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From The United Arab Republic, 1963 (Cairo: Information Department) When I started researching the Egyptian Ministry of Culture (formerly National Guidance), I wondered why the government would dedicate an entire ministry to something as abstract as ‘culture’. I was familiar with the theoretical debates about the concept of culture in modern-day social science, but it […]
Read MoreOttoman officials praying at Daraa Station. Source: Istanbul University, Rare Books Library, Sultan Abdülhamid II Photo Albums. NEKYA 90521/1. In 1886, the second edition of the yearbook of the Ottoman province of the Hejaz was printed at the governmental printing house in Mecca. Even before mentioning the names of Ottoman sultans and giving information about […]
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Zionism wasn’t just a political movement, it was a bold cultural experiment. At its heart was an ancient story: the idea that the Jewish people had a historic connection to the land of Palestine. But in the late 19th century, when Zionism began to take shape, that connection was more mythical than real. The modern […]
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Despite the costly efforts of Arab activists and citizens over the past decade of the Arab Uprisings, today no Arab state can claim to be fully democratic. Two countries, Egypt and Tunisia, traveled farthest down the path towards democracy, and Tunisia witnessed ten years of democratic elections–but today neither country protects the rights of citizens […]
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The Conference of Lausanne in 1922-23 offers invaluable insights into the state of the world, Europe, and the Middle East at a crossroads after World War I. This Near East Peace Conference resulted in the Lausanne Treaty, the international “birth certificate” of the Republic of Turkey, founded in October 1923. The Treaty of Lausanne belatedly […]
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Iranian literary historian Muhammad-Taqi Bahar (1885-1951) together with Pakistani political and literary figures
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The Muslim community, known as the umma, is meant to be united. The Qur’an, in chapter 29, verse 92, states that “Indeed, this your umma is one umma, and I am your Lord; so worship Me.” Yet Muslims, just like Jews, Christians and other religious groups, divided into various communal divisions quite early in their […]
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On November 17 my latest book is finally published and I just wanted to give a brief outline here of what it’s about. Titled Late Ottoman Origins of Modern Islamic Thought: Turkish and Egyptian Scholars on the Disruption of Islamic Knowledge, it starts off from a basic observation: if you read any of the histories of […]
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