Art and entertainment

President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on Sept. 23, 2025 in New York City.

Analysis

'Is it worth it?' Syria's Sharaa faces backlash over Missy Elliott performance

Backlash erupts after dancers perform to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” exposing the tightrope between Sharaa’s outreach to the West and pressure from his Islamist base.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Artist Erdal Duman's work titled "Whoever Owns the Tank Is Soleiman" takes a dig at power.

Culture

The weight of war: Erdal Duman’s sculptures probe politics of violence

As missiles cross again Middle Eastern skies, Turkish artist Erdal Duman’s brightly colored weapons ask an uncomfortable question: When does war really begin?

An Oscar statue at the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, March 9, 2024.

Culture

'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight

This year’s Oscars nominations include Middle Eastern films whose themes of war, government violence and protest have shone a spotlight on politics at home.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Turkish museums celebrate banner year for history, architecture, art

From Italian architect Renzo Piano’s Istanbul Modern to a restored mansion in Izmir, Turkey’s museums swept awards for architecture and visitor experience.

Latest News

Culture

Morocco’s next generation of writers fights for a place on the shelf

A customer browses books at a bookshop in the Moroccan capital Rabat on August 9, 2018. On the main arteries of old Rabat, dozens of itinerant booksellers offer books in French, Arabic, and sometimes in English, up to ten times cheaper than their originals. Despite being prohibited, the pirated-books market is largely tolerated in cities across the North African kingdom. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Suck my walls: One woman’s archive of Turkey’s street art

Irem Guler has documented the walls of Turkey for two decades. — Irem Guler

UAE AI investor MGX moves closer to strategic stake in TikTok US

RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

United Arab Emirates

Culture

Turkey launches probe into HBO series citing ‘moral’ values: What to know

Jasmine

A Syrian holds a caricature of Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin in a demonstration against the continuing assault by the Syrian regime and Russian forces in Idlib on Feb. 21, 2020.

Caricatures challenge restrictions, depict suffering of Idlib citizens

Despite the risks of being a female caricaturist in Idlib, many young Syrian women have successfully entered the field to express the concerns and pain of Syrians and make their voices heard.

In the Netflix period drama "The Club," Rasel (played by Turkish actress Asude Kalabek) finds herself at the heart of the September pogroms that destroyed thousands of non-Muslim premises in Istanbul.

Turkish Netflix series turns cameras on pogroms, hidden Greeks

"The Club," whose first season woke the ghosts of Turkey’s Jewish community, turns its lens on Turkey’s Greek Orthodox Community and the pogroms of 1955.

Shiite Muslim clerics march with a banner saying that alcohol is the root of all sin, during a demonstration in Baghdad on Dec. 3, 2020.

Conservative groups seek to shut down concerts in Iraq

Iraqis fear that Islamic parties and armed religious groups are trying to impose their fundamentalist views on social and personal freedoms.

Nabulsi

Artist's retirement prompts debate in Egypt: is singing allowed or against religion?

Jordanian artist Adham Nabulsi has retired from singing so he can “worship God and obey his commands,” sparking controversy over whether or not singing and acting are considered haram.

A customer shops for alcoholic beverages at a supermarket ahead of a 17-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, in Istanbul on April 29, 2021.

Turkey cracks down on bootleg alcohol ahead of New Year celebrations

Following news of bootleg-related deaths, the Interior Ministry launched Operation Alcohol across the country, while critics say the government uses these high-profile operations to demonize alcohol consumption.

Didem Kinali

Turkey’s belly dancers can't shake government TV censors

Gone are the days where belly dancers appeared on Turkish TVs as part of the country's New Year's Eve celebrations.

Directors Hind Alfahhad, Fatima Al-Banawi, Jawaher Alamri and Sara Mesfer at the Red Sea International Film Festival on December 9, 2021, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Jeddah Red Sea Film Festival marks historic moment for Saudi filmmakers

Saudis, Arabs, world stars and celebrities walked the red carpet in the conservative kingdom in a scene that no one could have imagined a few years ago.

A promotional image for the film "Dying to Divorce."

UK nominates documentary on femicide in Turkey for Oscars

“Dying to Divorce,” the United Kingdom’s official entry into the Academy Awards for best international feature film, tells the story of Turkey’s gender-based violence victims, femicide and the inability of the legal system to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Khaled Hourani

Zawyeh Gallery expands Palestinian contemporary art collection to Dubai

The Palestinian Zawyeh Gallery has opened a second location in Dubai.

Syria games

Gaming offers livelihood for some young Syrians

Video games have recently become a way to earn money for young Syrians amid scarce job opportunities in all fields and financial hardships.

A memorial to victims of the 1960 fire in Amude, Syria. Image taken Nov. 5, 2021

Syrian-Kurdish couple sets Amude's cinema ghosts to rest

Since a deadly fire in 1960, going to the cinema has been taboo in the Kurdish town of Amude in northeastern Syria, and a couple who recently emigrated from Europe hopes to change things.

Omar Suleyman

Famed Syrian singer Omar Souleyman arrested in Turkey

Omar Souleyman is accused by Turkey of being a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, aka PKK.