How Islam Inspired the Music of the Late Jazz Legend Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal’s style was so formative to the development of jazz that Miles Davis once revealed that the Pittsburgh-born pianist, who died in April 2023 at the age of 92, was the source of all his inspiration. Thrumming below his success, though, was a distinctive part of his identity that is often treated as biographical trivia rather than a meaningful insight about art: his conversion to Islam.
Chips Oman Keeps the Past Alive in Dubai’s Booming Food Scene
Dubai is, after all, a city riddled with opulence and unapologetic about it — gold vending machines, 23-karat edible gold sundaes and a collective penchant for all things over the top. In contrast, the hero ingredient of the cheap, cheerful sandwich is the humble Chips Oman, a brand of potato chips that debuted back in 1983 and is widely dubbed Oman’s greatest export.
How Conscientious Objection Laws Create Backdoor Abortion Bans in Europe
In recent years, some European countries have introduced “conscientious objection” clauses allowing medical institutions to summarily opt out of performing abortion or providing contraception. The move coincides with a mobilization of the Catholic Church and an American conservative Christian law firm. But many medical providers and patients are decrying the situation for undermining access to abortion in places where the procedure is perfectly legal.
Nada Bakri on Dealing With Losing Her Husband and Father
My son, it turned out, was also playing a game with death. If he pretended that no pet was dying, then maybe the irreversible could be reversed and his father could be alive again. He finally admitted it when the last two animals standing were given up for adoption. Disheartened, we declared a truce with death.
A New Saudi Show Challenges ‘Halal’ Sex Rings
The provocative plot of the newly released show “Dahaya Halal” (Halal Victims) — an allusion to the operation’s apparent compliance with religious law, since none of the victims was committing adultery or fornication — has stirred drama, with people from across the Arab world going as far as calling for it to be pulled off the air. It was already taken off when it first began airing in 2020, but it returned this month.