A Methodist in Palestine
In 1904 the proud D.D. Methodist Robert William van Schroik, at the age of 61, boarded a German steamer in New York for a 70-day trip to the…
Tag: Orientalism
Loti on Palestine
First English translation of ‘La Galilée’, an account of Pierre Loti’s travels in the Holy Land from Jerusalem to Beirut, via Damascus and many other interesting places, in…
With Pierre Loti in Persia
My friend, the historian G. Rex Smith, has recently translated into English a marvelous travel diary by the French military official and traveller Pierre Loti (1850-1923). It is…
The ISIS Flag Hoax
A fascinating commentary by Ahmed El Shamsy on the ISIS flag logo as a hoax from a 19th century forged letter attributed to Muhammad. Check it out here.
Do Queer Muslims Need Saving?
Image by the anonymous artist Queer Habibi Disclaimer: This is a reworked paper, originally written for a course called “Post-Colonial Perspectives on Audiovisual Media” at Stockholm University, i…
Goethe, as West embraces East
There is an interesting article on Qantara about the significance of the German poet Goethe’s famous West-Östliche Divan, first published 1819. To read an English translation, click here.
A Wolff in Shepherd’s Clothing, #2
In the early 19th century there was a florescence of Protestant missionary interest in saving Muslim, Jewish and other kinds of Christian souls in the Middle East. This…
A Wolff in Shepherd’s Clothing #1
Tabsir Redux… In the early 19th century there was a florescence of Protestant missionary interest in saving Muslim, Jewish and other kinds of Christian souls in the Middle…
The Ghost of Amanullah: Afghanistan Redux
The Khyber Pass in 1923 Historians generally assume that “modernity” jump-started in Afghanistan in 1919 with the crowning of Ghazi Amanullah Khan as emir and later as king…
Wazhmah Osman talks about her book, Television and the Afghan Culture Wars
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/29bgf5br9780252043550.html Interview by Narges Bajoghli Narges Bajoghli: What made you write this book and want to focus on the media in Afghan…
Excavating Egyptology
The New York Review of Books has an interesting review of three recent books on the archaeology and filmic versions of ancient Egypt.
Images from the 19th century “Bible World”
There were many books written by Christian missionaries and clergy during the 19th century. While the text itself has long since been outdated, the engravings are still fascinating…
Amish Camels
The image above, a drawing from the 1850s, epitomizes how the camel has been imagined for everyone in America, the West and just about everywhere outside the area…
Unmasked: Covid-19 and the Cultural Dimensions of the Debate on Mandatory Face Masks
In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, Germany witnesses debates on whether masks could help contain the spread of the virus. This article argues the controversy may be…
Science as an Orientalizing Field
Science is a Western form of knowledge production and can be divided into three forms: 1) science as a set of methods for investigating the world we inhabit,…
Banksy’s Donkey
By Peter Versteeg In 2007 street artist Banksy organized a project called Santa’s Ghetto in the city of Bethlehem, where international artists would work on the (‘security’ or…
Hooligans, Aggression, and the FIFA World Cup: How Football Reflects upon Race/Class/Gender/Power
The 2018 FIFA World Cup starts on June 14, 2018. This year it is being hosted by Russia. And in case you haven’t heard: we have a Russian ‘hooligan’…
Talking About Arabs: How opinions on Arabs and Muslims are produced in different parts of Europe?
Are Eastern and Central regions of the EU more Islamophobic than its Western part? This was the question that brought together scholars from different European countries to Prague…
Talking About Arabs: How opinions on Arabs and Muslims are produced in different parts of Europe?
Are Eastern and Central regions of the EU more Islamophobic than its Western part? This was the question that brought together scholars from different European countries to Prague…
The Refugee Crisis and Orientalism
My latest post on the refugee crisis in Europe.
Open Access to Middle East Journals and Newspapers
For anyone doing research on the Middle East for the past two centuries, there is an incredible archive online. Details below: Alphabetical List of Open Access Historical Newspapers…
An Impish Desire for Imperial Déjà Vu
An Impish Desire for Imperial Déjà Vu Daniel Martin Varisco, MENA Tidningen, May 27, 2015 A recent online commentary by Robert Kaplan for Foreign Policy displays the provocative…