Excerpted from Information at War: Journalism, Disinformation, and Modern Warfare To be published by Polity Books, summer 2021 The persistent conflict between Israel and Hamas only occasionally attracts much attention beyond its own region, but for the women, men, and children on the ground this is not a “small” war. …
Read More »90 Day Orientalism: The “Other” Way
The American network TLCs’ 90 Day Fiancé’s casting and storylines have provided its audience with years of entertainment, mostly at the foreign partner’s expense. The reality television industry has grown exponentially throughout the years, thriving on the drama between characters to gain viewership. However, reality television channels, such as Bravo …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW | OUR WOMEN ON THE GROUND
What was it like to be a woman over there?” Hannah Allam recounts being frequently asked of her time reporting from Iraq in the first essay of Our Women on the Ground. The collection of essays by female journalists, edited by Lebanese-British journalist Zahra Hankir, provides an account of “life …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW | America & Islam: Lawrence Pintak’s Holy Grail?
Award-winning journalist-cum-academic Lawrence (Larry) Pintak has been on a mission for years trying to explain Islam to Americans, with his latest volume nailing it in the age of hysterical xenophobia and white supremacy. The cover of America and Islam: Soundbites, Suicide Bombs and the Road to Donald Trump sets the …
Read More »Film Review | Watching “Us” in the Middle East
“Us,” Jordan Peele’s newly released horror film, raises questions about American identity that will appear very different to viewers outside the United States. Peele has claimed that “Us” aims to hold up a mirror to American society, showing “us” how “we are our worst enemies.” But for international viewers, especially …
Read More »Book Review | Preaching Islamic Renewal: Religious Authority and Media in Contemporary Egypt
The impacts of new media have long fascinated scholars of contemporary Muslim societies. Beginning from the premise that new media configurations portend the “fragmentation” of religious authority (Eickelman and Anderson 1999; Anderson 2003), such works often display a curious mix of euphoria and anxiety about the “democratizing” potential of new …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW | Young People and the Future of News: Social Media and the Rise of Connective Journalism
What do school reform, presidential elections, LGBTQ rights, globalization, police brutality, and a Boston casino have in common:? They have all been the impetus behind youth participating, communicating, and practicing forms of connective journalism in the United States. This, in brief, is the main argument Lynn Clark and Regina Marchi …
Read More »Filling in the Blanks: New book dives into the tragedy and complexity of post-Gadhafi Libya
Since the uprisings that spread across the Arab region took hold in Libya in 2011 and forced the removal of longtime ruler Muammar al-Gadhafi, the country’s fortunes have spiraled downwards. Despite an unsustainable system of governance, Gadhafi’s harsh rule had maintained relative stability in a country with a history of …
Read More »Book Excerpt | The Burning Shores
In September 2015, I traveled back to Benghazi. I wanted to see what had happened to the city since the launch of Operation Dignity and why the fighting had been so protracted. I came in through a northern suburb called Kuwayfia, the only route open. Filled with date palms and …
Read More »Islam and Saudi Foreign Policy
The following is an excerpt from Andrew Hammond's chapter "Producing Salafism: From Invented Tradition to State Agitprop" in the volume Salman's Legacy, edited by Madawi Al-Rasheed and published by Hurst (2018). Saudi foreign policy did not begin to play with Islamic themes until the 1960s. Wary of any scheme of meaningful …
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