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      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA
        January 2015

        Hatless

        by Lateefa Buti / Illustrated by Doha Al Khteeb

        Kuwaiti children’s book author Lateefa Buti’s well-crafted and beautifully illustrated children’s book, Hatless, encourages children (ages 6-9) to think independently and challenge rigid traditions and fixed rituals with innovation and creativity.   The main character is a young girl named Hatless who lives in the City of Hats. Here, all of the people are born with hats that cover their heads and faces. The world inside of their hats is dark, silent, and odorless.   Hatless feels trapped underneath her own hat. She wants to take off her hat, but she is afraid, until she realizes that whatever frightening things exist in the world around her are there whether or not she takes off her hat to see them.   So Hatless removes her hat.    As Hatless takes in the beauty of her surroundings, she cannot help but talk about what she sees, hears, and smells. The other inhabitants of the city ostracize her because she has become different from them. It is not long before they ask her to leave the City of Hats.   Rather than giving up or getting angry, Hatless feels sad for her friends and neighbors who are afraid to experience the world outside of their hats. She comes up with an ingenious solution: if given another chance, she will wear a hat as long it is one she makes herself. The people of the City of Hats agree, so Hatless weaves a hat that covers her head and face but does not prevent her from seeing the outside world. She offers to loan the hat to the other inhabitants of the city. One by one, they try it on and are enchanted by the beautiful world around them. Since then, no child has been born wearing a hat. The people celebrate by tossing their old hats in the air.   By bravely embracing these values, Hatless improves her own life and the lives of her fellow citizens.     Buti’s language is eloquent and clear. She strikes a skilled narrative balance between revealing Hatless’s inner thoughts and letting the story unfold through her interactions with other characters. Careful descriptions are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that reward multiple readings of the book.

      • Trusted Partner

        In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat

        by Iman Mersal

        ‘In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat’ is a book that traces the life of an unknown Egyptian writer who died in 1963, four years before the release of her only novel. The book does not follow a traditional style to present the biography of Al-Zayyat, or to restore consideration for a writer who was denied her rights. Mersal refuses to present a single story as if it is the truth and refuses to speak on behalf of the heroine or deal with her as a victim, but rather takes us on a journey to search for the individuality that is often marginalised in Arab societies. The book searches for a young woman whose family burned all her personal documents, including the draft of her second novel, and was completely absent in the collective archives.   The narration derives its uniqueness from its ability to combine different literary genres such as fictional narration, academic research, investigation, readings, interviews, fiction, and fragments of the autobiography of the author of the novel. The book deals with the differences between the individuality of Enayat, who was born into an aristocratic family, graduated from a German school and wrote her narration during the domination of the speeches of the Nasserism period, and that of Mersal, a middle-class woman who formed her consciousness in the 1990s and achieved some of what Enayat dreamed of achieving but remained haunted by her tragedy.   The book deals with important political, social and cultural issues, as we read the history of psychiatry in modern Egypt through the pills that Enayat swallowed to end her life on 3 January 1963, while her divorce summarises the continuing suffering of women with the Personal Status Law. We also see how the disappearance of a small square from her neighbourhood reveals the relationship between modernity and bureaucracy, and how the geography of Cairo changes, obliterated as the result of changes in political regimes. In the library of the German Archaeological Institute, where Enayat worked, we find an unwritten history of World War II and, in her unpublished second novel, we see unknown stories of German scientists fleeing Nazism to Cairo. We also see how Enayat’s neglected tomb reveals the life story of her great-grandfather, Ahmed Rashid Pasha, and the disasters buried in the genealogy tree.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA
        January 2011

        The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air

        by Abdo Wazen

        In his first YA novel, cultural journalist and author Abdo Wazen writes about a blind teenager in Lebanon who finds strength and friendship among an unlikely group.   Growing up in a small Lebanese village, Bassim’s blindness limits his engagement with the materials taught in his schools. Despite his family’s love and support, his opportunities seem limited.   So at thirteen years old, Bassim leaves his village to join the Institute for the Blind in a Beirut suburb. There, he comes alive. He learns Braille and discovers talents he didn’t know he had. Bassim is empowered by his newfound abilities to read and write.   Thanks to his newly developed self-confidence, Bassim decides to take a risk and submit a short story to a competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. After winning the competition, he is hired to work at the Institute for the Blind.   At the Institute, Bassim, a Sunni Muslim, forms a strong friendship with George, a Christian. Cooperation and collective support are central to the success of each student at the Institute, a principle that overcomes religious differences. In the book, the Institute comes to symbolize the positive changes that tolerance can bring to the country and society at large.   The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is also a book about Lebanon and its treatment of people with disabilities. It offers insight into the vital role of strong family support in individual success, the internal functioning of institutions like the Institute, as well as the unique religious and cultural environment of Beirut.   Wazen’s lucid language and the linear structure he employs result in a coherent and easy-to-read narrative. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is an important contribution to a literature in which people with disabilities are underrepresented. In addition to offering a story of empowerment and friendship, this book also aims to educate readers about people with disabilities and shed light on the indispensable roles played by institutions like the Institute.

      • Trusted Partner
        Picture books

        The Lilac Girl

        by Ibtisam Barakat (author), Sinan Hallak (illustrator)

        Inspired by the life story of Palestinian artist, Tamam Al-Akhal, The Lilac Girl is the sixth book for younger readers by award-winning author, Ibtisam Barakat.   The Lilac Girl is a beautifully illustrated short story relating the departure of Palestinian artist and educator, Tamam Al-Akhal, from her homeland, Jaffa. It portrays Tamam as a young girl who dreams about returning to her home, which she has been away from for 70 years, since the Palestinian exodus. Tamam discovers that she is talented in drawing, so she uses her imagination to draw her house in her mind. She decides one night to visit it, only to find another girl there, who won’t allow her inside and shuts the door in her face. Engulfed in sadness, Tamam sits outside and starts drawing her house on a piece of paper. As she does so, she notices that the colors of her house have escaped and followed her; the girl attempts to return the colors but in vain. Soon the house becomes pale and dull, like the nondescript hues of bare trees in the winter. Upon Tamam’s departure, she leaves the entire place drenched in the color of lilac.   As a children’s story, The Lilac Girl works on multiple levels, educating with its heart-rending narrative but without preaching, accurately expressing the way Palestinians must have felt by not being allowed to return to their homeland. As the story’s central character, Tamam succeeds on certain levels in defeating the occupying forces and intruders through her yearning, which is made manifest through the power of imaginary artistic expression. In her mind she draws and paints a picture of hope, with colors escaping the physical realm of her former family abode, showing that they belong, not to the invaders, but the rightful occupiers of that dwelling. Far from being the only person to have lost their home and endured tremendous suffering, Tamam’s plight is representative of millions of people both then and now, emphasizing the notion that memories of our homeland live with us for eternity, no matter how far we are from them in a physical sense. The yearning to return home never subsides, never lessens with the passing of time but, with artistic expression, it is possible to find freedom and create beauty out of pain.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA

        The Dinoraf

        by Hessa Al Muhairi

        An egg has hatched, and what comes out of it? A chicken? No. A turtle? No. It’s a dinosaur. But where is his family?  The little dinosaur searches the animal kingdom for someone who looks like him and settles on the giraffe. In this picture book by educator and author Hessa Al Muhairi, with illustrations by Sura Ghazwan, a dinosaur sets out in search of animals like him. He finds plenty of animals, but none that look the same...until he meets the giraffe. This story explores identity and belonging and teaches children about accepting differences in carefully crafted language.

      • Trusted Partner
        Fiction
        2022

        The End of the Desert

        by Said Khatibi

        On a nice fall day of 1988, Zakiya Zaghwani was found lying dead at the edge of the desert, giving way to a quest to discover the circumstances surrounding her death. While looking for whoever was involved in the death of the young singer, nearby residents discover bit by bit their involvement in many things other than the crime itself. ///The story takes place in a town near the desert. And as with Khatibi’s previous novels, this one is also marked by a tight plot, revolving around the murder of a singer who works in a hotel. This sets off a series of complex investigations that defy easy conclusions and invite doubt about the involvement of more than one character. /// Through the narrators of the novel, who also happen to be its protagonists, the author delves into the history of colonialism and the Algerian War of Independence and its successors, describing the circumstances of the story whose events unfold throughout the month. As such, the characters suspected of killing the singer are not only accused of a criminal offense, but are also concerned, as it appears, with the great legacy that the War of Independence left, from different aspects.///The novel looks back at a critical period in the modern history of Algeria that witnessed the largest socio-political crisis following its independence in 1988. While the story avoids the immediate circumstances of the war, it rather invokes the events leading up to it and tracks its impact on the social life, while capturing the daily life of vulnerable and marginalized groups. /// Nonetheless, those residents’ vulnerability does not necessarily mean they are innocent. As it appears, they are all involved in a crime that is laden with symbolism and hints at the status of women in a society shackled by a heavy legacy of a violent, wounded masculinity. This approach to addressing social issues reflects a longing to break loose from the stereotypical discourse that sets heroism in a pre-defined mold and reduces the truth to only one of its dimensions.

      • Walking on the edges

        by Medhat Taha

        In the novel “Walking on the edges”, written by Medhat Taha, the narrator takes the reader in a long journey, starting from the year of birth of main character, “Ezzat”, up to his graduation from Medical School, on the same year of assassination of president Saddat 1981.   When desert storm (the 2nd Gulf war) was launched in 1991, Ezzat was already in the USA for a training program, sponsored by Peace Scholarship program (part of CAMP David Treaty), where he lived one year in Boston, interacting with different People, trying to understand how life is like in the USA. Through Ezzat's life, the narrator is telling a. Story of conflict with the self and the other. The story of the different worlds of the East & West, with its confrontation and struggle ingredients, or euphemastically their dialogue.

      • Green Ants

        by Sara Gürbüz Özeren

        Taha lives in the big city. On a summer holiday he goes to his grandparent’s farm. He has the desire to discover, and there are a lot of things to learn about the environment. While he discovers the environment he also gets friends and improve his interpersonal relationships. Taha wants to have the ants destroy the plastics that stay in the environment for four hundred years. He makes experiments to achieve his goal. In every step, there is a problem and of course there is also a solution.

      • Memories Of Vesal Ave.

        by Golzar Razavi

        The corridor is long and almost dark; At the end of the corridor (several meters ahead) there is a large glass door from which sunlight shines on the corridor; Mahshid and Taha walk slowly, steadily and firmly, on both sides of the corridor and parallel to the glass. Sometimes Mahshid falls forward and sometimes Taha; But in the end, both of them reach the glass door together; Taha opens the door and stands aside until Mahshid enters. Mahshid looks at Taha in surprise.

      • Economics
        January 2020

        The Secrets of the Gas War

        Interests Admission and Rivalries Struggle

        by Gamal Taha

        Day after Day... The importance of natural gas in generating energy increases worldwide. This book highlights the power balance and the future of energy in the region, throughimportant points:- The date of discovery of gas and oil worldwide- The Russian gas and how it is related to Europe, and the Russian control over many political incidents like preventing, supporting, and searching for new ways.- Discovering the Egyptian gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Turkish anger over the loss of influence in the region- Qatar, which has the world's largest gas field with Iran, seeks today to reconstruct Syria after financing extremists there because it is the only route of Qatari gas to the Mediterranean.All of this is presented in a simplified and easy way for non-specialists, in order for them to enjoy and benefit from it.

      • Peace studies & conflict resolution
        November 2017

        Matriarchal and Tribal Identity, Community Resilience, and Vulnerability in South Libya

        by Manal Taha

        This report provides cultural context and guidance for practitioners and policymakers working in the field of countering violent extremism (CVE) in North Africa. Based on research conducted in 2015 and 2016 in Libya and Tunisia that includes surveys and in-depth interviews with members of the Toubou and Tuareq tribes, it is part of ongoing United States Institute of Peace (USIP) efforts to develop and implement training and capacity-building programs that support CVE objectives.

      • Ulema in Politics

        A Study Relating to the Political Activities of the Ulema in the South-Asian Subcontinent from 1556 to 1947

        by Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi (Prof.), Abdullah Islam, Salsabil Medhat, Mohamed Nasr (Prof.)

        Ulema occupy a prominent position in Islamic society. The degree of their influence varied from one era to another according to the diversity of prevailing political and social conditions and the extent of their scientific horizon. Hence, great names have emerged among them in social life and political events, of which the Indian subcontinent had a great share. From the first day that Islamic rule was established in the Indian subcontinent, some men who grew up in the schools of Islamic knowledge have been widely known. Yet, this did not prevent them, but rather motivated them, from taking valiant positions with outstanding courage towards political power  and events. This book is concerned with the role that Ulema played in the political life of the Indian subcontinent, from 1556 from the time of Sultan Akbar to 1947, the moment of establishing Pakistan.

      • Medicine
        2011

        Egyptian Liver Journal

        Online Journal

        by Edited by Hossam E Abdel-Latif Taha , Tawhida Y Abdel-Ghaffar

        Online Journal 3 issues/yr - 2013 Volume(s) - 1 www.eglj.com The Egyptian Liver Journal is a peer-reviewed clinical journal published by the National Liver Institute, Menoufiya University (NLI) and the Society of Friends of Liver Patients in the Arab World (SLPAW). The Journal publishes articles describing clinical and basic research in the field of Hepatology, in both humans and experimental models.

      • Children's & YA

        Dachshund and Dane

        by Kadri Hinrikus, Elina Sildre

        Dane has recently moved in near Dachshund, and has already won over the hearts of many with his kind nature. Husky and Basset, Bernard and Corgi, Labrador and Collie—all the neighbors are blown over! Dachshund likes Dane so much that she wants to invite him over for Christmas, to go sledding, to sniff spring scents, and to dig up flower beds, just the two of them! At the same time, their friends just want to lie on the couch and think about everything beautiful in the world.

      • Children's & YA

        Eia’s Wintertime Adventure

        by Anu Aun, Sirly Oder

        Drawing – especially nature and animals – is ten-year-old Eia’s favorite activity. When the girl’s mother, a ballet dancer, has to substitute for an injured colleague on a tour abroad and her father has no way of getting out of work, she is sent to spend winter break in the snowy countryside. There, deep in the woods, lives a warm-hearted man named Ott who is tasked with looking after Eia. The girl’s days are filled with fun activities, particularly when she makes friends with the neighbors. Soon, however, Eia and the villagers face the fight of their lives: saving the wild environment around them from clearcutting. In the process, Eia also discovers a closely guarded family secret.

      • Children's & YA

        The Potato’s Kingdom

        by Helena Koch, Anne Pikkov

        There sure is a lot going on in auntie Tiia's vegetable patch! The cauliflower's deepest desire is to get married, the carrots are solving the mystery of the baby carrots, the onion wants to become a stand-up comedian and the tiny pea is crying her eyes out from loneliness. The chili and the bell pepper cannot figure out who is related to whom, the pumpkin growing in the far corner yearns for a more central position, the radish however does not want to become a salad, but to go on a round-the-world trip. It's no wonder that the potato who rules over this kingdom is completely exhausted by the autumn.

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