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Opinion

Opinion

München und die Sehnsucht, weiß zu sein

Posted on July 27, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Carta on July 27, 2016. Translated from the English original, which can be found here. Warum flehte uns der Münchener Amokläufer an, ihn als Deutschen zu betrachten?

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Opinion

Why Did The Munich Killer Beg Us To See Him As German?

Posted on July 23, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published by MuslimGirl.net on July 23,2016. Republished on Huffington Post and Hummus for Thought. Translated to German and republished on Magna. Around and around we go. Yesterday, an 18-year old

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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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Iraq Opinion

What’s The Difference Between the Iraqi Military And ISIS?

Posted on June 3, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Huffington Post on June 3,2016. Despite this, however, around 50,000 Iraqi civilians are estimated to be stuck in the city, alongside approximately 1,000 ISIS fighters in control.

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Opinion

Hamas bloc wins over student vote in Birzeit University elections

Posted on April 28, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on April 28, 2016. RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A student bloc of the Hamas movement on Wednesday came out on top in the closely-followed elections

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Opinion

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

Posted on April 25, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published on The Forward and Mondoweiss on April 25,2016. 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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About me

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

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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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  • Yara Shahidi, the Iranian-American Star of 'Black-ish,' Is Breaking Stereotypes On & Off Screen
    Yara Shahidi, the Iranian-American Star of 'Black-ish,' Is Breaking Stereotypes On & Off Screen
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    How Nowruz is Celebrated Around the World

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