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Opinion

Opinion

Yara Shahidi, the Iranian-American Star of ‘Black-ish,’ Is Breaking Stereotypes On & Off Screen

Posted on June 3, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Muftah on June 3,2016. Over the last two years, the hit ABC sitcom “Black-ish” has deftly explored issues of race, class, and gender in the United States

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Israel Opinion

‘Broad City’ Didn’t Just Go on Birthright — It Spent 21 Minutes Mocking It

Posted on April 18, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on The Forward on April 28, 2016. When Ilana and Abby from “Broad City” announced last week that they were going on Birthright Israel, my heart sunk. For

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Opinion

Bahrain’s Detention of American Journalists Reveals Ongoing Assault on Freedom of Speech

Posted on February 17, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Huffington Post. On Sunday, police in the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy of Bahrain arrested four American journalists as they were reporting on the political situation in the

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Opinion

Neither Taharrush Gamea Nor Sexism Are Arab ‘Cultural Practices’

Posted on January 25, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Huffington Post.   In recent days, a new term has suddenly appeared in the media to describe a supposedly Arab cultural practice: “taharrush gamea.” The term, which

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Opinion

Killing of Mentally Ill Palestinian Swimming Off Gaza Coast Highlights Maddening Effects of Israel’s Siege

Posted on December 28, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Huffington Post. In the video, a naked young man slowly swims in the ocean, wading his way bit by bit through the waves to reach the other

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Opinion Palestine

This Christmas, Remember the Embattled Little Palestinian Town of Bethlehem

Posted on December 24, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published in the Huffington Post. This week, more than 1.5 billion Christians around the world will celebrate the Christmas message of hope. But in the little hilltop town where

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Opinion

Congress Is About to Pass a Dangerously Racist Bill. Our Response Must Be Solidarity Against Islamophobia.

Posted on December 14, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published on the Huffington Post. The last few weeks have seen a dangerous escalation of rhetoric targeting Muslims and Middle Eastern-Americans, as the national media and Republican presidential hopeful

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Opinion Pakistan

Exhausted Geographies: Mapping the Dream of Pakistan in the Streets of Karachi

Posted on November 12, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on November 12, 2015. In Karachi, the dream of Pakistan – in all of its glory, misgivings, failures, and triumphs – has become reality.

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Opinion

Obama Defied GOP to Make Peace with Iran — Now It’s Time for Palestine

Posted on November 11, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published in Huffington Post. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vindictive policies are creating a climate in which Palestinians are once again rising up to reject their lack of freedom

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Israel Opinion Palestine

Learning the Language of Jesus Christ

Posted on November 2, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Roads and Kingdoms on November 2, 2015. Just a few hundred feet west of the church built atop the site where the Christian faithful believe Jesus was

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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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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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