Opinion – Page 3 – Alex Shams

Opinion

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

June 3, 2016 by Alex Shams

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

Israel Opinion

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

April 18, 2016 by Alex Shams

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

Opinion

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

February 17, 2016 by Alex Shams

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

Opinion

Neither Taharrush Gamea Nor Sexism Are Arab ‘Cultural Practices’

January 25, 2016 by Alex Shams

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

Opinion

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

December 28, 2015 by Alex Shams

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

Opinion Palestine

This Christmas, Remember the Embattled Little Palestinian Town of Bethlehem

December 24, 2015 by Alex Shams

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

Opinion

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

December 14, 2015 by Alex Shams

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

Opinion

Sacralizing a Shia Public Sphere: Muharram Commemorations Across Iran

December 1, 2015 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on December 1, 2015. The following is a photo essay by Ali Karjoo-Ravary, a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Opinion Pakistan

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

November 12, 2015 by Alex Shams

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.

Opinion

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

November 11, 2015 by Alex Shams

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