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I tell stories about the East and the West that I think help both understand each other, seriously. These stories almost always connect history, culture, international relations, current affairs, and often the influences on and the interests of people who shape these stories.
I wrote two books: “Egypt on the Brink” (Yale, 2010), which luckily turned out to be an international bestseller as it was published three months before Egypt’s 2011 uprising. The book tells the story of Egypt from the fall of liberalism in the country in the early 1950s to the end of the first decade of the 21st century when it became clear to me that the then prevailing political structure will crumble.
The second book, “Islamism: A History of Political Islam” (Yale, 2017) tells the stories of the different strands of political Islam from the fall of the Ottoman Empire until now - and how and why these stories continue to have major influences on North Africa, the Middle East, the Gulf, and beyond.
I wrote and presented several BBC documentary series, including “The Making of the Modern Arab World” (2014), the BBC’s biggest series on the history of the region; “Islam Divided: Sunni-Shii”; “Sands of Time: A History of Saudi Arabia”; “Stirring a Revolution: Coffee Culture in the Arab World”; and the episode on the British military intelligence officer Gertrude Stein in the series “Minds at War”.
I wrote and presented a programme for CNN Arabic focusing on understanding current Arab and Middle Eastern affairs through presenting the past that has shaped the present.
I write regularly for Foreign Affairs magazine in New York and for al-Ahram newspaper in Cairo. My most recent series for al-Ahram Weekly /Online was on the persons, trends, and ideas that have shaped modern Egyptian culture.
I write other stories as well – ones that I think are important and merit attention. For example, reviews of books, and stories about cultures, especially when they intersect and engage with each other, harmoniously or otherwise.
My ongoing series “Know” delves into different ways of understanding ourselves and what we tend to call the Divine.
Episode | Date |
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Know - 9 - Our participatory Universe
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Apr 01, 2024 |
Egypt — four key questions
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Jan 27, 2024 |
God & Liberty, as per Voltaire
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Jan 19, 2024 |
كأسٌ أخر لفوروتينتيسڤ
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Jan 19, 2024 |
Know - 8 - Christmas’ meaning & the return of Light
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Jan 19, 2024 |
Review of Henry Kissinger’s book “World Order”
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Jan 19, 2024 |
Why read A.S. Byatt?
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Jan 07, 2024 |
Know - 7 - Pythagoras’ Understanding of the Divine
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Jan 05, 2024 |
Know - 6 - Sailing into a universe of knowledge. From al-Azhar to Ivy Leagues
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Nov 01, 2023 |
Know - 5 - The joker’s - the shapeshifter’s - message to us
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Oct 22, 2023 |
Edward Said - Out of place and time
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Oct 20, 2023 |
Food in exile - a woman’s journey
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Oct 20, 2023 |
ادوارد سعيد - خارج المكان و الزمان
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Sep 30, 2023 |
إعادة كتابة شكسبير
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Sep 29, 2023 |
Rewriting Shakespeare
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Sep 24, 2023 |
Know - 4 - God: Concept vs Idea
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Sep 24, 2023 |
Know - 3 - Entering the cave, seeing the dragon
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Sep 24, 2023 |
Review. Thomas Jefferson. Most blessed of the patriarchs
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Sep 24, 2023 |
البحث عن نجيب محفوظ
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Sep 24, 2023 |
الاندلس التي لم تقع و المكسيك العربي
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Sep 02, 2023 |
The search for Naguib Mahfouz
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Aug 31, 2023 |
Know - 2 - Concentration
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Aug 26, 2023 |
Review - Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
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Aug 23, 2023 |
Know - 1 - Thinking
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Jul 29, 2023 |
Egypt — the genius & the spell
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Jul 29, 2023 |
القادرون المحبطين و تغيرات سياسية قادمة
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Jun 13, 2023 |
John Le Carre
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Feb 16, 2022 |
جون لو كاريه
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Feb 15, 2022 |
Machiavelli - Why he was misunderstood
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Feb 14, 2022 |
فكر ميكيافيلي الحقيقي
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Feb 02, 2022 |
مليارديرات التكنولوجيا .. ما بين نقلات تاريخية و كوارث اجتماعية
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Nov 22, 2021 |
Tech Billionaires - Evolving Humanity or Leaving It Behind
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Nov 17, 2021 |
إدوارد سعيد.. لماذا لم يكتب عن العالم العربي؟
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Apr 01, 2021 |
Edward Said - Why didn't he write about the Arab World
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Mar 25, 2021 |
The Writings of Leonardo Da Vinci
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Feb 24, 2021 |
كلمات ليوناردو داڤنشي
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Feb 08, 2021 |
Book Review - Diaries of a Country Prosecutor
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Dec 17, 2020 |
تقديم كتاب - يوميات نائب في الارياف
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Dec 14, 2020 |
تقديم كتاب - عن العدالة
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Dec 08, 2020 |
عرض كتاب - سامانثا باور- عن سياسة الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
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Sep 01, 2020 |
Book Review - The Education of an Idealist
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Aug 27, 2020 |
روسيا ـ تقديم كتاب
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Jul 22, 2020 |
Russia - Book Review
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Jul 21, 2020 |
Review of "Saladin", the book
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Apr 22, 2019 |
المعضلة في كتاب فوكوياما عن النظم السياسية
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Feb 09, 2019 |
Review - Fukuyama's Political Order
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Feb 09, 2019 |