Brown men belong in documentaries, not fine art: in conversation with photographer Mahtab Hussain

by Jamal Mehmood These are trying times for the subjects of Mahtab Hussain’s latest work. The artist’s series of portraits titled ‘You Get Me?’ is a timely look at young, working class South Asian men, who identify as Muslim. A community that is at once under pernicious state surveillance, as well as increasing intimidation from… Read More

Dropping the mic in his own time: as-salamu alaykum Yasiin Bey

by Jamal Mehmood Earlier this year, the artist formerly known as Mos Def gave his farewell performances in London. Hiphop’s own whirling dervish, who dared to whirl and pray on a simply decorated stage, dropping rose petals on a floor already filled with balloons. This was the Yasiin show. There was no formal set list… Read More

Theresa, Trump and a Culture of Demonisation

by Maya Goodfellow  When narratives form around politicians, they tend to be difficult to unpick. Over the weekend the carefully constructed image of Theresa May as a sensibly “cautious” prime minister was deployed by Tory MP Nadhim Zahawi and right-wing paper The Sun to explain her calculated silence over – and then limp criticism of –… Read More

Britain has confused social sociopathy for economic debate

by Chimene Suleyman We may never have been able to predict the murder of Jo Cox, and yet close observers of the long struggle with nationalist extremism will find the formula of this kind of statement-violence familiar. A man shouts in the name of his allegiance, “Britain First!” before maiming and killing, publicly, those whose ideals… Read More

Why the #BernieorBust movement is failing Americans of colour

by Abdullah Shihipar  This past Feburary, I was having dinner with my brother and some of his friends in Boston. As we were waiting for our food and making conversation, the topic soon turned to the ongoing presidential elections. The New Hampshire primary had just concluded and Donald Trump had resoundingly defeated his opponents. Amongst those… Read More

France, Terrorism and the Dual Nationality Drama

by Iman Amrani This week the French National Assembly voted to back Hollande’s proposal to strip convicted binational terrorists of their French nationality. The debate has become so divisive that two weeks ago, French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira resigned after publicly disagreeing with the President and it continues to dominate the French headlines as it looks… Read More

Review: Arab Christmas “Christians have been part of Gaza’s fabric since time immemorial”

by Hamja Ahsan    It is a Friday night and I am inside the Rich Mix, a venue at the foot of East London’s Brick Lane, where three musical acts organised by Arts Canteen transport me into a Byzantine Temple, during Queen Zanubia’s reign of Palmyra in Iraq and Syria (269CE). The venue is where… Read More

So Nadiya won the Great British Bake Off, why the big deal?

By Henna Zamurd-Butt  Surely in “melting pot Britain” no one should be batting an eyelid at Nadiya Hussain’s win of the Great British Bake Off? Well yeah. But clearly the pot’s not as melted as we’d have hoped because the media has been flipping out about it all week. The Mail even broke its three-year run… Read More