In an uncommon conjunction, this year’s Eid-al-Fitr holiday that ends the Muslim month of fasting (Ramadan) and the Persian holiday of Nowruz both begin on March 20.* Twelve days later, the week-long Jewish celebration of Passover begins on April 1.
Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the inception of a new year in the Zoroastrian calendar. It is irrefutably the most important Persian holiday, celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and throughout much of Central Asia.
This year it is impossible to mention the historic festival without acknowledging the tragedies that have transpired in recent weeks and months. Even before the U.S.-Israel launch of war on Iran on Feb. 28, many Persian-diaspora communities had canceled their Nowruz celebrations in the light of violent government suppression of protests in Iran.
Read more: Persian New Year in a Year of Unrest
I Want Golden Eyes: Futuristic YA Sci-Fi from the Middle East
I Want Golden Eyes, by Maria Dadouch, trans. M. Lynx Qualey and Sawad Hussain (Center for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Austin, 2025, 184 pp, ages 12-18)
In the year 2095, Quartzia is a sharply segregated city in which the majority of citizens—the Limited—live underground, in the Burrow. The privileged ruling class—the Goldens—live above ground in a city of quartz domes.
Supposedly, the factor that determines who lives where is IQ—whether one scores above or below 1111 at birth. Protagonist Diyala, however, uncovers suggestions that other factors are involved in the distribution of assets. Also tellingly, the Limiteds are forbidden to read; it turns out that reading raises one’s IQ.
Continue reading →
Comments Off on I Want Golden Eyes: Futuristic YA Sci-Fi from the Middle East
Filed under book review, children's literature, translation, young adult
Tagged as activism, Arabic, futuristic, Middle East, protest, science fiction, social commentary, social justice, Syria, translation, young adult