By Elissa Odeh

What began as background music for diners soon evolved into Barakka, a multicultural band that fuses Turkish folk, Anatolian rock, Middle Eastern classics and Western instrumentation.

By Lauren Abunassar

The insistence on storytelling as testimony of survival, and of survival as a defiant act, is a vibrant throughline in much of Chahwan’s work.

By Elissa Odeh

Ballan believes that Palestinians need to be able to express a larger narrative about who they are—one that reflects their presence not only in politics, but in art, music, filmmaking, academia and more.

By Ragad Ahmad

After years of American individualism, where success is measured by self-sufficiency and connections often feel transactional, the interdependence I found in Palestine felt like rediscovering a language I had forgotten I knew.

By Ragad Ahmad

For many Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) women across Philadelphia, cultural garments serve not merely as clothing, but as living threads connecting them to their ancestral heritage.

By Ragad Ahmad

For some MENA students, studying abroad offers experiences that are not available to them in the U.S.—along with some unexpected rewards.