Culture

Uzbekistan receives 3 million doses of Moderna vaccine Uzbekistan has received 3 million 60 doses of the Moderna vaccine. The vaccine was delivered to Tashkent on the morning of July 30 from the US state of Alabama as part of the COVAX program. Moderna is one of the three vaccines …

Qatar’s emir approved laws on Thursday for the Gulf Arab state’s first legislative election in October, when Qataris will elect two-thirds of the advisory Shura Council, his office said. The election, plans for which were first approved in a 2003 constitutional referendum, is being held before the capital Doha hosting …

The Venice International Film Festival unveiled a starry lineup of world premieres for September, including three films from the Arab world. “Amira” by Mohamed Diab is set to play in the Horizons section and is a coming-of-age drama shot in Jordan, but set in Palestine. “Costa Brava” is Lebanese director …

An Iranian taekwondo athlete competing for the Refugee Olympic Team made her mark at Tokyo 2020 after she defeated two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones .Kimia Alizadeh beat Team Great Britain’s Jones 16-12 on Sunday in the women’s -57kg taekwondo round of 16.She then overcame China’s Lijun Zhou in the quarterfinals before …

As you know, most artists develop an interest in art during their childhood and that’s what happened to me. I was good at art in school and I once won a children’s drawings competition for the United Nations when I was about 13. My family, my school and my village …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD “The sooner we admit our capacity for evil the less apt we are to destroy each other. … People love seeing violence and horrible things. The human being is bad and he can’t stand more than five minutes of happiness. Put him in a dark …

Iran, facing a fall in fertility rates, has launched a state-approved matchmaking app to promote marriages in the Islamic country which restricts contact between unrelated men and women. Hamdam (Companion), developed by a state-affiliated Islamic cultural body, requires users to verify their identity and carries out psychological compatibility tests and …

Israeli soldiers used force to clear worshippers and protestors from Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning, to allow over a thousand Jewish extremists to enter Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound. Members of the Israel Defense Force then failed to stop the extremists from praying at the site, violating a long-standing agreement forbidding Jewish …

The city of Dearborn, Mich. boasts the largest population of Arab Americans in the US as more than 40 percent of the city’s 95,000 residents are of Arab heritage. The decision by longtime Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly to retire after 31 years of service has created an opportunity for an …

President Joe Biden on Saturday vowed to preserve a program that protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children, promising to appeal a judge’s “deeply disappointing” ruling invalidating it and urging Congress to provide them a path to citizenship. U.S. District Judge Andrew …

A US gun company is facing a backlash after it produced a real pistol designed to resemble a gun made of Lego bricks, with many describing the action as dangerous and irresponsible.  Culper Precision, a company that manufactures Glock19 pistols, has used plastic toy bricks similar to those produced by the …

Arab visitors attracted by quarantine-free travel and a cheap lira are helping bolster a rebound for Turkey’s tourism industry, as it struggles to plug the gap left by Britons, for whom the country remains off limits. Holidaying with his family in Istanbul, Jordanian Omar Zahra, 48, said flying there from …

By James M. Dorsey A major Muslim and Evangelical organization joined forces this week to significantly advance hitherto state-backed ceremonial inter-faith dialogues that seldom go beyond platitudes and lofty statements. This week’s launch at a Washington DC mosque of an inter-faith alliance and a book published by the Institute for Humanitarian Islam …

The Egyptian parliament on Monday approved harsher penalties for sexual harassment and related crimes and upgraded them to felony offences, aiming to curb sex-related assaults in a nation where women have long felt disadvantaged. Sex crimes have been an increasing topic of conversation in recent years in the conservative, Muslim-majority …

“It’s not a happy story.” Scotland-based Cairo-born playwright Sara Shaarawi is talking about “Niqabi Ninja,” her two-person play that is currently being ‘staged’ in London as part of Shubbak Festival — a celebration of contemporary Arab arts and culture — before moving on to five cities in Scotland. “It’s a revenge …

Kuwaiti authorities arrested a political activist and prominent poet over tweets criticising the government, his family said on Wednesday, as a political crisis between the government and opposition weighs on the wealthy Gulf state. Jamal Al-Sayer, also a businessman, has been charged with “insulting the emir, spreading fake news that …

Syrian designer Rami Al-Ali unveiled his Autumn/Winter couture collection for the 2021-22 season on Monday in Paris.  His 14-piece collection is inspired by the award-winning photography series “Seduction” by Swiss lensman Cyril Porchet. The photographer captures opulent altars in 10 baroque churches, chosen for their architectural ornamentation and splendor. The …

In an effort to combat online extremism, Facebook announced on Thursday that it is testing a feature that will ask users if they are worried someone they know is becoming an extremist. As part of Facebook’s new Redirect Initiative, users may also be alerted if they have been exposed to …

US-Palestinian model Bella Hadid hit the runway at designer Virgil Abloh‘s Off-White fashion show in Paris on Sunday.   The 24-year-old took two turns down the catwalk, first in a royal blue mini dress with matching knee-high boots and then in a floor-length gown in the same electric shade, complete with …

Turkey officially withdrew on Thursday from an international treaty to prevent violence against women, enacting a decision that drew condemnation from many Turks and Western allies when President Tayyip Erdogan announced it in March. Thousands were set to protest across Turkey, where a court appeal to halt the withdrawal was …

An international conference considered to be the first global event on the UNESCO platform devoted to discuss the cultural legacy of camels has kicked off on Tuesday.  Sheikh Fahad bin Falah bin Hithlin, founder and president of the Riyadh-based  International Camel Organization, chaired the opening of the conference alongside Assistant …

Malika El-Masloui’s collaboration with Ishkar is finally here. The Moroccan-Italian model teamed up with the London-based e-commerce company on a range of necklaces delicately handcrafted by artisans from Kabul, Afghanistan. The Malika x Ishkar collection dropped on the brand’s online marketplace this week. “Between gracing the covers of @voguemagazine and …

Saudi Arabia is on a path of dramatic economic and social reforms. The reforms, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are aimed at modernizing the kingdom and are welcomed both nationally and internationally. Abir Abusulayman stands at the forefront of social reforms, in particular women’s right to choose. The …

The International Camel Organization (ICO) announced on Thursday the establishment of the North American Camel Ranch Owners Association (NACROA) in the US. Sheikh Fahd bin Falah bin Hithleen, the ICO’s founder and president, said the step was part of efforts to develop the camel sector. It follows the setting up …

Several hundred people gathered in London, Ontario on Saturday to pay homage to a Muslim family deliberately mowed down by the driver of a pick-up truck, in an attack that has shocked Canadians and which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced as “terrorist.” Four members of the Afzaal family — a …

British actor Riz Ahmed on Thursday launched an effort to improve the way Muslims are depicted in movies after a study showed that they are barely seen and shown in a negative light when they do appear. Ahmed, the “Sound of Metal” star and the first Muslim to get a …

Two seven-year-old boys have single-handedly managed to up the world of philanthropy and the act of giving, as they aim to raise “a quadrillion pounds for every single country” they are supporting. Best friends Ayaan Moosa and Mikaeel Ishaaq, from Ilford in east London, set up their homemade lemonade stand …

Netflix has announced a new hardship fund in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture (AFAC) to support those most affected by the pandemic in the Arab region’s film and TV community. The fund, valued at $500,000, will provide financial support in the form of individual grants ($2000 …

The refugee team for the Tokyo Olympics has 29 athletes competing in 12 sports. The team selected by the International Olympic Committee on Tuesday was drawn from 55 athletes who fled their home countries and got scholarships to train for the games in a new home country. The 29 — …

A man accused of killing four members of a Canadian Muslim family after running them over in his pick-up truck, targeted them in an attack motivated by hate, police said on Monday. Police in London, Ontario, citing witnesses, said that 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman jumped the curb in his vehicle on Sunday, struck five …

After recently coming fifth in the UNESCO International Competition for the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of Mosul’s Al-Nouri Mosque with his team, Samir Nicolas Saddi has big plans for heritage rehabilitation around the Middle East. The Beirut-born Canadian-Lebanese architect, who founded the Arab Research Center for Architecture and Design of the …

The next generation of British Muslims could lose out on as much as $18 billion over the course of their lives because of workplace discrimination that prevents Muslims from taking advantage of government-backed pension schemes. According to a legal opinion obtained by top Islamic finance advisers, employers could be unwittingly …

A British Sikh who was racially bullied so severely that a psychiatrist warned he may never return to work is seeking record damages. Kieran Sidhu, 36, endured extensive racial abuse from three colleagues while working for tech firm Exertis in southern England. Glynn Smith, Stuart Smith and John Cleary called …

Singer Dua Lipa is blasting an organization that paid for a full-page ad in The New York Times that called her antisemitic for her support of Palestinians, saying it used her name “shamelessly” to “advance their ugly campaign with falsehoods and blatant misrepresentations.” In the rambling ad which appeared in …

The events and entertainment industry is one of the industries that was probably hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Actors, musicians, and singers lost a large part of their income. Some made a virtue of necessity, like Dubai based Dutch producer and singer/ song writer LYZZ. Who reinvented herself.By …

Caravan of Culture on Tashkent – Aral route that will be held on May 21-28 in Uzbekistan with the participation of leading entrepreneurs and bloggers, has kicked off. The event is organized by the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan. By Sher KarimovThe participants will pass through Tashkent, Jizzakh, Samarkand, Bukhara, …

Ultranationalist Israelis in recent days have created secret online groups to hide their activities and to organize and spread hate against Arab Israelis.  News sites, including Sky News, have been monitoring the activities of Israeli ultranationalist social media accounts and have reported that the accounts are breeding grounds for hate …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD Ramadan television is changing, and not just in Egypt it seems. The previous year we were greeted to Egypt’s first sci-fi production, Al-Nihaya (The End), helmed by Egyptian actor extraordinaire Youssef El Sherif. This Ramadan he did a significantly smaller SF production with Covid-25, with …

Ibrahim Al-Dika had raised his Belgian shepherd Lexi since she was a tiny pup, but then Lebanon’s economic crisis made him jobless and he had to sell her to repay a bank loan. “It got to the point where I was no longer able to feed her, the bank was …

French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were to hold talks Friday by video conference to advance their two-year-old campaign to curb online extremism. The talks will mark two years since the leaders launched the Christchurch Call, an initiative named after the New Zealand city where …

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev sincerely, wholeheartedly congratulated all Muslims of the country, all the people of Uzbekistan with Ramadan Hayit and expressed his best wishes. “I express my deep respect and best wishes to all of you on these blessed days, which are a symbol of humanity, charity, generosity and gratitude …

A Yemeni model who was abducted by the Houthis is going to be subjected to a virginity test, Amnesty International said on Friday. The rights group urged the militia to immediately halt its plans. “Yemen’s Houthi de facto authorities must immediately halt all plans to subject Entesar Al-Hammadi to forced …

Uzbekistan, a country situated in Central Asia with a population of nearly 31 million people, became the top at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games for men’s boxing after earning seven medals including 4 gold medals, followed by the most famous boxing team, the Cuban boxing team who gained 6 medals. …

Discrimination in the US against Americans of Arab heritage is “getting worse” not better, experts say, as the country prepares to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Samer Khalaf, president of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and Abed Ayoub, the organization’s legal counsel, said that while …