MER Article Editor's Picks (Fall 2014) Amer, Sahar. What Is Veiling? (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2014). Baron, Beth. The Orphan Scandal: Christian Missionaries and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2014). Brand, Laurie A. Official Stories: Politics and National Narrat (Author not identified) • 1 min read
MER Article Mahsa Shekarloo Mahsa Shekarloo (1970-2014), Iranian feminist, human rights advocate and MERIP contributor, lost her two-year struggle against lymphoma on September 5. She was laid to rest in Oakland, California, surrounded by numerous friends and her loving family, including her son Borna, 5, and her husband Sohra (Author not identified) • 5 min read
MER Article Contesting Welfare State Politics in Kuwait In October 2013, Kuwait’s Prime Minister Jabir al-Mubarak introduced his government’s agenda with a bombshell -- that “the current welfare state to which Kuwaitis are accustomed is not viable.” [1] Government projections estimate that expenditures will exceed oil revenues in only a few years if spen Rivka Azoulay, Madeleine Wells • 13 min read
MER Article Umm 'Abdallah There is a name whispered in opposition circles in Syria -- an insurance policy against what after three years of conflict seems inevitable. If you are injured very badly, there are two imperatives: Get to the Jordanian border. Then, get to Umm ‘Abdallah. “She’s the one,” says Muhammad ‘Ali Shambou Elizabeth Dickinson • 3 min read
MER Article Shadow Aid to Syrian Refugees A carpenter all his life, ‘Ala’ never imagined himself wanting for something like a chair or a bed. But today his blue plastic seat is a luxury. After fleeing war in Syria, ‘Ala’ and his family were homeless in Jordan for roughly 18 months. But since January, the father of three has lived with a doz Elizabeth Dickinson • 15 min read
MER Article Bread Is Life ‘Abd al-Qadir is tall, handsome and unassumingly stylish. With his well-cropped beard, Bob Marley T-shirt and Nike kicks, the young man would not look out of place on the gentrified streets of Brooklyn, the art scene of Belleville or the bustling beaches of his dream destination, Rio de Janeiro. Ins Jose Ciro Martinez • 17 min read
