Critical Muslim 09: The Maghreb

This issue covers the politics, history, literature, and culture of The Maghreb. Robin Yassin-Kassab has an enlightening sojourn in Morocco; Hicham Yezza examines the role of the Berbers in the Arab Spring; Marcia Lynx Qualey is dazzled by the transformative power of Maghrebi poetry; Louis Proyect spends some time with the Jews of the Maghreb; Cecile Oumhani provides a daily account of the Tunisian revolution; Paul Mutter tangles with al-Qaeda in Mali; Robert Irwin wonders if Ibn Khaldun had a mystical vision of history; Julia Melcher explores the absurd world of exiled western writers in Tangiers; John Liechty attempts to get a US visa for his Moroccan wife; Jamal Bahmad watches some revolutionary films; Arie Amaya-Akkermans admires Algerian art; and Anissa Helou tastes some Moroccan street food. Also in this issue: Extracts from a new novel by Amal Hanano and poems by George Szirtes.