Kebabs and Jazz
There are some evenings warm enough that the restaurant opens its large windows and keeps them open after sundown. The music at this North London Turkish spot may have been scoffed at by my new
Our Names Shape Us
During the colonial era, white people refused to call Africans by their birth names. So African parents gave their children two names - an African name and a western name to better help their kids
Ćejf: The Intangible Art of Enjoying Coffee in Sarajevo
You cannot know Islam until you know its edges. Unburdened by historical determinism that is often present at the heart of Islam, Muslims who live on the edges are capable of unleashing the type of
The Politics of Language
The latest episode of world affairs has divided a complex world into a simplistic Manichean binary. On one side stand a party that poses as vanguards of freedom; and on the other side stands the
Hope In Action: An Interview with AMAL
I arrive in Bo-Kaap, the historic Malay quarter situated above the city of Cape Town to meet with Ameen Habib, one of the co-founders of AMAL, a Non-Profit Organization focused on sustainable and holistic community
Interview: Abdussabur Kirke
We sat down with author, translator and editor Abdussabur Kirke to discuss fiction, storytelling and the art of writing. HIKAAYAT: You’ve recently published Aydin – a novel. Tell us about your journey as a
A Nostalgic Remembrance
When Naguib Mahfouz – the prince of the Arabic novel – accepted his Nobel prize for literature, he said in his acceptance speech that he was a child born from the marriage of two civilizations:
…Submerged
You walk away, not only with your elegant existence, Entire universe leaves with you, once you leave. The marvels, The stars, All the planets (discovered and undiscovered ), Shining dust, supernovas, meteorites, asteroids, comets, the
Siren
This sound coming from the ambulances — carrying injured, dead, blind, sometimes just body parts. And this sound coming from the police vehicles. These are my own people being killed, raped, blinded and injured, I