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Iraq

Iraq Reporting

A Jewish Shrine inside a Mosque: the History of Ezekiel’s Tomb in Iraq

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Alex Shams

Originally published by “Ajam Media Collective” Along either side of the Euphrates river as it passes through southern Iraq, a narrow band of fertile soil blossoms with verdant overgrowth, date

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Featured India Iraq Israel Palestine Reporting

Amba: The Iraqi Mango Pickle from India That Tops Palestinian Shawarma

Posted on October 22, 2018 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on October 22, 2018. Step into any Palestinian shawarma shop and the choice of toppings traverse a mouth-watering array of options: thick tahini-and-parsley bakdoonsiyyeh, crushed shatta peppers

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Iraq Reporting

The Iraqi Soundtrack to the War Against ISIS

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Alex Shams

Originally published by “Ajam Media Collective” The Iraqi military has conquered the last urban stronghold of the Islamic State group in Iraq. Following victories in Ramadi, Fallujah, Mosul, and Tel

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Iraq Reporting

Add A Little Lemon: The Food Blog Bringing Iraqi Cuisine Straight To Your Table

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on September 1, 2017. Iraqi cuisine is tremendously complex and varied. It reflects a culinary heritage that draws upon the influences of neighbors both

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Iraq Palestine Reporting

The Iraqi soldiers who sacrificed everything to defend Palestine in 1948

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on May 15, 2017. The main road north from the West Bank city of Nablus winds between rolling hills covered in olive groves, abandoned

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Iraq Reporting

The Joys of Akitu, the Assyrian New Year

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ajam Media Collective on April 5, 2017. Assyrians around the world marked the festival of Akitu this week, a spring holiday that commemorates the beginning of the

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Iraq Reporting

Iraq’s Turkmen mobilise for a post-ISIL future

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Aljazeera on February 13, 2017. The minority group has long been divided along sectarian lines – but recent events could bring greater unity.   When fighters from

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Iraq Reporting USA

Chicago’s Assyrians embrace new technology to save ancient language

Posted on June 8, 2016 by Alex Shams

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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Iran Opinion

Sectarian War or Political Mistake?

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally Published in Andisheh-ye Pouya, Tir 1393.

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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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  • Workshop: Investigating Power
  • The “Terrorists” in My Grandmother’s Neighborhood
  • A Persian Christmas Story: How A Jewish Shrine in Qazvin Connects Palestine and Iran
  • ‘They Hit Everyone and Anyone’: From Lebanon, residents share what life has been like since Israel launched its attack.
  • Iran Braces for Uncertainty After President Raisi’s Death
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About

Born and raised in an Iranian-American family in Los Angeles, Alex Shams has long been fascinated by the stories that places can tell us. Growing up, he learned Persian and Spanish; in college, he learned Arabic and studied abroad at the American University of Cairo before moving to Beirut after graduation. After receiving his master’s in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard, he moved to Bethlehem, Palestine, where he was a journalist at Ma’an News Agency, the largest independent Palestinian news organization. He received his PhD. from the University of Chicago in Sociocultural Anthropology. His dissertation, entitled “Constructing Islamic Modernity: Power, Religion, and Masculinity in Post-Revolutionary Iran,” was based on three years of ethnographic research in Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan as well as archival research in the British Library and Ba’ath Party Archives.

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