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India

India Iran

When Persian was an Indian Language: The Fables of Jameh ul-Tamseel from Medieval Hyderabad to Modern Iran

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Maidaanam on June 29, 2022. Every book has a story. While we often ignore the physical object to focus on what’s written on its pages, a book

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India Iran Pakistan Reporting

On Persian pilgrimages, Pakistanis and Indians reconnect with Iran

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Dawn on December 6, 2018. Atop a rocky hill southeast of Tehran sits the shrine of Bibi Shahrbanu, a Persian princess who was the daughter of the last Sassanian

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India Iran Opinion

How Nowruz is Celebrated Around the World

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on March 21, 2018. Nowruz is an ancient festival marking the arrival of Spring that is celebrated in parts of the Middle East, Central

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India Reporting

Welcome to the Beef Capital of India

Posted on November 20, 2016 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Roads and Kingdoms and Slate on November 20, 2016. In Hyderabad, a cosmopolitan culinary culture fights back against the Hindu nationalist current sweeping the nation. A dish of

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India Reporting

Syriac Churches and Sephardic Synagogues: The Urban Legacy of Indian Ocean Cosmopolitanism in Kerala

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on March 2, 2016. At the southwestern tip of India in the state of Kerala sits the elegant port city of Kochi, the bustling

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India Reporting

Parsi Mumbai: The Legacy of Zoroastrianism in India’s Urban Fabric

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on April 14, 2015. An Iranian visitor can’t help but notice the Zoroastrian symbols that dominate old Mumbai. In the historic Fort District toward

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About me

Alex Shams is an Iranian-American writer and a PhD student of Anthropology at the University of Chicago.

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Recent posts

  • ‘We Have Broken the Wall of Fear’: Iranian protesters on what brings them back to the streets four weeks in
  • Iran has a long history of protests. This time it’s different
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  • Inside Mexico’s deep and unexpected legacy of Iranians
  • Feats of Strength and Street Politics in Tehran – مواقع القوة وسياسات الشارع في طهران
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About

Alex Shams is an Iranian-American writer and a PhD student of Anthropology at the University of Chicago. He was based in Bethlehem, Palestine from 2013-2015, where he worked for Ma'an News Agency, the largest independent Palestinian news agency. He previously received his master's from Harvard University in Middle Eastern studies. His work focuses on the intersections of gender, religion, politics, and urban space in the modern Middle East. He is an editor-in-chief of Ajam Media Collective (AjamMC.com), a platform focused on culture and society throughout Iran as well as Central and South Asia.

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  • When Persian was an Indian Language: The Fables of Jameh ul-Tamseel from Medieval Hyderabad to Modern Iran
    When Persian was an Indian Language: The Fables of Jameh ul-Tamseel from Medieval Hyderabad to Modern Iran
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