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USA

Iran USA

Iranians celebrate US elections with hilarious memes as Trump faces defeat

Posted on November 9, 2020 by alexrezashams

Originally published on Ajam Media Collective on November 9, 2020. US elections change the fate of the world. Every four years, the world holds its collective breath and waits to

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El Salvador Reporting USA

Reconstructing the Village of the Divino Salvador

Posted on October 31, 2017 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Los Angeles Review of Books on October 31, 2017. EVERY AUGUST, Salvadorans around the world celebrate the Festival of El Salvador del Mundo, the patron saint and

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Iran Iraq Opinion USA

The Weaponization of Nostalgia: How Afghan Miniskirts Became the Latest Salvo in the War on Terror

Posted on September 6, 2017 by alexrezashams

Originally published by “Ajam Media Collective” The debate over Afghan women’s miniskirts have become the latest salvo in the War on Terror. Last month, Donald Trump announced that the US

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Iran Reporting USA

Sedentary Fragmentation: Toward a Genealogy of Chicago’s Iranian Art Scene

Posted on August 22, 2017 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective. In 1951, a young Iranian man named Hannibal Alkhas moved from Tehran to Chicago, where he spent the next decade studying at the Art

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Opinion USA

Trump’s ‘honour crimes’ order is a racist distraction

Posted on March 11, 2017 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Aljazeera on March 11, 2017. The key to protecting American women is defeating American sexism and racism, not scapegoating migrants or Muslims. Trump’s proposal to track ‘honour

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Opinion USA

Hate Knows No Mistaken Identities: He Came to Kill an Iranian and Settled for an Indian

Posted on February 28, 2017 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on February 28, 2017. Over the weekend, a man opened fire in a Kansas bar and shot three people, killing one. The assailant was

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Reporting USA

“Obama Built the Structures for Trump”: A Terrifying Legacy of Mass Deportation

Posted on October 16, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Truthout on October 16, 2016. Jose Juan Moreno sits in the room at the University Church on Chicago’s Southside where he has sought sanctuary from Immigration and

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Iran Reporting USA

The Tourist’s Guide to Tehrangeles: Exploring the Capital of the Iranian Diaspora

Posted on August 10, 2016 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on August 10, 2016. Los Angeles is the undisputed capital of the global Iranian diaspora. Home to a community of at least 700,000 Iranians

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Iraq Reporting USA

Chicago’s Assyrians embrace new technology to save ancient language

Posted on June 8, 2016 by alexrezashams

Assyrians based in Chicago are united in keeping Syriac alive in the US while hoping to spark a revolution in language learning

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Palestine Reporting USA

Pro-Palestinian ad campaign takes over walls of US cities

Posted on March 20, 2015 by alexrezashams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on March 20, 2015. BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Commuters in cities across the United States were surprised this month to find their daily trips to

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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

  • “أرواحنا منقسمة إلى قسمين”: المجتمع العربي في مدينة مكسيكو
  • When Persian was an Indian Language: The Fables of Jameh ul-Tamseel from Medieval Hyderabad to Modern Iran
  • Sofreh aqd: An inside look at Iranian weddings
  • From City to Slope in Iran
  • Happy Nowruz from Ajam: 1399 in Review
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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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Popular posts

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    Not Just Decor: The Struggle for Real Women's Rights in Lebanon
  • Sofreh aqd: An inside look at Iranian weddings
    Sofreh aqd: An inside look at Iranian weddings

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