020) an anthology of writing on climate change and inequality.
Created and hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Kareem James Abu-Zeid talked about his translations of ‘Exhausted on the Cross”by Najwan Darwish and “Confessions” by Rabee Jaber.
Kareem James Abu-Zeid is a translator, editor, writer, teacher, and scholar who works across multiple languages. As an acclaimed translator of Arabic literature, he works with prominent English-language publishing houses to introduce the writings of Arab poets and novelists to a broad audience, seeking to promote Arabic literature in the US and around the world. While he enjoys translating all kinds of texts, he is particularly fond of Arabic poetry.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
James Barr talked about his book ‘A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that shaped the Middle East’. A Line in the Sand vividly tells the story of the short but crucial era when Britain and France ruled the Middle East.
James is a leading historian of the modern Middle East and author of the widely-acclaimed A Line In The Sand and Lords of the Desert. He is now working on a history of conflict in the Middle East, The Arena. James read modern history at Oxford. He has worked in politics, at the Daily Telegraph, in the City, at the British Embassy in Paris, and has run his own research business. He is a visiting fellow at King's College London. He lives in south London with his wife and their two children.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Basel Rajoub performed three musical pieces: Tashkent, duclar improvisation & Devil's Whistle.
Basel Rajoub is a worldwide known saxophonist and composer. His music can be described as contemporary tradition-based music inspired by Middle Eastern rhythms, melodic modes and jazz.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Rima Khcheich performed three musical pieces: Al Sama'a wel Rah, Harram El Noum & Washwishni.
Rima Khcheich is well renowned for having given its rebirth to the Andalusian form Muwashah, as well as to the traditional Arabic repertoire of the 19th and 20th Century that she both teaches and explores.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Daniel T. Potts talked about his career in field excavations in Iran, Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, specifically Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Daniel T. Potts received his AB (1975) and PhD (1980) in Anthropology from Harvard, specializing in Near Eastern archaeology. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Arabian Archaeology & Epigraphy, he is a Corresponding Member of the German Archaeological Institute and ISMEO (Associazione Internazionale di Studi sul Mediterraneo e l'Oriente).
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Fawz Kabra talked about her latest project, Brief Histories. Brief Histories was founded in 2011 as a collaborative project with a wide community of artists focused on actions responsive to our unfolding social conditions and interactions.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Moustafa Elrefaey talked about his culinary philosophy and passion that reflect the growing trend towards a healthier and natural lifestyle. Chef Moustafa creates cuisine that pleases the senses and enhances the natural flavors of food. He had recently won at the London Falafel Festival.
Chef Moustafa Elrefaey is the Executive Chef, Cofounder and Partner of Zooba Home Grown in Egypt. He is a proud Board Member and the Treasurer of the Egyptian Chefs Association. He is also a certified Executive Chef of the American Culinary Federation (ACF). Recently he was selected by the Egyptian Chefs Association to be the Egyptian Ambassador to “Chefs without Borders”, the humanitarian division of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS). His culinary philosophy and passion reflect the growing trend towards a healthier and natural lifestyle.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Mahdi Blaine
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Hannah Feldman talked about her research, teaching, and advising that center on late modern and contemporary art and visual culture. Hannah is a core faculty in Middle Eastern and North African Studies as well as Comparative Literary Studies.
Hannah Feldman is author of From a Nation Torn: Decolonizing Art and Representation in France, 1945-1962, she was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellow for the years 2015-2017, and is currently working on a new manuscript about temporality and historiography in and about art from the Levantine Middle East.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Howayda Al-Harithy talked about her current research which conceptualizes urban recovery in relation to processes of historical editing, urban trauma, and protracted displacement.
Howayda Al-Harithy is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Department of Architecture and Design (ArD) at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Her early research was centered on the architectural and urban practices of the Mamluk period in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. Her current research conceptualizes urban recovery in relation to processes of historical editing, urban trauma, and protracted displacement.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Hussein Alazaat talked about archiving processes in light of his work in archiving and preserving books at The Beautiful Books Trove.
Hussein Alazaat is a multi-disciplinary designer, instructor, Arabic calligraphy artist, and typography enthusiast from Jordan. He founded ALAZAAT Design Studio in Amman and offered his services to various clients in diverse industries around the world. Hussein focuses on the research as a tool to empower his belief in Arabic letters utilization in brands and products; he also emphasizes a contemporary treatment in his typographic art projects.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Heba Hage-Felder talked about her career in community development, writing, and visual storytelling. Arab Image Foundation aims to track down, collect, preserve and study photographs from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann talked about her latest book, Sudan Retold. The book is not primarily concerned with historical details, but with an understanding of historical contexts through artistic representation.
Since her MA graduation in African and Islamic Studies at the University of Cologne (Germany) with a focus on art and gender, Larissa works as a cultural manager and curator. After her great experience as an undergraduate student at Khartoum University, she decided to work in Sudan‘s arts scene for several years and founded the urban arts initiative ‘Yalla Khartoum’ with a collective of urban artists and co-founded the feminist band ‘Salute Yal Bannot’.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Tarek Atrissi about his career in contemporary graphic design landscape. Atrissi was listed in 2017 as one of the most influential 100 Lebanese professional figures around the globe.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Mujalasa interview, we talked to Eugene Rogan his research on modern middle eastern history. Rogan is the author of The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920 (2015) and The Arabs: A History (2009, 2018) which has been translated to 18 languages.
في هذه المقابلة، تحدثنا مع يوجين روغان عن أبحاثه حول تاريخ الشرق الأوسط الحديث. روغان مؤلف "سقوط العثمانيين: الحرب الكبرى في الشرق الأوسط" و"العرب: تاريخ" الذي قد ترجم الى 18 لغة.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna & Charles Al Hayek
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Firas Zreik; "Refractions" Performed Live on afikra Quartertones.
About Mujalasa:
Mujalasa is a platform for exchanging ideas, debating academia, and building intellectual curiosity for the purpose of enlightenment. An Arabic podcast series exploring the histories of the region, hosted by Charles Al Hayek from Heritage & Roots and powered by afikra. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this interview, we talked to Charles Al Hayek about our new podcast series, Mujalasa, in collaboration with Heritage and Roots.
في هذه المقابلة، تحدثنا مع شارل الحايك عن إطلاق بودكاست مجالسة الجديد بالتعاون مع تراث وجذور.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna & Charles Al Hayek
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Mujalasa:
Mujalasa is a platform for exchanging ideas, debating academia, and building intellectual curiosity for the purpose of enlightenment. An Arabic podcast series exploring the histories of the region, hosted by Charles Al Hayek from Heritage & Roots and powered by afikra. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this event, we talked to professor of linguistics Enam Al-Wer and professor and chair of Arabic language and literature Bilal Orfali about the future of the Arabic language.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Mennat-Allah El Dorry about her career in archaeobotanical analysis. Much of her research has revolved around food and trying to reconstruct how people in the past cooked and ate.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Fida Adely about her research on education, labor, development, and gender in the Arab world. Her primary research site has been Jordan, although she teaches and writes about the Arab world more broadly.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Movie Night event, we talked to Viola Shafik about her career in the filmmaking industry. Shafik talked about film theory in Arab cinema.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Movie Night:
Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Peter Adamson about his career in the field of ancient and medieval philosophy. His two monographs deal with the Arabic version of Plotinus, the so-called "Theology of Aristotle," and with al-Kindi (d. after 870 AD).
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Issam Kourbaj about his career in fine arts and design. Issam’s work has related to the Syrian Crisis and reflects on the destruction of his cultural heritage.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Mysa Kafil-Hussain
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event, we listened to Adnan Joubran as he performed three musical pieces followed by a discussion.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Naomi Shihab Nye about her career in prose and poetry writing. Nye is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, including the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle, the Lavan Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry award, the Robert Creeley Prize, and many Pushcart Prizes.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Charles Perry about his career as a translator of several medieval cookbooks from Arabic to English and published widely on the history of food. In 2005 Perry translated from Arabic A Baghdad Cookery Book, also known as Al-Baghdadi’s Kitab al-Tabikh, the only medieval Arabic cookbook known to the English-speaking world.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Antonio Tahhan
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation in collaboration with Liwan Design Studios & Labs at Qatar Museums, we talked to JILID founder Isa Aljalahma, Creative Dialogue creative director Samer Yamani & Studio 7 Concept Store creative director Asma Derouiche about designing, experimentation & reviving craft.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Roger Allen about his career in translating the works of renowned Arab authors such as Naguib Mahfouz. Allen translated Mahfouz’s God’s World, that being the collection mentioned in the published citation of the Nobel Literature Prize Committee in 1988.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this event, we talked to Yara Khoury Nammour and Lara Captan about the future of the Arab script.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event, we listened to Firas Zreik as he performed three musical pieces: Taksim, Zawraq & Refractions.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Zeina Maasri about her investigation focused on post-1945 anti-colonial struggles, transnational anti-imperialist solidarities and violent conflicts, as complicated by a global Cold War order.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Book Club, we talked to Safia Elhillo about her book "Home is not a country." The novel is about family, identity, and finding yourself in the most unexpected places.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Book Club:
Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation in collaboration with Liwan Design Studios & Labs at Qatar Museums, we talked to the director of TypeAraby Basma Hamdy, graphic designer Zainab Alshibani & curator in residence at the Fire Station Gallery, Qatar Museums Hadeel Eltayeb about archiving techniques and processes.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Festival Co-Founder and Musical Director Yacine Boulares, Festival Co-Founder Meera Dugal, clarinet player Kinan Azmeh, and Joe's Pub Director Alex Knowlton about the ethos of the festival and opening night performance featuring AJOYO. Learn more at www.habibi-festival.com.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to North African dancer and educator Esraa Warda.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to musicians of the Moroccan band Innov Gnawa.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event in collaboration with Habibi Festival held at Joe's Pub, we talked to Sudanese musician Alsarah from Alsarah & The Nubatones and violinist Haig Papazian.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Ruba Katrib about her work at MoMA PS1 in New York. Ruba was co-founder of the residency and exhibition space Threewalls in Chicago and was awarded a curatorial fellowship from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to support research on artist-run educational platforms throughout Latin America.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation in collaboration with Liwan Design Studios & Labs at Qatar Museums, we talked to the director of Liwan Design Studios & Labs Aisha Al Sowaidi about how Liwan was established, its plans and projects, and its future.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this event, we talked to Haytham Nawar and Danah Abdulla about the future of education. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Sami Tamimi about his career as a Palestinian cook in London. Sami had won several awards such as International Award and the Best Cookbook, James Beard Award, Cookery Book Award, and Dun Gifford Award for ‘Jerusalem.’
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
HUMANISING CITIES | Featuring: Vilma Jurkute (Executive Director, Alserkal), Charles Landry (author and international authority on urban change), Rupali Gupte & Prasad Shetty (co-founders Bard Studio, founding members School of Environment and Architecture), and Hamed Bukhamseen (Co-founder, Civil Architecture).
PART OF CULTURES IN CONVERSATION: PRELUDES & POSTSCRIPTS. The brand new series with Alserkal and powered by afikra.
Cultures in Conversation is commissioned by Expo2020 Dubai and programmed by Alserkal.
In this event, we talked to co-founders of DesignEarth Rania Ghosn & El Hadi Jazairy and the co-founders of Foundland Collective Ghalia Srakbi & Lauren Alexander about the future of design. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode, Eddy Maroun discussed the role of the Anghami in promoting music of the Islamic world and his work and perspective given his role at Anghami, as part of Al Burda Podcast series, powered by afikra.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music: The Loyalty of the Poet by Faraj Abyad | Performance was commissioned by MetLiveArts & The Metropolitan Museum of Art"
About Al Burda Podcast:
Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra, is a series long-form conversation with some of the leading and prominent figures from the Al Burda 2021 Festival - the festival from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture. Al Burda is a multidisciplinary platform run by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture, through promoting creativity and experimentation in Islamic art practices and fostering critical discourse between experts, institutions and communities on the past, present and future of Islamic culture.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra, is a series long-form conversation with some of the leading and prominent figures from the Al Burda 2021 Festival - the festival from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture. Al Burda is a multidisciplinary platform run by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture, through promoting creativity and experimentation in Islamic art practices and fostering critical discourse between experts, institutions and communities on the past, present and future of Islamic culture.
In this episode, Faraj Abyad talked about poetry and classical Arabic and played selected songs, as part of Al Burda Podcast series @alburda_uae, powered by afikra.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music: The Loyalty of the Poet by Faraj Abyad | Performance was commissioned by MetLiveArts & The Metropolitan Museum of Art"
About Al Burda Podcast:
Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra, is a series long-form conversation with some of the leading and prominent figures from the Al Burda 2021 Festival - the festival from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture. Al Burda is a multidisciplinary platform run by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture, through promoting creativity and experimentation in Islamic art practices and fostering critical discourse between experts, institutions and communities on the past, present and future of Islamic culture.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra, is a series long-form conversation with some of the leading and prominent figures from the Al Burda 2021 Festival - the festival from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture. Al Burda is a multidisciplinary platform run by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture, through promoting creativity and experimentation in Islamic art practices and fostering critical discourse between experts, institutions and communities on the past, present and future of Islamic culture.
In this Quartertones event, we listened to Chyno as he performed three musical pieces: 2020 Vision, Kayfouni & Fresh Money.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this episode, H.E. Noura Al Kaabi discussed the role of the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth in promoting Islamic arts and culture in the UAE, among youth. She also talked about the origin, evolution, and genesis of Al Burda. The episode focused on the diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture from different lenses and what can be expected at the festival this year.
Tune in to more episodes on Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music: The Loyalty of the Poet by Faraj Abyad | Performance was commissioned by MetLiveArts & The Metropolitan Museum of Art"
About Al Burda Podcast:
Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra, is a series long-form conversation with some of the leading and prominent figures from the Al Burda 2021 Festival - the festival from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture. Al Burda is a multidisciplinary platform run by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture, through promoting creativity and experimentation in Islamic art practices and fostering critical discourse between experts, institutions and communities on the past, present and future of Islamic culture.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
Al Burda Podcast, powered by afikra, is a series long-form conversation with some of the leading and prominent figures from the Al Burda 2021 Festival - the festival from the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture. Al Burda is a multidisciplinary platform run by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, dedicated to celebrating diverse facets of Islamic arts and culture, through promoting creativity and experimentation in Islamic art practices and fostering critical discourse between experts, institutions and communities on the past, present and future of Islamic culture.
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Wesam Masoud about his creativity in developing and enhancing cooking techniques and flavor pairings. Chef Wesam is known for teaching the basics of cooking techniques, food history and food science in an engaging and idiosyncratic style.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Antonio Tahhan
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event, we listened to Narcy as he performed three musical pieces; SPACE, The Tribe Called Red, and Thoughts and Prayers.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Mohamad Hafez about his art that reflects the political turmoil in the Middle East through the compilation of found objects, paint and scrap metal. Using his architectural skills, Hafez creates surrealistic Middle Eastern streetscapes that are architectural in their appearance yet politically charged in their content.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Double Exposure event, we talked to Hazem Harb and Sama Alshaibi about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogues. Hazem’s work explores the notion of the land, whereas Sama’s work is concerned with issues of war and exile.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Mikey Muhanna & Mohamed Somji
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Double Exposure:
Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. The series is a collaboration with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai’s center for photography and a community organization cultivating visual practices and cultural production locally in the UAE, and internationally, across the wider MENASA region. Each session, moderated by either Mohamed Somji, Director of GPP, or Mikey Muhanna, Executive Director of afikra, will host two photographers who will run a discussion together. The name “Double Exposure” comes from the structure of the series wherein the two photographers are paired to talk to each other about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogue. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Kareem Sakka about his work in creating an independent media platform presenting news and views relevant to the Arab world. Kareem’s Raseef22 fills a cultural gap in the Arabic-language media landscape, acknowledging both local values and global perspectives.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Tarek Alameddine about his experiences in the culinary field between Copenhagen, Egypt, and Lebanon. Tarek believes that Levantine flavors and seasonal produce should be celebrated in the fine dining scene. In the process of creating dishes and designing menus, the ingredients he uses should be in season, wildly foraged, and in synchronization with the time and place.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Salma Serry
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Rania Matar about her career in exploring issues of personal and collective identity, through photographs of female adolescence and womanhood. Rania’s works focus on notions of identity and individuality all within the context of the underlying universality of these experiences.
Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event, we listened to Clarissa Bitar as he performed three musical pieces; taqasim, bayari & al-mizan.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Majid Alyousef about his career in modern and abstract calligraphy. Majid founded Calligraforms, a radical new movement that re-imagines calligraphy, offering abstract perspectives that draw upon the language of aesthetics, beauty, form, and balance.
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Aya Nimer
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this event, we talked to Mohamed Somji and Farah Fayed about the future of the Arab Image. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Bethany Kehdy about her writings on cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. Bethany was elected one of the four Mediterranean Food Ambassadors in 2012 and won several awards for publishing “The Jewelled Kitchen” in 2013.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Outline event, we talked to Carol Sansour about her latest project, In the Time of the Apricots. The book is a collection of poems that has been translated to Arabic, English and French. Art critic and writer Youssef Rakha describes this book as “a post-national discourse of belonging by necessity which, in its truth aesthetic, speaks more eloquently to the human condition than to any political agenda.”
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Nisrine Shehadeh
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Hoda Elsadda about her research on Arab literary history from a gender perspective where she attempts to answer the question: if gender is a category of analysis, how would we rewrite the history of the Arab literary tradition?
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Double Exposure event, we talked to Tanya Habjouqa and Tasneem Alsultan about their work, motivations, stories behind their photos, and catalogues.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Double Exposure:
Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. The series is a collaboration with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai’s center for photography and a community organization cultivating visual practices and cultural production locally in the UAE, and internationally, across the wider MENASA region. Each session, moderated by either Mohamed Somji, Director of GPP, or Mikey Muhanna, Executive Director of afikra, will host two photographers who will run a discussion together. The name “Double Exposure” comes from the structure of the series wherein the two photographers are paired to talk to each other about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogue. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Kamal Mouzawak about how he founded the first farmers market in Lebanon, leading a social and environmental change and transformation. Kamal, through Souk El Tayeb, had the vision of celebrating food and traditions that unite communities and promoting small-scale farmers and producers and the culture of sustainable agriculture.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Lamia Joreige about her career in art and film and how she portrays history through narration. Lamia, rooted in her country’s experience, explores the possibilities of representing the Lebanese wars and their aftermath.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Tarek El-Ariss about his academic work on Al Nahda, contemporary Arabic culture and media, comparative literature and critical theory, and digital and visual culture.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Anissa Helou about how her work and writings on cuisines and culinary heritage of the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa. She is the author of award-winning cookbooks “Sweet Middle East”, “Levant”, “The Fifth Quarter”, “An Offal Cookbook,” and more.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Quartertones event, we listened to Layth Sidiq as he performed three musical pieces, of which two are composed by him and talked to him about these pieces.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Quartertones:
QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.
Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to John Waterbury about his work as a leading source in politics in the Arab region, his 10-year journey as an AUB president, and higher education in the arab region..
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Outline event, we talked to Adib Dada about his latest project, Beirut RiverLESS Urban Forest. Beirut RiverLESS offers a set of replicable interventions to rehabilitate lost ecosystems and improve the living conditions and quality of life of people in the city who live along the river and to restore the area’s biodiversity.
Adib Dada is the founder of theOtherDada [tOD] Regenerative Consultancy & Architecture firm, which mission is to activate projects across architecture, living systems, and art. Adib has been recognized in Apollo Magazine's 40 Under 40 as a Patron of the Arts in the Middle East, and was listed as one of GOOD Magazine’s GOOD 100 for his project Beirut RiverLESS.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Fadi Kattan about how his cuisine and savoir-faire combine worldly influences, a desire for perfection and a passion for the local terroir. When Fadi started his Fawda Restaurant in 2016, he created a cuisine honoring Palestine’s best produce with a modern twist, raising to the challenge of rendering this traditional kitchen into a gourmet dining experience.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Conversation, we talked to Linda K. Jacobs about her interest in promoting Middle Eastern culture and knowledge in the United States. Having all four of her grandparents’ members of the New York Syrian Colony, Linda is at work on a study of all the Syrian colonies in the United States.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Double Exposure event, we talked to Tanya Traboulsi and Tamara Abdul Hadi about their work, motivations, stories behind their photos, and catalogues.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Double Exposure:
Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. The series is a collaboration with Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), Dubai’s center for photography and a community organization cultivating visual practices and cultural production locally in the UAE, and internationally, across the wider MENASA region. Each session, moderated by either Mohamed Somji, Director of GPP, or Mikey Muhanna, Executive Director of afikra, will host two photographers who will run a discussion together. The name “Double Exposure” comes from the structure of the series wherein the two photographers are paired to talk to each other about their work, to discuss and interrogate their motivations, stories behind their photos, and their catalogue. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Matbakh event, we talked to Omar Sartawi about his creations and subtle blend of flavors from his travels to Europe and the Arab Gulf with his heritage and Jordanian roots. Omar’s popular consecration came in 2017, when he took the local food scene by storm with the launch of Jameed Chocolate, acclaimed as “a great twist on the symbol of the Jordanian cuisine”.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Matbakh:
Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Outline event, we talked to Lara Atallah about her latest project, The Sun That Stood Still. The project is an artist book that examines a shifting relationship to a shifting landscape. The book is about Lara’s grandmother, but also about loss, the Mediterranean, and living in a perpetual state of uprootedness while paradoxically finding grounding by the sea.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this event, we talked to artists Mohamed Elshahed and Heba Y. Amin about the future of decolonization. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures:
Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critical dialogues, and respond with clarity. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Outline event, we talked to Andrea Assaf about her latest project, 'Eleven Reflections on September.' The project explores Arab American experience, wars on and of terror, and “the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty” that each autumn brings in a post-9/11 world.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Jannis Stürtz about his record label “Habibi Funk”. Based in Berlin, Habibi Funk is dedicated to music from the Arabic-speaking world and aims to re-release a style of music that historically never existed as a musical genre.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this Outline event, we talked to associate director of NYUAD Research Public Outreach Nouf Al Hamly and research public engagement specialist Rawdha Al Mansoori about their latest project, Citizen Research at NYU Abu Dhabi. The project, inspired by the global movement of Citizen Science and driven by the mutual benefit that can exist when professional researchers and members of the public work alongside one another, was developed to engage members of the public in NYUAD research.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About Outline:
Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to award-winning correspondent and columnist Nora Boustany about her career in covering Middle East and human rights issues. Nora had received George Polk Award, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award, and Bronze Medal for foreign correspondence for covering the Lebanese war, struggles in Gaza, and the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Iraqi Kurdish filmmaker Philip Jamal Rachid about his latest film: “It Ain't Where You From”. The film has assembled the primary talent of the burgeoning, young Gulf Hip Hop scene in a first-time collaboration with some of its key figures.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Amani Hassan (Program Director at Arab British Centre) and Rabih El Khoury (SAFAR) on the 2021 edition of SAFAR curated around the theme of Generational Encounters in Arab Cinema as part of the Shubbak Festival x afikra Roundtable series. This collaboration between Shubbak and SAFAR will be showcasing contemporary and classic films with emergent youth, familial disparities, and societal tensions at their center.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the Shubbak Festival x afikra Roundtable Series:
Taking place in the days and weeks leading up to this year's festival which starts on the 20th of June, 2021, the series of 4 events will feature candid conversations with key figures from the Shubbak team and will highlight some of the artists and themes on display during this year's festival. All events will take place on Zoom, will be free and open to all, and discussions will be in English. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
About Shubbak Festival:
The Shubbak Festival is the UK's largest biennial festival of contemporary Arab culture, bringing new and unexpected voices alongside established artists to London every two years. The festival returns this summer with an ambitious program that connects audiences and communities with the best of contemporary Arab visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, and debate.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Paul Salem, President of The Middle East Institute, on the work of the Middle East Institute including his career working in economic, social, and foreign policy studies.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Yasser Munif, Associate Professor of Sociology, on micro-politics in the Syrian revolution and his book "The Syrian Revolution: Between the Politics of Life and the Geopolitics of Death" (2020).
Created by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by Malek Rasamny, Researcher & Filmmaker.
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation we talked to poet Hayan Charara on his award-winning poetry, children's books, and writing his books: "Something Sinister", "The Sadness of Others", "The Alchemist’s Diary" and his children’s book "The Three Lucys".
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
During the first event of our Shubbak Festival x afikra Roundtable Series we talked to Eckhard Thiemann (Shubbak CEO & Festival Artistic Director), Taghrid Choucair Vizoso (Senior Programmer & Festival Producer) & Riwa Saab (member of the Young Shubbak group) about the history of the festival taking place again this year on the 20th of June, 2021.
Moderated by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director.
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by Tarek Yamani
About the Shubbak Festival x afikra Roundtable Series:
Taking place in the days and weeks leading up to this year's festival which starts on the 20th of June, 2021, the series of 4 events will feature candid conversations with key figures from the Shubbak team and will highlight some of the artists and themes on display during this year's festival. All events will take place on Zoom, will be free and open to all, and discussions will be in English. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
About Shubbak Festival:
The Shubbak Festival is the UK's largest biennial festival of contemporary Arab culture, bringing new and unexpected voices alongside established artists to London every two years. The festival returns this summer with an ambitious program that connects audiences and communities with the best of contemporary Arab visual arts, film, music, theatre, dance, literature, and debate.
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Kamal Dib about his work as a scholar and professor of political and economic studies. We also talked about his numerous books and much more!
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on: afikra.com
Visualizing Palestine creates data-driven tools to advance a factual, rights-based narrative of the Palestinian-Israeli issue. We talked to the Visualizing Palestine team on their work telling factual, data-driven & rights-based narratives about Palestine & the occupation.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we discussed Bahia Shehab's works as a multidisciplinary artist, designer, political activist, and historian whose work focuses on the interaction and intersection of modern identity and ancient cultural heritage.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Zeina Hashem Beck about her poetry and the variety of topics it covers (Arab culture, home, exile, family narratives, language, the body, love, and faith).
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Dr. Huda AbiFares about her experience as the founding director of the Khatt Foundation. She specializes in multilingual typographic research and design and works as a curator, writer, designer, and publisher.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Suja Sawafta about exile and ecocriticism at the Franco-Arab intersection.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We discussed Rashid Khalidi's work as an editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, as the President of the Middle East Studies Association, and as an advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Dana Sajdi about the history, societies, and cultures of the pre-modern Eastern Mediterranean (the Levant, Egypt, and Turkey).
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on
afikra.com
We talked to David Wrisley about late medieval court culture, Mediterranean studies, multilingual corporate analysis, and the spatial humanities.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on: afikra.com
We talked to Dr. Akram Khater about his work as a professor of history, and as the director of the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We talked to Krystel Khoury and Karim Kattan about their work at Mophradat. Krystel is Mophradat's grants coordinator, and Karim is Mophradat's programs associate.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
In this conversation, we talked to Mona Kareem about her three poetry collections and her trilingual chapbook "Femme Ghosts".
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra Conversations:
Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow
Youtube - Instagram (@afikra_) - Facebook - Twitter
Support
www.afikra.com/support
About afikra:
afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.
Read more about us on afikra.com
We discussed Moustafa Bayoumi's book "How Does It Feel To Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America", and his work as a journalist, columnist, and editor.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In this conversation, we discussed susan abulhawa's multiple novels including 'Mornings in Jenin'. We also talked about her experience with Playgrounds for Palestine, a children’s organization dedicated to uplifting Palestinian children.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Charles Al-Hayek about his work on bringing Arab cultural heritage and history to social media on Heritage and Roots in engaging and enticing means.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Waddah Faris about his work as a designer, artist, photographer, art critic, and former gallerist. We also talked about his work at Contact Art Gallery and Galerie Faris, the Baalbek Festival catalogues he designed, and much more!
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mysa Kafil-Hussain
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We discussed Professor Mattawa's poetry, translation, and work as an academic at the University of Michigan. Khaled Mattawa is the author of five books of poetry, and a critical study of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. His awards include the Academy of American Poets Fellowship prize, the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, and a MacArthur Fellowship.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In this conversation, we discussed Professor Makdisi's scholarship on Modern Arab History, snd Ottoman History. Dr. Ussama Makdisi is a Professor of History and the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi, Ph.D. in ethnomusicology, on his research interests that include Kuwaiti pearl diving music, the music of the Indian Ocean civilizations trade routes, and global jazz.
A Venice Biennale artist, composer, Khaleeji-jazz musician, and ensemble leader, Ghazi's current musical efforts include performing with his ensemble "Boom.Diwan" where he and traditional Kuwaiti pearl diving musicians merge Kuwaiti bahri (sea) rhythms with global jazz traditions for the purpose of creating new Kuwaiti music and engaging in a global musical dialog.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Khajag Apelian is a Lebanese graphic and type designer of Armenian descent. We talked to Khajag about his work and "debakir", which focused on Arabic typography projects with various organizations such as Opera Amsterdam, One/one, the Mediamatic Foundation, and the Khatt Foundation.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Todd Reisz, architect and writer, on his recently published book, Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai (Stanford University Press), which explores architecture’s packaging to sell Dubai on a global stage.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Butheina Kazim about independent Cinema in the UAE and the region. Butheina is the Founder of Cinema Akil, an independent cinema platform in Dubai.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Philip Ciantar is a senior lecturer in music at the School of Performing Arts, University of Malta, where he teaches ethnomusicology, world music, and more. Ciantar is the author of The Ma’lūf in Contemporary Libya: An Arab Andalusian Musical Tradition and Studies in Maltese Popular Music, as well as of various articles in ethnomusicology.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In this conversation, we talked to Professor Jonathan Shannon, Cultural Anthropologist & Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities at NYUAD. Shannon is the author of books on Music and Modernity in Contemporary Syria, and Music and Nostalgia Across the Mediterranean.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We discussed Anny Gaul's work as a cultural historian of food and gender specializing in Egypt and Morocco. We also talked about her research and writing and how she uses food and kitchens to explore how ideas like nationalism, modernity, and domesticity have felt and tasted through time.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Sherene Seikaly, a historian of capitalism, consumption, and development in the modern Middle East, about her book "Men of Capital: Scarcity and Economy in Mandate Palestine", her work as editor for Jadaliyya, Journal of Palestine Studies, and Arab Studies Journal.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In this conversation, we talked to Hala about her successful literary career and award-winning books and poetry collections (Salt Houses, The Arsonists’ City, The Twenty-Ninth Year) as well as her work as a clinical psychologist.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Amir ElSaffar and Arun Ramamurthy about Raga Maqam which is a 15-person ensemble featuring virtuosic artists that bring to life a unique and contemporary sound grounded in two ancient traditions.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Isabella Hammad, the author of "The Parisian", on writing her first novel and her new novel set in London and Palestine. Hammad's "The Parisian", was published in April 2019 and is being translated into 15 languages.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We're talked to Ramsey Nasser on Computer Science, Education, & why he created Qalb "قلب", a functional programming language allowing a programmer to write programs completely in Arabic.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Wissam Shawkat is an Iraqi Artist, Designer, Calligrapher, & Type Designer. In this conversation, we talked to Wissam about his work in those various fields, as well as his new calligraphy style "Al Wissam".
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In this conversation, we are talking to Dr. Lisa Urkevich, a Specialist in the Heritage and Music of the Arabian Peninsula, Chair of the Department of Music and Drama at the American University of Kuwait, and the General Editor of the College Music Symposium: Journal of the College Music Society.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Mai Masri is a Palestinian filmmaker, director, and producer. We interviewed her about her career in directing and producing award-winning films that have been broadcast on more than 100 television stations worldwide.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Ahmad Badr about his work with the United Nations, Narratio - the global platform for youth empowerment he founded, UNPACKED: Refugee Baggage, and his new book "While the Earth Sleeps We Travel: Stories, Poetry, and Art from Young Refugees Around the World".
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Sarah Graff, Associate Curator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Musician, Educator, and Entrepreneur, Hadi Eldebek, on his musical career as well as the several cultural startups he founded and runs, including grantPA and Circle World Arts.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In this conversation, we are talking to Rima Rantisi on her writing and being the founding editor of Rusted Radishes: Beirut Literary and Art Journal, which publishes artists and writers from Lebanon, its diaspora, and the region and is currently in its eighth circulation.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We discussed Yacine Boulares' label Shames Records, and the Habibi festival he founded in New York. We also talked about his music, his work with countless musical legends, and his band AJOYO, a mystic brew of African tradition, jazz, and soul.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Mariam C. Said serves as the Vice-President of the Barenboim-Said Foundation (USA) and is a driving force behind West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO). We talked to Mariam about her work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) and Barenboim-Said Foundation.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Alex Dika Seggerman is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Art History at Rutgers University-Newark. Her scholarship investigates the intersection of Islam and modernism in art history. In this conversation, we are discussing Dr. Seggerman's book "Modernism on the Nile: Art in Egypt Between the Islamic and the Contemporary."
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We enjoyed discussing with Alya her bestselling non-fiction book The Greater Freedom: Life as a Middle Eastern Woman Outside the Stereotypes and the recently launched newsletter "The Greater Conversation", centering female Middle Eastern stories with an aim to de-stigmatize through honest storytelling.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra, https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Salwa Mikdadi is an Associate Professor in the Practice of Art History specializing in the history of modern and contemporary art of the Arab world. Having held various positions promoting the Art of the Arab world, we talked to Salwa Mikdadi about her career from curating several art exhibitions around the world to Directing the Arab Center for the Study of Art, NYU Abu Dhabi.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Alsarah is a singer, songwriter, and bandleader of Alasarah & the Nubatones. We talked to Alsarah about her career and style along with her various musical ventures, collaborations, and releases.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform are designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Taoufik Ben Amor about Arabic language and linguistics, language and identity, Arab music, and music in Sufism.
This event was hosted in collaboration with Columbia Global Centers | Tunis.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/ & Youssef Cherif (Columbia Global Centers | Tunis).
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Our conversation with Professor Nasser was all about his expertise in the field of architecture, directing the MIT Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, and his interests and publications on Islamic architecture, urban history, Arab history, contemporary Arab art, heritage studies, and post-colonial criticism.
Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We interviewed Karl on his various publications and works as an architect, satirist, blogger, and commentator on the Middle East. Karl co-authored "Manifesto: Towards a New Humanism in Architecture" and authored "And Then God Created the Middle East and Said ‘Let There Be Breaking News’" and "Style: In defence of Islamic Architecture." You can catch his tweets at @karlremarks.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to the writer behind the award-winning books from the award-winning novels, “In the Country of Men” and “Anatomy of a Disappearance”, to his Pulitzer Prize recipient memoir, “The Return”, and his latest book " A Month in Siena".
This event was hosted in collaboration with Columbia Global Centers | Tunis.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We will be discussing Thomas Simsarian Dolan's research about Middle Eastern diaspora and race. We will also talk to him about his work as a visiting researcher at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, and about the performances he helped create and produce in Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, and many others.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We will be discussing Kristyan Sarkis' work as a graphic and type designer. We will talk about the type foundry he co-founded (TPTQ Arabic), his work as the co-founder and director of Arabic Type Design Beirut, and the workshops and courses he gives.
Created & hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We discussed Anneka Lenssen's expertise in modern painting and contemporary visual practices. We also talked about her newest book project "Beautiful Agitation" which is a study of avant-garde painting and the making of Syria as a contested territory between 1920 and 1970.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Laila talks about Oud and its tradition from its definition, to its types, and its traditional and economical value.
Note: Laila is not an expert on this subject but is sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in the subject.
Hosted by: Mikey: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked about Ghenwa Hayek's work on the entangled relationships between literary and cultural production, space and place, and identity formation in the modern Arab Middle East, with a specific focus on Lebanon. We also discussed her book "Beirut, Imagining the City: Space and Place in Lebanese Literature", and her research projects.
Created & hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had a conversation with Pascal Zoghbi about his design work and his collection of contemporary Arabic and multilingual typefaces alongside corporate identities and design projects. We also talked about his Arabic Type Design and Typography firm in Beirut - 29Letters.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to eL Seed about his work which largely revolves around the practice of 'calligraffiti', the combination of Arabic calligraphy and graffiti. Additionally, we discussed his many projects, from "Mirage" in Saudi Arabia to "The Journey" in Lebanon and many more all over the world.
Created & hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra; https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We discussed Nisa's research which explores the relationships between cultural politics and the development of art institutions, specifically in Palestine and in Turkey.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We discussed Emna's work as a Tunisian online and human rights activist & Carthagina (which she co-founded), an initiative designed to create interest in Tunisia's cultural heritage at home and abroad.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Ali, Mirna, Deema, and Sara talked about "Architecture for the Poor", Italian Renaissance & Baghdad, black and white Egyptian movies, and the Berlin-Baghdad Railway.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
Once a month we hold an afikra Mezze event featuring four afikra FWDs, short 5-10 presentations sharing an interesting article, video, book, podcast or another finding with the audience. The presentations are followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Khalid Lyamlahy about his work as a Francophone North African literature teacher at the University of Chicago. We also discussed his research about the works of contemporary Moroccan Francophone writers and the concepts of nostalgia and revolt.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Arij Mikati about creating and supporting opportunities that advance storytelling and cultural change work as the managing director at Pillars Fund.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had a conversation with Yazan Khalili about his work as an architect, visual artist, and cultural activist, in addition to his work with Radio Alhara.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had a conversation with Jess Ghannam about his work as a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Global Health Sciences in the School of Medicine at UCSF. We also discussed his research on the consequences of war on displaced communities.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Resat Kasba about his work as a professor and expert on the history and politics of the Middle East.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had a conversation with Rayyane about his work and most recent exhibition: Alien Property, hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Yazan Kopty & Sarah Graff
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Professor Zainab Bahrani about her books and research. Professor Bahrani is the author and editor of multiple books and articles on Ancient Near Eastern and East Mediterranean art and archaeology, art theory, historiography, and philosophies of representation.
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Sarah Graff
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Eman Abdelhadi, professor and sociologist at the University of Chicago, about her research on Muslim communities in the US, gender, and inequality.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
In four afikra FWDs, the presenters share resources on a Yemeni skateboarder, the Abandon Fairgrounds in Tripoli, Lebanon, ancient Egyptians’ diet, and on Architecture in Lebanon.
Note: The presenters are not experts on this subject but are sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in the subject.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
Once a month we hold an afikra Mezze event featuring four afikra FWDs, short 5-10 presentations sharing an interesting article, video, book, podcast or another finding with the audience. The presentations are followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Celine Semaan, the founder and executive director of the Slow Factory about fashion activism, her perspective on improving sustainability literacy in fashion, fashion activism, and the slow factory and its projects!
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had a conversation with Suheyla Takesh about her work at the Barjeel Art Foundation, and about the recent exhibition she co-curated "Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s."
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Randa Jarrar is a performer and the author of the forthcoming memoir "Love Is An Ex-Country", the novel "A Map of Home", and the collection of stories "Him, Me, Muhammad Ali". Zaina Arafat is the author of the novel "You Exist Too Much", with stories and essays appearing in The New York Times, Granta, The Believer, and more.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Al-Hakawati is a teller of tales, legends, and fables; a storyteller, a performer, and someone who earns his living by fascinating and captivating an audience with his tales. Julia talks about this and explores the tradition of oral storytelling and how it's being preserved today.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Suad Amiry is an author and architect, and she is best known for her book Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries. Amiry is also the Founder of RIWAQ, a center founded to work on the rehabilitation and protection of architectural heritage in Palestine.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Omar Al – Qattan about his work as a director and film producer, and about his experience making “Tale of the Three Jewels” in addition to his many other movies and films. We also asked him about Al – Qattan Foundation and the mosaic rooms they established in London in 2008.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Omar explores how Orientalist depictions in music have contributed to the development and understanding of Western culture, and even Arab culture in general.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
George Junne is a scholar and an associate professor in the Africana studies department at the University of Northern Colorado and the author of "The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire: Networks of Power in the Courts of the Sultan", 2016.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Tasneem Alsultan is an acclaimed Saudi photographer whose work explores gender & social issues across the GCC and MidEast.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Antonio talks to us about what Clay Pot Yogurt is and about Kitchen Pottery in the Arab World.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Maria reads to us into Edward Said’s essay “Living in Arabic". Camilia explores how invisible black Moroccans can be made visible through the ideas and works of M’Barek Bouhchichi. Nadia Muijrers reviews "On Identity" by Amin Maalouf. Yasmine looks into the story of Swatch .
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
Once a month we hold an afikra Mezze event featuring four afikra FWDs, short 5-10 presentations sharing an interesting article, video, book, podcast or another finding with the audience. The presentations are followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Natasha is a Ph.D. candidate in modern Middle Eastern history at Columbia University. She studies the establishment and development of the oil industry in Iraq and the Levant after the First World War.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked with Mohammed Zakaria about his work as a photographer, as well as his career building the budding skateboarding scene in the region.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Laila explores the work of Karimeh Abbud: (كريمة عبّود) who was a Palestinian professional photographer and artist who lived and worked in Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century. Note: Laila is not an expert on this subject but is sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in the subject.
Hosted by: Rami Abou-Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Greg Burris is a film maker, cultural theorist, and professor at the American University of Beirut whose work focuses on race, media, and emancipatory politics. He is also the author of "The Palestinian Idea: Film, Media, and the Radical Imagination" (Temple University, 2019)
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Ahmad Damen realized that World Music research is based on a comparative study with Western Music Theory. Thus, he asked, how would this field of study be like if the music of the world were studied based on a Middle Eastern Theory model instead?
Connect with Ahmed: https://www.instagram.com/damenjarre/
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Malika Bilal is the host of The Take podcast by Al Jazeera and former co-host of The Stream, a social-media driven talk show on Al Jazeera English.
Connect with Malika: https://www.instagram.com/mmbilal/
Follow The Take: https://www.instagram.com/ajthetake/
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Yazan Kopty
Created by: Mikey Muhanna
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Nihal looked for the ways Abu Abdullah Muhammad Al-Idrisi contributed to cartography while Ahmed researched “Things We Lost in the Fire: What was in the University of Mosul's Central Library when it Burned?”, Usman shared his reading and information on the “Animals Lawsuit Against Humanity” book, and Maha forwards us the legacy of Doria Shafik (درية شفيق).
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
Once a month we hold an afikra Mezze event featuring four afikra FWDs, short 5-10 presentations sharing an interesting article, video, book, podcast or another finding with the audience. The presentations are followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to the creative powerhouse & scholar, Maytha Alhassen about her academic scholarship, her work as a poet and activist, and her recent work as a writer on the Hulu show Ramy.
Connect with Maytha: https://www.instagram.com/maythaalhassen/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Rana Abdelhamid, a social entrepreneur and community organizer, about the organizations she founded like MALIKAH and Little Egypt.
Connect with Rana: https://www.instagram.com/ranaabdelhamid/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had a conversation with Antonia Carver,the director of Art Jameel, about the organization's work in the UAE and across the Middle East.
Know more about Art Jameel: https://jameelartscentre.org/
Connect with Antonia: https://www.instagram.com/antoniamcarver/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We spoke to the director of the Arab American Museum Diana Abouali to learn more about the history of the museum, its work and exhibitions, and her career as a museum director.
Connect with Diana: https://www.instagram.com/tabbouli/
Follow the Arab American Museum: https://www.instagram.com/arabamericanmuseum/
Created by: Mikey Muhanna
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Yazan Kopty
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Listen to what Alexandra has been researching on Khaleeji Swing. The presentation features an overview of the most important African-influenced Khaleeji rhythms, from the UAE, to Saudi Arabia to Yemen, including some examples of their contemporary interpretations.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Dalal about her work as a journalist and video producer. We also talked about her work with refugees, and more! Dalal Mawad is an award-winning Lebanese journalist currently working as a senior Middle East and North Africa video producer and correspondent with the Associated Press.
Connect with Dalal: https://twitter.com/dalalmawad
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Journalist and writer Zahra Hankir talks about her work and publishing the fantastic collection "Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World."
Connect with Zahra: https://instagram.com/zahrahankir / https://twitter.com/ZahraHankir/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Farrah shares with us her deep dive into the 5000 year old Khufu ship. It was sealed in a pit in the Giza pyramid complex at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza around 2500 BC.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We interviewed acclaimed street artist Yazan Halwani to talk about his career, his inspiration, and some the technical challenges he faces while working on large scale murals.
Connect with Yazan: https://www.instagram.com/yazanhalwani/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Bader shares his passion and research with us as he explores how different breeds of horses are classified, focusing on the Arabian horses.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Under the title “Nostalgia in Art” we talked to designer and Studio owner, Rana Salam, and the cultural cartographer behind “The confused Arab”, Sofiane Si Merabet.
Connect with Rana: https://www.instagram.com/ranasalam/
Connect with Sofiane: https://www.instagram.com/theconfusedarab/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Mazen looks into Sci-Fi epics, mentioning examples of the different Arab epics that have passed throughout history. He also talks about how they used to write them versus how they are written today.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Rami Abou-Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Rosaline Elbay about her career as an Egyptian actor and writer. Rosaline is best known for her roles as Amani on Hulu/A24 Films series Ramy and as Sara on MBC Masr series Qabeel.
Connect with Rosaline: https://www.instagram.com/rosaline.elbay/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Have you ever wondered what were the origins of Egyptology or how Napoleon played a part in it? Join Julia as she talks about her research on Napoleon’s “scientific expedition.”
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Moumne and Imam, founders and directors of Studio Safar, talked about taking the first steps to opening an independent studio, branching into publishing, and their experience working around the world.
Follow Studio Safar:
https://www.instagram.com/studiosafar/
Follow Journal Safar:
https://www.instagram.com/journalsafar/
Connect with Maya Moumne:
https://www.instagram.com/mayamoumne/
Connect with Hatem Imam:
https://www.instagram.com/hatem_imam/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Dalia looks into Lady Liberty’s connection with the Arab world while Maria looks into “The Shining Star” of Arabic Grammar life, history and legacy. Mahdi digs into the Advent of the telegraph in Colonial Algeria, and Bayan tells us the story of the famous Arabic poetry love legends Antra and Abla all in four short afikra FWDs.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Leen Sadder
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
Once a month we hold an afikra Mezze event featuring four afikra FWDs, short 5-10 presentations sharing an interesting article, video, book, podcast or another finding with the audience. The presentations are followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Offendum is a Syrian-American rapper/poet, known for his unique blend of Hip-Hop & Arabic poetry. He carved a path for himself as a thoughtful entertainer/activist able to speak to a diverse global audiences over the course of his career.
Connect with Omar:
https://www.instagram.com/offendum/
https://www.youtube.com/user/Offendum
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Ahmed Shihab Eldine
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
The term Moor can refer to several groups of people from North Africa. In this presentation, Mahdi examines the origins of the term along with developing a narrative for its usage in Europe throughout history.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Denise explores the Lebanese Sericulture, traditionally called “the season of glory.” Denise digs into the history and importance of the silk industry.
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We interviewed Khalid Albaih to discuss his work, his art, and the limits and possibilities associated with the political cartoon medium.
Connect with Khalid: https://www.instagram.com/KhalidAlBaih/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Nisrine dives into two famous Syrian plays, which were written by Mohammad al-Maghout and starred Doreid Lahham. The plays provide a satiric exploration of the many challenges faced by the Arab world during the mid-twentieth century.
Connect with Nisrine: https://www.instagram.com/nisrineshehadeh/
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Wael is an award winning designer and typographer; the co-founder of 1on1projects; and a studio partner for Morcos Key, a Brooklyn-based design studio.
Connect with Wael: https://www.instagram.com/WaelMorcos/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
What is Rai music and why is it often portrayed as rebel music internationally? How much is the genre tied up in Algeria's violent struggle for independence and subsequent civil war? Who are its main figures and creators? We listened to Tarik’s research on the musical genre.
Connect with Tarik: https://www.instagram.com/tarik.che/
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About afikra Community Presentations:
Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is the culmination of a month-long afikra coaching process to help identify a topic, find research and develop the presentation. The goal is to showcase the presenter’s curiosity, research and share some knowledge. Each presentation is followed by a moderated Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We had an important conversation with the Director of Sursock Museum, Zeina Arida about the museum’s history and work, as well as the challenges facing the museum after being hit with the disastrous Beirut port explosion.
Connect with Zeina: https://www.instagram.com/zeinaarida/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Rima Mismar, Executive Director of the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (AFAC) about AFAC's work to support the Lebanese Culture & Arts sector this year through the Lebanon Solidarity Fund.
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We talked to Afeef Nessouli and Ahmed Shihab Eldin to discuss how the landscape of TV journalism and news media is changing. Both Afeef and Ahmed are notable journalists form the Arab world. Afeef is a freelance journalist based between Beirut and New York City, and Ahmed is an Emmy-nominated journalist, producer and actor.
Connect with Ahmed: https://www.instagram.com/ahmedeldin/
Connect with Afeef: https://www.instagram.com/afeefness/
Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We are thrilled to be joined by special guest Tarek Yamani. Tarek is a self-taught jazz pianist and award-winning composer. He is critically acclaimed for his work on Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic. He is also the winner of the "Thelonious Monk Jazz Composers Competition".
As a special note, we are honored that Tarek allowed to use the title track from his album "Peninsular" as our show's theme music.
Connect with Tarek: https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
We interviewed Ayah Bdeir to discuss her work as an entrepreneur. We also talked about innovation in the Middle East, and building communities focused on invention and curiosity.
Connect with Ayah:https://www.instagram.com/ayahbdeir/
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Leen Sadder
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi is a United Arab Emirates-based columnist. Sultan is also the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, an independent initiative established to contribute to the intellectual development of the art scene in the Arab region.
Connect with Sultan:https://twitter.com/SultanAlQassemi
Created by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra
Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna & Rami Abou Khalil
Edited by: Ramzi Ramman
Theme music by: Tarek Yamani
About the afikra conversation series:
Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience on Zoom. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp
Follow afikra:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/afikra/
Patreon: https://patreon.com/afikra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra
Website: afikra.com
About afikra:
afikra is a grassroots movement that has evolved into a global community dedicated to exploring the history and culture of the Arab world. Starting in 2014 in NYC, our mission has always been two-pronged: cultivate curiosity and to build community. We've hosted intimate salon-style events all over the world that feature in-depth presentations on topics related to the Arab world, given by members of our community. What makes afikra different is that our programs and platform is designed to engage our community to ask their own questions, and provide an open community of peers who support each other as we all look for the answers together. Our vision is to build a global community of curious minds who are interested in promoting intellectualism and deepening our communal knowledge of the Arab region.