The Markaz is now The Markaz Review

Americans are close to electing a new president, and the world is watching with hope and dread. Here are some artists' renderings of the Trump disaster, via @TheMarkazReview (pictured are posters by Daliah Ammar): http://ow.ly/p0Z750Canp7

Another attack has taken place this morning, this time in a cathedral in Nice. The terrorist, again armed with a knife, decapitated one woman, killed two other people and managed to wound several more, before he was taken down, alive, by the police, who used their guns but only wounded the unnamed assailant. I am shocked and disgusted that more innocent people have been killed and injured by an extremist, but I don't think this is a case of a lone wolf, but a larger, organized plan to attack French targets. Tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in France will continue to rise, and more than ever we will need voices of reason. I will continue to edit The Markaz Review, which means looking to writers and others to help us understand our world. Jordan Elgrably, editor @TheMarkazReview

When two cultures come together, as with Spanish and Palestinian chants, this is the result (thanks to Jenine Abboushi for sharing):

Is the Trump era nearing its disastrous end? American artists Daliah Ammar, Sandow Birk and Jos Sances astound us with their imagery, but even before November 3rd, we begin to feel a sense of relief...

Steven Salaita writes about Arab American lit as he reviews Susan Abulhawa's novel: "Susan Abulhawa is a pioneer of what we might hesitantly call diasporic Palestinian fiction. Her third and latest novel, Against the Loveless World, illustrates both the importance and difficulty of the category. The novel is oriented in Palestine, filled with thematic sensibilities familiar to anyone with a Palestinian parent or grandparent, but it faces an English-speaking audience far from Palestine and will in turn be judged by standards foreign to its setting."

France and its Muslim community find themselves locked in dubious battle after the beheading of Samuel Paty. The country needs to come together, writes Jordan Elgrably:

Following the beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty, things are getting heated in France and the Arab/Muslim world is reactingit's getting out of hand:

Eating in Palestine in the Time of Corona, inshallah this era ends soon, but in the meantime here's what chef Fadi Kattan has to say:

We don't have an official opinion about the Gal Gadot-as-Cleopatra controversy, but we are interested in history, and this commentary shares some of the history of Jews of Arab/Muslim lands:

In the Bethlehem lockdown, Palestinians find solace in food, writes chef Fadi Kattan: "During those fear-filled days of the full lockdown, neighbors were again cooking for each other, sharing rice, flour and other basic staples. They exchanged produce, offered generously to those who they knew were worst affected. This reignited a sense of community that was genuine and heartfelt." Bethlehem’s Franco-Palestinian chef and hotelier, Fadi Kattan, describes the simpler approach to life and cooking during the pandemic.

Mohammad Reza Shajarian’s politics were almost never explicit, but the Iranian people knew he stood with them. By Nahid Siamdoust Ms. Siamdoust is the author of Soundtrack of the Revolution: The Politics of Music in Iran.

Isn't it time for universal healthcare in the United States? After all, Europe has had it for decades. So has Canada and Mexico. HELLO?

Paris-based journalist and author ("All the President's Women: Donald Trump and the Making of a Predator") Monique El-Faizy makes the link between dictators like Egypt's el-Sisi and Trump's constant disparagement of the media:

Check out the Vote! poster series by Palestinian American artist, Daliah Ammar in the new Markaz Review ("The red and the Blue"): https://themarkaz.org/magazine/artists-on-the-trump-era