Essays
To Kill a Novelist
The attempted assassination of the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz is remembered as a story of Islamist extremism. Yet the original controversy sparked by his work, particularly “Children of the Alley,” was more to do with his powerful political vision than his views on religion.
Cosplay Crusaders
The tattoos sported by Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, have drawn accusations of far-right symbolism and a counterattack that Christian culture is being unfairly targeted. A closer look at the history of these particular images reveals an undeniable picture of militant Christianity and its reimaginings over time.
The Untold History of Turkish-Kurdish Alliances
Turks and Kurds have shared a common history for centuries, and have often been united by alliances that helped to reshape power in Anatolia and the wider region. Yet since the foundation of modern Turkey, this history has been overshadowed by political dynamics and a breakdown of relations.
Kampala’s Cultural Boom Echoes Its 1960s Heyday
Culture has made a comeback in Uganda’s capital since the COVID-19 pandemic, and its music, dance and theater are drawing attention from around the world. The revival mirrors Kampala’s role as a cultural hub in the 1960s, yet today’s artists, like their precursors, still struggle for state recognition.
Germany’s Abortion Debate Is Still Shaped by Its East-West Divide
East Germany is often remembered as less forward-thinking than its Western counterpart, yet when the Berlin Wall fell 35 years ago, it marked the beginning of a process that would see East German women lose their stronger rights to abortion.
The Lasting Power of Jinn in Tunisian Society
Beliefs in magic and jinn possession persist in Tunisia, despite over 150 years of attempts to weed them out by rationalist reformers, postindependence modernizers and Islamists — with rumors suggesting that even former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife practiced sorcery.
How an American Film in 1984 Shaped the ‘Fetal Personhood’ Movement
In the 1980s, the notion that fetuses and embryos should be considered legal persons was just that: a notion. But in 2024, “fetal personhood” has become a reality for nearly one-third of American women of reproductive age living in some 19 states where abortion is unavailable or severely restricted — in no small part thanks to a film that came out four decades ago.