AL-BUSTAN NEWS
Covering Philadelphia’s Southwest Asian and North African Communities
Pro-Palestine Faculty at Area Universities Report Censorship, Prosecution and Loss of Academic Freedom
By Ragad Ahmad
When universities can redefine academic freedom to exclude certain perspectives, when they can retroactively criminalize respected ideas and abandon institutional principles in the face of external pressures, then no field of knowledge remains safe.
Art as Resistance | Vox Populi’s ‘Acts of Resistance’ Refuses to Look Away
By Lauren Abunassar
Community gatherings like “Acts of Resistance” become a way to reject the notion that our grief or our desires for freedom and witness are singular—an understanding that is a key piece of reclaiming agency.
Coming Soon: The ‘Cinema, Etcetera’ Column
By Joseph Fahim
Criticism is imperative not only for understanding Arab culture, but for confronting the mediocrity that can arise from silencing critical perspectives.
‘Black Arab’ Comedian Abbas Wahab Forges His Own Path
By Elissa Odeh
Wahab still remembers his first stand-up show in Ferndale, Michigan: “They gave me five minutes, so I wrote three minutes of jokes and figured the other two would be filled with laughter,” he said. “Let’s just say it didn’t quite work out that way.”
The Dance Troupe Teaching Dabke—and Cultural Survival—in the Diaspora
By Ragad Ahmad
For nearly five decades, El Funoun has understood that keeping Palestinian tradition alive and building upon it constitutes a political act in a context where Palestinians’ very existence remains contested.
How International Students Are Responding to Campus Bans Against Palestine Solidarity (Video)
By Kenza Bousseloub
International students in Philadelphia face growing risks for supporting Palestine. One organizer shares why they continue to speak out.
Have a story idea? We welcome pitches at news@albustanseeds.org.