AL-BUSTAN NEWS
Covering Philadelphia’s Southwest Asian and North African Communities
Despite the Challenges, These Immigrant Entrepreneurs See Opportunity in the U.S.
By Gawhara Abou-eid
For local restaurateurs Rahim Hussein and Omar Alkahily, the “American Dream” has never been defined simply by owning a business.
Seeking SWANA Actors: Minou Pourshariati Navigates the Opportunities and Pitfalls of ‘Umbrella Casting’
By Gauri Mangala
The last decade of American theatre has pushed theatre owners, producers and casting directors to think more deeply about how to consider casting along racial and ethnic lines.
250 Years On, Philadelphia Asks What Independence Day Is For
By Lauren Abunassar
As Philadelphia asked how best to celebrate 250 years of America this Fourth of July, some community members across the city were asking different questions: what, exactly, are we celebrating? And we should be celebrating at all?
Egypt's World Cup Breakthrough Unites Philadelphia Fans Across Borders
By Gawhara Abou-eid
Before Egypt's FIFA World Cup run ended in a controversial 3–2 loss to Argentina in the Round of 16, fans packed into a Philadelphia restaurant to celebrate a country finally receiving international recognition in sports while reconnecting with a community thousands of miles from home.
For a Former Darfuri Activist, a Community Garden Offers Refuge and Connection
By Amna Khalafalla
Mahdi Bahr Al Din, who routinely hears from family members in Sudan about their precarious situation, finds relief among the community at the garden, the root of its appeal for him.
Queer, Trans and Arab: Finding Belonging in the Diaspora
By Gawhara Abou-eid
Saif and Marhaba reject assumptions that transgender or nonbinary identities are modern Western inventions. Saif has noted that queer people existed around him long before he had language for them, through friendships, trusted circles and unspoken understandings.
Al-Bustan News Team
Editor
Nisa Qazi
Current Journalism Fellows
Gawhara Abou-eid
Amna Khalafalla
Columnists
Lauren Abunassar
Joseph Fahim