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Little Pre-Lebanon
A monument honoring New York’s “Little Syria” sparked a diplomatic dispute after Lebanon’s foreign minister objected to descriptions of famed diaspora writers like Kahlil Gibran as belonging to a broader “Syrian” literary tradition. The row exposed tensions over Lebanese national identity, diaspora history and the Arab world’s celebrated cultural figures.
River’s Ascent
A survivor of a 2014 Taliban ambush in Afghanistan who feigned death to live, River Ahmad fled the country in 2019 and is now climbing Everest for the women and girls back home — and for her brother, who died by suicide.
The Living Fragments of Al-Andalus
A growing movement in Spain’s Andalusia argues that everyday gestures and half-remembered prayers are the unwritten remnants of Muslim Iberia, and an answer to the far right’s narratives about national identity.
The Religious and Cultural Symbolism of Iran’s State-Sponsored Mass Weddings
To many outside observers, the spectacle of Iran’s state-sponsored mass wedding appeared bizarre — an example of the Islamic Republic’s ideological theater and state propaganda. But the event reflects something more subtle and complicated about the way the state deliberately blurs the lines between everyday life, religious devotion and defense.
A Yemeni Caretaker Is Fighting To Save Aden’s Last Hindu Temple
For nearly three decades, Ahmed Abdul Jalil has watched over a cave temple in Aden, Yemen, built more than 160 years ago. After looters, militants and land-grabbers, he is all that stands between it and ruin.
The Crisis Facing American Universities Is Bigger Than the MBA
American universities are under strain amid visa restrictions and declining international enrollment. Even MBA programs are beginning to feel the heat, but liberal arts and science schools have faced deeper cuts.
How Israeli Airstrikes Targeted Iran’s Steel Industry
An open-source investigation using satellite imagery, geolocated footage and 3D reconstruction reveals how Israeli strikes disrupted steel plants tied to 5% of Iran's gross domestic product and 1.2 million jobs.