“Record it, I am an Arab and my identity card number is 50,000”, (سَجِّل أنا عَربي ورَقِم بطاقَتي خَمسون أَلف) says the great Arab poet Mahmoud Darwish (محمود دَرويش) in his famous poem Record it, I am an Arab. And I say to you too: record this, I am an Arab.

In my blog posts you will be reading and learning a lot more about Mahmoud Darwish, but more and much more about me, my Arab origin (أَصِل) , my passion (شَغَف) for my language and my culture. Born as an American to two originally Arab parents, I have been raised and have spent most of my life in Beirut, Lebanon. I have lived my good times and my bad times in Beirut. I was but a young child when I had to learn to share my toys and food with others as we hid from bombs and fighting during the Lebanese Civil War (الحَرِب الأهليَّة) . In my later teenage years (عُمر المُراهَقَة), I learned how to protest (أتظاهَر), participate in (أُشارِك) and challenge (أتَحدَّى) the conflicted political situation in Lebanon and the region as a whole. I later witnessed and had my share of the suffering and destruction (الدَّمار) brought about by Lebanese-Israeli wars. But Beirut also taught me other things; it taught me the value of family and friends, the importance of my education that I earned with flying colors, and it also taught me how to love and share my life with my now-wife and long-time best friend. In recent years however, I started yearning for my other home, the US, and for a life in this vast (شاسِع) and inviting country. Living the life that I did in Lebanon and growing up in that politicized (مُسَيَّس) environment, my passion for the workings of politics, society and culture led me to a career in political science (العُلوم السِّياسيَّة). And so I am here today, living in Boston and working to earn my PhD in Politics.

Relocating to Boston about two years ago, I feel my connection to Arabic as both a language and culture is severing and so it is with you, my readers, and through you that I wish to reestablish this connection by creating one for you. My blog posts will range from discussions about art (الفَنّ) , poetry (الشِّعِر) , music (الموسيقى)and literature (الأدَب) , to recipes (وَصْفات) , specific Arab celebrations (أَعْياد) . You will sense my academic and political twist in a lot of my contributions because the political constitutes who I am and will therefore configure in much of what I write especially about my region. I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do.