Although the struggle between the families and within the families of The Bastard of Istanbul is the main theme of the book, food plays a large role in the novel. The food mentioned in the book serves as a connection point between the two families and also builds up to the climax itself. It is … Read more
Connections from Egypt to Iraq and Beyond in Samia Serageldin’s The Naqib’s Daughter As I read Samia Serageldin’s The Naqib’s Daughter, the question arose of why she chose to write about the French invasion of Egypt. As I read this book and received the opportunity to speak to the author about the book, I … Read more
An Egyptian court upheld the guilty ruling against actor Adel Imam of “offending Islam.” The actor did not appear in court, but his lawyers made the claim that government censors had approved his roles, therefore he did nothing wrong. The decision can be appealed: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/04/24/world/middleeast/ap-ml-egypt-comedian.html?_r=1
A personal account based on the documentary “Grandma’s tattoos”, for more information see http://phillyimc.org/en/open-letter-suzanne-khardalian-filmmaker-%E2%80%9Cgrandma%E2%80%99s-tattoos%E2%80%9D .
Throughout the course of the memoir, Darina puts herself out there, showing us all the events in her life that led up to her father’s death. She leaves nothing back, no gory detail, no matter how unseemly. One may argue that is because, as her father says, she is a liberated woman and does not … Read more
Throughout the world, turmoil, war, and devastation occur daily, but life- long effects on the people that must experience tragedy are rarely recognized or examined, especially the impact on children. Dalia Sofer’s The Septembers of Shiraz gives readers a unique window into the thoughts and feelings of a nine-year-old girl, who plays a main role … Read more
Shenika Rountree South Africa has the highest incidence of rape in the world. The statistics are chilling: one in two women are raped; women are more likely to be raped than to learn to read. For every 25 men accused of rape in South African 24 walk free, making the act of pressing charges almost … Read more
Here is an article that appeared in Foreign Policy, which sent Twitter, FB, and all forms of social media buzzing: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/04/23/why_do_they_hate_us?page=0,0 discussing “the real war on women.” For an example of a response, see http://neocolonialthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/a-response-to-mona-el-tahawy/
In an interview with al-Jazeera, a Qatari author discusses the (non)impact the Arab Spring on women: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2012/04/201242111373249723.html .
After reading Bastard of Istanbul, I thought you might find this update interesting: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=267286 It discusses how many countries and even states within the US have recognized the Armenian Genocide.