Essays
Said vs. Walzer
Revisiting the intellectual confrontation between the literary theorist Edward Said and the political philosopher Michael Walzer today illuminates the ways liberal Zionism both invests in, and disavows, its ethno-religious fantasies.
A Family’s African Secret
I was caught off guard when a relative asked me if I knew that my grandfather was a hero during the Mau Mau uprising, infiltrating enemy gangs, sometimes in blackface. Investigating further was a source of shame, but felt like an opportunity to draw a line between us.
Overcoming the Deep Roots of Byzantine Orientalism
Western writers have hesitated for centuries — over a millennium even — to call Byzantium what it was: the Roman Empire. The historian Anthony Kaldellis has dubbed this tendency “Roman denialism,” an intellectual condition he has mercilessly criticized for years. Now he has brought this battle to a popular audience.
How a Line on a Map Fanned the Flames of a Middle Eastern Conflict
For centuries, Ghajar was a poor, remote village in the Ottoman Empire. But after World War I, French colonial cartographers drew a line on a map that had long-term implications for the villagers. Today, they live in political limbo, their village claimed by Syria and divided between Lebanon and Israel.
The Humiliation Is the Point
Humiliation has become inextricable from the exercise of U.S. power. It is tempting to attribute this development to Trump alone, but his role as humiliator-in-chief should be understood as part of a dynamic of humiliation and counter-humiliation going back to 9/11 and America’s response to it.
The Multiple Identities of Syria’s New Leader
To some, Syria’s new transitional president is a cunning mastermind whose jihadist roots threaten to plunge the region into a new cycle of extremism and violence. But Ahmad al-Sharaa’s family legacy and the evolution of his rhetoric, ideas and actions hint at a deeper story.
A New Discovery Sheds Light on Malcolm X’s Journey to Islam
Previous Malcolm X biographies did him a disservice by skimming over his period of incarceration. Behind prison walls, he developed his mind and his faith, honing his love for language. It was a formative time, best understood by considering what he read and appreciating what he wrote.