SAQI BOOKS – serie

After Zionism brings together some of the world’s leading thinkers on the Middle East question. In thought-provoking essays, the contributors dissect the century-long conflict between Zionism and the Palestinians, and explore possible forms of a one-state solution in the most conflicted part of the world. Time has run out for the two-state solution because of the unending and permanent Israeli colonisation of Palestinian land. The Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent devastation of Gaza have given renewed urgency to the discussion of how to move towards a future that honours the rights of all who live in Palestine and Israel. This timely edition includes a new preface as well as challenging and insightful essays by Omar Barghouti, Jonathan Cook, Joseph Dana, Jeremiah Haber, Jeff Halper, Ghada Karmi, Saree Makdisi, John Mearsheimer, Ilan Pappe, Sara Roy and Phil Weiss.

'Beguiling and original...' Marina Warner1920s Cairo: singers were pressing hit records, dramatic troupes were springing up and cabarets were packed - a counterculture was on the rise. In bars, hash-dens and music halls, people of all backgrounds came together as a passionate group of artists captivated Egyptian society.Of these performers, Cairo's biggest stars were female, and they asserted themselves on the stage like never before. Two of the most famous troupes were run by women; Badia Masabni's dancehall became the hottest nightspot in town; pioneer of Egyptian cinema Aziza Amir made her stage debut; and legendary singer Oum Kalthoum first rose to fame. It is these women, who knew both the opportunities and prejudices that this world offered, who best reveal this cosmopolitan and raucous city's secrets.Midnight in Cairo tells the thrilling story of Egypt's interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its pioneering women. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, it brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art - one which laid the foundations of Arab popular culture today. It is a story of modern Cairo as we have never heard it before.

Conflict does more than destroy physical spaces. It extinguishes lives, erases histories and disrupts the collective memory of entire communities. In Gaza, where genocide has wrought catastrophic loss, the destruction of heritage adds another dimension of devastation. Yet amid the rubble, acts of archiving, art-making and storytelling persist.Archiving Gaza in the Present brings together voices from Palestine and beyond to document the cultural erasure and to explore how creative and archival practices resist it. Contributions from curators, architects, artists, journalists, lawyers and scholars capture Gaza’s once-vibrant cultural life – historic buildings, art centres, universities and museums that existed before October 2023 – now turned to rubble.Featuring rich visual material – from fragmented WhatsApp testimonies to forensic documentation – and including artworks, maps and photographs, Archiving Gaza in the Present is both a living archive and a call to action. It is a vital resource for understanding Gaza’s cultural survival amid destruction.In partnership with the Arab British Centre.Contributors include Selma Dabbagh, Salman Abu Sitta, Shareef Sarhan, Hazem Harb, Malak Mattar, Marc-André Haldimann, Nadia Yaqub, Omar Al-Qattan, Kegham Djeghalian, Caitlin Procter, Atef Alshaer, Shatha Safi, Yara Sharif and Nasser Golzar.

'A person can only be born in one place. However, he may die several times elsewhere: in the exiles and prisons, and in a homeland transformed by occupation and oppression into a nightmare. Poetry is perhaps what teaches us to nurture the charming illusion: how to be reborn out of ourselves over and over again, and use words to construct a better world, a fictitious world that enables us to sign pact for a permanent and comprehensive peace ... with life.' Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish was one of the most acclaimed contemporary poets in the Arab world, and is often cited as the poetic voice of the Palestinian people. During the tumultuous summer of 2006, as Israel attacked Gaza and Lebanon, Darwish was in Ramallah. He recorded his observations and feelings in writing included in A River Dies of Thirst, some of his last work. In this collection Darwish writes of love, loss, and the pain of exile in bittersweet poems and diary entries leavened with hope and joy.

It is a little-known secret that Arabic literature has a long tradition of erotic writing. Behind that secret lies another - that many of the writers are women. We Wrote in Symbols celebrates the works of 75 of these female writers of Arab heritage who articulate love and lust with artistry and skill. Here, a wedding night takes an unexpected turn beneath a canopy of stars; a woman on the run meets her match in a flirtatious encounter at Dubai Airport; and a carnal awakening occurs in a Palestinian refugee camp. From a masked rendezvous in a circus, to meetings in underground bars and unmade beds, there is no such thing as a typical sexual encounter, as this electrifying anthology shows. Powerfully conveying the complexities and intrigues of desire, We Wrote in Symbols invites you to share these characters' wildest fantasies and most intimate moments.

Jina Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands of Iran’s Morality Police on 16 September 2022 sparked widespread protests across the country. Women took to the streets, uncovering their hair, burning headscarves and chanting ‘Woman Life Freedom’ – ‘Zan Zendegi Azadi’ in Persian and ‘Jin Jîyan Azadî’ in Kurdish – in mass demonstrations. An explosion of creative resistance followed as art and photography shared online went viral and people around the world saw what was really going on in Iran.Woman Life Freedom captures this historic moment in artwork and first-person accounts. This striking collection goes behind the scenes at forbidden fashion shows; records the sound of dissent in Iran where it is illegal for women to sing unaccompanied in public; and walks the streets of Tehran with ‘The Smarties’ – Gen Z women who colour and show their hair in defiance of the authorities, despite the potentially devastating consequences. Extolling the power of art, writing and body politics – both female and queer – this collection is a universal rallying call and a celebration of the women the regime has tried and failed to silence.This is what protest looks like.

This is Gaza – a place of humanity and creativity, rich in culture and industry. A place now utterly devastated, its entire population displaced by a seemingly endless onslaught, its heritage destroyed.Daybreak in Gaza is a record of an extraordinary place and people, and of a culture preserved by the people themselves. Vignettes of artists, acrobats, doctors, students, shopkeepers and teachers offer stories of love, life, loss and survival. They display the wealth of Gaza’s cultural landscape and the breadth of its history.Daybreak in Gaza humanises the people dismissed as statistics. It stands as a mark of resistance to the destruction and as a testament to the people of Gaza.

Arabic erotic literature has a long and rich history, which goes back as far as the ninth century. Far from being the pursuit of prurient pornographers, eroticism and sexuality received considerable attention from scholars.Written by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201 - 1274), one of the leading scientists of the age, The Sultan's Sex Potions is part of a relatively small group of works devoted to aphrodisiacs, as well as sexual stimulants, sexual practices and positions. Sober and measured in tone, the work was intended to be a manual, which would allow the patient to dispense with the services of a physician. Written at the request of the ruler, its potions, electuaries, syrups and enemas enjoyed a 'royal warrant of appointment' to arouse the lust for coitus and enhance sexual potency.This bilingual volume includes a critical edition of three manuscripts (Berlin, Cairo and Glasgow) and is accompanied by a translation, as well as an introduction to Arabic erotic literature, a biography of the author and extensive indexes.

The Arab–Israeli conflict goes far beyond the wars waged on Middle Eastern battlefields. There is also a war of narratives revolving around the two defining traumas of the conflict: the Holocaust and the Nakba. One side is charged with Holocaust denial, the other with exploiting a tragedy while denying the tragedies of others.In this path-breaking book, eminent political scientist Gilbert Achcar explores these conflicting narratives and considers their role in today’s Middle East dispute. He analyses the various Arab responses to the Holocaust, from the earliest intimations of the genocide, through the creation of Israel and the occupation of Palestine, and up to our own time, critically assessing the political and historical context for these responses.Achcar offers a unique ideological mapping of the Arab world, in the process defusing and international propaganda war that has become a major stumbling block in the path of Arab–Western understanding.

Classic Palestinian Cuisine is a collection of over one hundred mouth-watering dishes, such as ful m'dammas (broad bean salad), kidreh (rice with mutton) and djaj mahshi (stuffed chicken), characteristic of the culinary culture of the Mediterranean. Christiane Dabdoub Nasser's delightful tips and anecdotes, from coring marrows to buying the perfect cabbage for stuffing, vividly bring to life the smells and flavours of Palestinian cookery, as practiced in kitchens across the region for generations.

In Arab culture, tradition often dictates an individual’s role in a family, with personal desires subsumed in favour of unity. So, what happens when Queer Arabs challenge and re-imagine these expectations?This Queer Arab Family celebrates the beauty of chosen kin and the everyday acts of care and survival that bind Queer Arabs to each other. Here, ten LGBTQ+ writers from across the Arab world and diaspora redefine what family looks like. From raising children with mum and mum, to becoming an OnlyFans star and building a non-binary belly dancing robot, these writers illuminate, through their own lived experiences, how queer joy and community can be found in the most unexpected places.Fierce, vibrant and unapologetic, This Queer Arab Family honours the spirit of those who, despite challenges, build community and family on their own terms.

From a foremost expert on the Middle East, a searing indictment of the forces that led to the genocidal war on Gaza and its reverberations across the globe.The destruction rained on Gaza has been seen by many as a vengeful overreaction to the reckless Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023. However, the new catastrophe befalling the Palestinian people is the continuation of a decades-long course in which Israeli politics, policies and military strategies have inexorably shifted to the right. Gaza was the final nail in the coffin of the Atlanticist “international liberal order” before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.The Gaza Catastrophe reckons with the lethal consequences and the significance of a war waged by an advanced military-industrial state – with full US participation and support from the West. Renowned political scientist Gilbert Achcar explores the dynamics of a complex historical process that culminated in the war on Gaza and wider conflict in the Middle East. He offers critical insights on the genocide’s regional and international ramifications, as well as radical critiques of Zionism, Hamas and other state and non-state actors.This vital volume is essential to understanding the root causes of the violence destabilising the entire region and the wider world, as well as the conditions required to bring it to an end.

Shadi Ghadirian is one of Iran’s leading contemporary photographers. Born in Tehran in 1974, she rose to prominence in the late 1990s and has since become a defining voice of her generation.Shaped by the restrictions of post-revolutionary Iran, Ghadirian’s work probes the boundaries of freedom and expression, reflecting a collective yearning for liberty and colour. This new monograph traces her evolution – from the stillness of Untitled Qajar to the digitally manipulated Ctrl+Alt+Del – as she navigates the tensions between public and private, tradition and modernity, documentary and fiction.With wit and subversive charm, Ghadirian parodies domesticity and authority alike, cementing her reputation as one of the most original photographers of her time.

Whoever said nature is still has not borne witness to the migration of the seasons.In this lyrical enquiry, Dalia Al-Dujaili considers what it means to belong in your land. She traces the rich heritage of the earth beneath our feet and the wildlife that call it home – from the oak tree and date palm to fairytale creatures, such as dragons, unicorns and the ancient Lamassu. Weaving together Arab and Islamic mythology with the English and Christian pastoral, Al-Dujaili unmasks the communal lush, familiar and, at times, dark places we share.A love song to Britain, Iraq and the body of earth we hold in common, Babylon, Albion is a compelling re-imagining of what it means to be native.

Sima Samar has spent her life challenging power in Afghanistan. A pioneering doctor, she provided healthcare to women in some of the country’s most remote regions, often at significant personal risk. She went on to become Minister of Women’s Affairs, becoming one of the Taliban’s most determined critics.Born into a Hazara family and raised in a polygamous household, Samar grew up understanding the consequences of gender and ethnic inequality in Afghanistan. Forced into an arranged marriage, she was still a young doctor when her husband was disappeared by the pro-Soviet regime. In the aftermath, she faced a stark choice: retreat into safety or dedicate herself to resisting injustice in all its forms. Over decades of war, displacement, threats and exile, she has remained unwavering in her commitment to women’s rights and human dignity, building institutions, delivering care and refusing to be silenced. This memoir is her account of a life lived at the centre of Afghanistan’s most turbulent history – an intimate and unflinching testimony of courage, loss and enduring resistance.

Pulitzer Prize Finalist 2026 One of TIME’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 and Electric Lit's Best Nonfiction of 2025At first, Hala’s baby is the size of a poppyseed. Then a grain of rice, then a lime. After years of trying for a baby, Hala watches from afar as her daughter grows in the body of another woman, in another country.Hala is not just awaiting news from the surrogate. She also holds her breath as Palestine and Lebanon, her estranged homelands, are under fire. She remembers family stories of grandmothers mapping their lives through a tangle of borders; of eradicated villages, invading armies and places of refuge that proved only temporary; of men who left, women who stayed, and the legacies passed down from one to another.Stunningly lyrical and unflinchingly honest, I’ll Tell You When I’m Home is a powerful story of unravelling and becoming, of homelands lost and reimagined, and of the intimate ways we learn to make a life when the ground beneath us shifts.