Heirloom
Each quarter, we release an edition that offers fresh insights from leading voices and a global community of enthusiasts covering disciplines like language and literature, art and design, photography, music, TV and cinema, performing arts, food and heritage, architecture and urbanism, and history.
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Editor’s Picks
Curated Reading Lists
Books on Sudan
By Aida Abbashar & Kholood Khair
Books on Philanthropy
By Maysa Jalbout
Who To Read: Selma Dabbagh's Essential Arab Authors
By Selma Dabbagh
Books on North African History
By Ibrahim Guabli
Books on Transnational Solidarity
By Andy Clarno
Books on Decolonization, Nation-building & Culture in North Africa
By Idriss Jebari
Who Were the Moriscos?
Matthew Carr – author of Blood and Faith: The Purging of Muslim Spain, 1492 to 1614 – joined us on The afikra Podcast and delved into the history of the Moriscos and their tragic predicament, drawing compelling parallels to modern-day patterns of exclusion and Islamophobia in Palestine and broader societal patterns of intolerance. So, who were the Moriscos?
Rain, Reason & Revival:
Mohammed Abed al-Jabri
As the kingdom of Morocco became “independent” in 1956, all the Moroccan students abroad were called back to build the country. Mohammed Abed al-Jabri did the opposite: he was then studying in Rabat, the capital, and traveled to Damascus in 1958 – as Syria was the intellectual center of the Arab world – to complete his studies in philosophy. But the political situation was quite lively in Western Asia and he had to interrupt his stay in Syria to come back to Morocco.
A Legend, a Person:
Lamia Al-Gailani-Werr
Lamia Al-Gailani-Werr was a leading expert on Mesopotamian history and cylinder seals—some called her “the savior of Iraq’s heritage.” With degrees from top UK universities, she worked at the Iraq Museum in the ‘60s and returned after the 2003 looting to help restore it. Her research, writing, and advocacy kept Iraq’s ancient history alive until her death in 2019.
Listen, Read, Watch
The Casablanca Art School
The School of Fine Arts of Casablanca emerged in an exciting moment for Morocco, when the country was grappling with the possibilities and realities of its postcolonial identity. Out of this came an “urgency to reform national culture and its lingering colonial complexes” that filtered down into cultural production. Artists at this time were literally shaping what modern art could be, decolonizing and democratizing art, incorporating local heritage and tradition, and radically re-imagining how it could fit into society.
