In Issue no. 40

In the new issue, Georgine Ayoub examines the evolution of the Arabic language ("Odyssey of Words: Evolution of the Arabic Language in the 20^th Century"), a subject thrust into the intellectual forefront by the events of September 11^th. The author looks into the major forces influencing the evolution of a language spoken by more than 250 million people. September 11^th has also generated interest in Arabic literature, primarily the novel: Andrea Shalal-Esa reports ("The Arab Novel: Visions of Social Reality")on a two-day conference devoted to the Arab novel in Washington D.C. Among the many books published about or a commentary on what happened in September 2001 is George Corm's "East-West: The Imagined Fracture." The reviewer, George Tarabishi, finds Corm's discussion to be fascinating, especially in tracing a history and a typology of "dualities" between East and West, dualities said to have been imaginary but with a caveat: that the recent events have the potential of transforming what was once imaginary into reality.

Edmund Ghareeb writes on the early Arab press in Latin America, documenting in exceptional detail generations of publications that reveal a fascinating picture of the social and intellectual life many Arab immigrants lived and created in the Americas.

D. H. Melhem examines one not often explored facet of perhaps one of the most noted Arab Americans, Gibran Kahlil Gibran: that despite his popularity (nine millions copies of the "Prophet" sold) Gibran continues to be rejected by mainstream critics in America. Gibran, writes Melhem, "retains an anomalous position in American literature as a foreigner."

The forgotten in the Middle East are everywhere, in their homeland and in a forced exile. The plight of this group --in this case the Yemenis--is covered in Muhammad Abdul Wali, as Silvia Chelala finds. Life in exile is painful and certainly not romantic. Jordan Elgrably's reading of Bahaa Taher's "Love in Exile" illustrates this point. Susan Muaddi Darraj examines the plight of another forgotten group, the adopted children of Muslim societies. Through reading "The Orphans of Islam," she sheds light on the children's legal status, their victimization and the silence surrounding their plight. Samir Mattar ("A Gathering of Shades") writes on an immigrant experience different from the Yemenis or those living in forced exile. His emphasis is on that of Lebanese immigrants in New York, as chronicled by Eugene Nassar through his "Wind of the Land" and a "Walk Around the Block."

Paul Sullivan reads Roland Jacquard's book, "In the Name of Osama Bin Laden." It reveals not only what we have come to know of Bin Laden after Sept 11 but also of his link to other deadly terrorist groups in the Middle East such as the Algerian GIA, as well as the business ties his family has with key Saudi and Arab politicians.

In the film section, Malek Abisaab looks at the highly publicized video ("Islam: Empire of Faith") which became even more popular after September 11 and observes certain limitations, despite scores of positive reviews. Pamela Nice reviews Mai Masri's "Frontiers of Dreams and Fears," a documentary that distinguishes itself by combining a political and the personal perspective on the experiences of young Palestinian girls.

Lynne Rogers revisits the Arab-Israeli conflict, not from a historical and political angles, but rather from an aesthetic and architectural perspective, examining the relationship between physical structures and political struggle as covered in a new book by Daniel Bertrand Monk, "Aesthetic Occupation."

John Naoum Tannous offers a special, psychological reading of Emily Nasrallah's novel "Al Jamr al-Ghafi" (Dormant Embers), focusing on how strict social traditions produce suppression and coercion not only in a small Lebanese village but in as far away a place as Ohio. Sabah Zwein speaks with the Kuwaiti novelist Leila al-Othman on censorship, opportunists and Islamists. Her resentment of Islamists remains strong, but she appears more conciliatory toward the state, less troubled by gender issues, and surprisingly nostalgic for a bygone Kuwaiti society.

Through her reading of Joseph Massad's "Colonial Effects: The Making of the National Identity in Jordan," Serap Bozkent-Franco highlights the "cultural" role the colonizer played in Jordan, a role whose effects last till today. Pauline Homsi Vinson reads Sonallah Ibrahim's "Zaat," a dark comedy that probes Egyptian society under Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak. Describing Ibrahim's scathing look as daring is an understatement, especially since he experienced indiscriminate imprisonment and censorship by all Egyptian regimes.

The issue also includes an interview with qanun player Hicham Chami, conducted by Cindy Infantino; a new poem, by Peggy Garrison; a report on an exhibition of Arab Americans in New York by Ema Shakelton; and Faisal Tbeileh reviewing "Acre: The Rise And Fall of a Palestinian City, 1730-1831" by Thomas Philipp and "Modernity and Culture: From the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean," edited by Leila Tarazi Fawaz and C.A. Bayley..

The Editors