The Swiss Minaret Ban: What Are Voters Really Trying to Outlaw? The Swiss Minaret Ban: What Are Voters Really Trying to Outlaw?
The Swiss ban on minarets may seem insignificant, but it is hitched to bigger stories about mass immigration, economic depression and the rebirth of fascism in Europe.
Dec 7, 2009 / Laila Lalami
The New Inquisition The New Inquisition
Alarmist tracts about immigration in Europe are debates about Muslims--not with them.
Nov 24, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami
California’s Higher Education Crisis California’s Higher Education Crisis
Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts would be an unmitigated disaster for California's public universities.
Jun 12, 2009 / Feature / Laila Lalami
Looking Past Clichés Looking Past Clichés
The Visitor is that rare film that defines Arabs not as ethnic or religious stereotypes but as individuals.
May 6, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami
The Fake Prince of Facebook The Fake Prince of Facebook
When a young Moroccan computer engineer created a fake Facebook profile for the Crown Prince of Morocco, the result was jail, torture and a very uncertain future.
Feb 22, 2008 / Feature / Laila Lalami
The Dot Matrix The Dot Matrix
In I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody, novelist Sinan Antoon explores themes of love, loss, identity and resistance in the face of political oppression.
Jan 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami
Beyond the Veil Beyond the Veil
A new book examines headscarf hysteria and the politics of identity in contemporary France.
Nov 21, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami
Revenants Revenants
In South African writer Zakes Mda's fiction, the past hovers like a ghost--seductive and terrifying.
Oct 25, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami
Naguib Mahfouz: An Appreciation Naguib Mahfouz: An Appreciation
Egypt has been deprived of its greatest living writer, and the world has lost one of its most humane literary figures.
Aug 31, 2006 / Books & the Arts / Laila Lalami