Ajam’s Juma Reading Lists are a weekly feature curated by Ajam co-editor-in-chief Alex Shams that compile the top articles, photographs, and music videos from our social media pages into one easy and accessible link round-up for you to enjoy over the weekend.
The term “Juma” is an originally Arabic word for “Friday” that comes from a root meaning “to come together.” As Friday was (ideally!) a day of communal prayer and rest, the term referred to the coming together of community. Friday is the traditional day of rest across much of the regions comprising the lands of Ajam, and it is often integrated into a Thursday-Friday, Friday-Saturday, or Friday-Sunday weekend in many parts of the region.
Today, the word “Juma” exists in a wide variety of other languages as well, including Jomeh in Persian, Cuma in Turkish, Juma in Pashto and Uzbek, Ljumaa in Swahili, and many more. The use of the word “Juma” in such a wide variety of languages across the lands of Ajam speaks to the historical and social linkages that have existed among these interconnected societies throughout history, a suitable tribute to the word’s original Arabic roots.
We hope you enjoy this link round-up on your Juma!
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One of the most beautiful sweaters we’ve ever laid eyes on.
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Ajam’s latest article: Neda Maghbouleh on “The Limits of Whiteness, Iranian-Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race”
Raya is launching a literary series titled Arab Raya, which aspires to become Palestine’s window to the Arab world
New LA gallery show entitled Local Not Local unites Iranian and Arab designers under one roof
Zunn – An intimate look into the off-stage lives of showgirls in Pakistani circuses and low-brow theater
The New Muslims of Post-Conquest Iran aims to “to shed light on the shaping of memory about and among Iran’s first Muslims”
If White Characters Were Described Like People Of Color In Literature
Karachi uncovered: website reveals city’s hidden architectural gems
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Plaza Palestina in downtown San Salvador, founded by the 100,000 strong Palestinian community
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New Texts Out Now: Urbicide in Palestine – spaces of oppression and resilience
Suspended in time: What George Orwell’s birthplace in Motihari, Bihar, eastern India looks like today
A photographic voyage through Iran in the early 1980s
My uncle was Catholicos Zareh I of the House of Cilicia
At India-Pakistan border, a new restaurant provides food for thought
Aliyah in Wonderland: Beautiful List of Classic Illustrated Arabic Children’s Books
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1976 Iran Air poster advertising direct flights between Tehran and New York
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“A Bitter Disappointment,” Edward Said on His Encounters with Sartre, de Beauvoir and Foucault in 1979 France
Freddie Mercury’s “We Will Rock You” reworked as an Egyptian techno-shaabi mehragan
Yasmeen Lari is Pakistan’s first female architect and one of the most successful providers of disaster relief shelters in the world.
Emily Jacir’s recent show featured a documentation of the 30,000 books looted from Palestinian homes, libraries, and institutions
Call for Submissions: Project Bandhan: South Asian Queers’ Family Experiences
“Save Gaza graffiti dots walls in Kashmir and thousands of miles away a wall in Gaza speaks loudly: Save Kashmir.”
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A room with a view in Gaza
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What Do We Mean When We Talk About Islamic Art?
For lifestyle junkies: 20 Pakistanis worth following on Instagram
Immigrants reshape Houston, America’s most diverse metropolis
Mystic music festival planned in Konya, Turkey to honor Rumi’s birthday on Sept. 30
21 portraits of diverse Iraqi men taken by an American anthropologist in 1934
“I grew up speaking Aramaic in the town of Zakho, in Kurdish Iraq.”
Sex and the Ummah
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Downtown Karachi, Pakistan, seen from the air.
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Lebanese Christian activist: Middle Eastern Christians don’t want your visas
Beautiful electronic single from Hiatus entitled “Iran Air,” featuring Iranians from across UK holding old photographs from the Iran they remember
Lebanon’s largest synagogue is preparing to reopen
City Limits: Military Urbanism from Baghdad to Brooklyn
Bringing Back Relevance to the Mosque
The Yazidis, a People Who Fled
‘Five-star’ Orient Express to link Hungary and Iran in luxury — and the first trip is already sold out
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New Pakistani ad campaign puts messages of tolerance and peace on auto-rickshaw advertisements in Lahore