Poem: Ibn Arabi, Love, and Resilience
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Poem: Ibn Arabi, Love, and Resilience

This month we have a Sufi love poem by Ibn Arabi, a chance to rest from your tasks and worries. This poem contains some of the most-quoted lines of poetry in Sufism and in anthologies of pre-modern Arabic literature. Usually only a few lines are included, as in these two examples: My heart is capable…

Listening to Popular North African Voices of the Early 20th Century

Listening to Popular North African Voices of the Early 20th Century

I grew up surrounded by memories of WWII—not my own of course, since it officially ended more than 30 years before I was born. My grandparents’ military service was common knowledge among those who knew them. Films like Casablanca and War and Remembrance were familiar. In school, we studied Holocaust accounts. Later, when I lived…

line drawing of a man carrying a donkey on his shoulders
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Juha the Trickster

In honor of Salma Khadra Jayyusi, who passed away earlier this year, I’d like to revisit Juha the famous trickster character. I was fortunate enough to study Arabic langugage and literature during the years when Jayyusi’s PROTA project was bringing many works to the attention of readers in English. One of these works is published…

Women in Moroccan Classical Music
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Women in Moroccan Classical Music

Guest Post by Houda Elfchtali | Meknes, Morocco Arabic version here | انظروا هنا للنسخة العربية Long excluded from the world of music–history makes no mention of female Moroccan artists before the 1940s–Moroccan women had to fight to be able to express their talent. There were eventually some developments in this arena, with national music…

Khayamiyya
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Khayamiyya

In this post, I’m delighted to introduce you to a major textile art happening today: Khayamiyya (Appliqué) of Egypt. Next month we’ll follow up with embroidery arts. Let me know if there are other arts you’d like to see in future posts. For example, anyone here want to write or read about caftan fashions of…

Tribute to Reem Bassiouney’s Historical Fiction
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Tribute to Reem Bassiouney’s Historical Fiction

From the first time we worked together (on the translation of her novel Ashiyaʾ raʾiʿa / Wonderful Things, published in English as Mortal Designs, AUC Press 2016), Reem Bassiouney and I have maintained a shared understanding of the role of literature in society; the role of creativity in an individual’s life; and the role of…

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Education in Morocco

انظروا هنا للنسخة العربية Guest Post by Meriem Sahli | In the following post, guest writer Meriem Sahli outlines important developments in education in Morocco and identifies remaining areas for improvement. INTRODUCTION The Kingdom of Morocco is situated in the North-Western part of Africa. Its geographic location makes it both an African and an Arab-Muslim…