Arab spring dreams : the next generation speaks out for freedom and justice from North Africa to Iran / edited by Sohrab Ahmari and Nasser Weddady ; foreword by Gloria Steinem.
"Featuring writings from the American Islamic Congress's Dream Deferred Essay Contest." Includes index.
Contents:
A new generation of reformers speaks out -- pt. I. Trapped : "I am not Ayman!" ; Monologue with the prince ; Living inside 1984 ; Leaving Ahlam behind ; Seeking salvation ; Citizen or subject? ; At the polling station ; Memoirs of an Egyptian citizen ; My medal of blasphemy ; The shredded exam card ; The Eid al-Adha bribe ; The tragedy of my lover ; Art in a cage ; Black like me -- pt. II. Unequal : A Persian grandmother in Tokyo ; Breaking news: MP reveals herself as banned poet ; The sacred membrane ; The cat at the border crossing ; Women in a maze ; Women unwelcome ; The closing of my anonymous blog ; Hijacking the school play ; Heaven is beneath mothers' feet ; My sacred no! -- pt. III. Breaking through : Contaminating minds ; Breaking news: Eqyptian apostate refuses asylum ; Every prayer is a gift ; "The land is for all" ; Triumph of the half-naked ; Breaking through the Shari'a loophole ; Student liberation front ; Dreams in a drawer ; "Iran, I will build you again" ; Undermining Decree Six ; Driving toward equality ; Just another day in 2013 ; Anonymous no more -- Our dream deferred.
Summary:
"During the Arab Spring, the world saw a long-suppressed group in the Middle East--young people--assert itself and demand its rights. But youthful dissent did not appear overnight; for decades it has been simmering beneath the surface in countries from Saudi Arabia to Yemen, from Iran to Egypt. In Arab Spring Dreams, a number of young Middle Easterners describe their experiences with the region's laws and cultural mores, including the crime of holding hands before marriage, discrimination and harassment over religious beliefs, and young women fighting for the right to complete their educations. They also discuss how previous uprisings, particularly the American civil rights movement of the 1960s, might be channeled to effect change in their own countries. Beautifully written and profoundly moving, these stories present a decisive call for change at a crucial point in the evolution of the Middle East"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.