Vox Populi

A curated webspace for Poetry, Politics, and Nature. Over 16,000 daily subscribers. Over 7,000 archived posts.

Video: Faraway

The film follows the passing of seasons in the life of Omar Al Shakra, a young Arab man living in Montreal, after he’s cast aside by his family’s older generation following a difficult conversation about his homosexuality.

April 23, 2023 · 4 Comments

Majid Naficy: The Family Koran

There, in the tradition of the Old Testament,
He stoned the unruly women
And hanged the disillusioned youth
In the market place.

December 5, 2021 · 2 Comments

Michael Simms: Tree of Life

God, like a lazy cop,
Never seems to be around
When you need Him

October 27, 2021 · 23 Comments

Kaveh Bassiri: Afterword

In the Quran, God taught Adam the names of all things. Even the angels didn’t know the names. Do we carry the weight of these words with us? Do they hold us responsible?

July 14, 2021 · 1 Comment

Video: My Brother’s Keeper

A former Guantánamo Bay prisoner and his guard reunite as equals 13 years later.

May 24, 2021 · Leave a comment

Omnia El Shakry: Every Sufi master is, in a sense, a Freudian psychotherapist

Even in the most revolutionary thinkers, you will find the uncannily familiar. Sigmund Freud was no exception. Arabs recognised in Freud’s body of thought ideas from classical Islamic thinkers. In … Continue reading

August 17, 2018 · 2 Comments

Kareem Tayyar: The Ocean is Wide Enough for Many to Walk Upon It

(For Mahmoud Darwish)   On the night that Muhammad entered the gospels, Christ was out on the water, Dipping his toes into the sea.   Muhammad walked down to the … Continue reading

June 20, 2017 · Leave a comment

Naomi Shihab Nye: Different Ways to Pray

There was the method of kneeling, a fine method, if you lived in a country where stones were smooth. The women dreamed wistfully of bleached courtyards, hidden corners where knee … Continue reading

April 17, 2015 · Leave a comment

Phyllis Chesler: My Jewish Feminist Problem

Why my sisters can’t think straight about Israel. These days, Israel is far too dangerous a word to pronounce in a Western intellectual or social setting. Say it—and you risk … Continue reading

December 29, 2014 · 1 Comment

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