religion Archives - YaLa Press

Mirror by Mahmoud, Palestine

Author: Mahmoud, Palestine
Published: May 21, 2019
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, English, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Israel-Palestine, Palestine, Religion, Special Edition Archive, Tolerance, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, burma, palestine, peaceactivism, religion, Travel, traveling

It was the end of January 2018, the time of year that people in the Middle East expect snow. Alone in my studio apartment in Bethlehem, I remembered images of family gatherings, wearing our warmest clothes, enjoying creatively prepared sweet warm dishes, gathering around a wood stove. We took the warmth from each other while […]

Becoming my Choice by Oumeima, Tunisia

Author: Oumeima, Tunisia
Published: December 21, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Religion, Special Edition Archive, Tolerance, Tunisia
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: cultural diversity, hijab, hijab and choice, Inspiration, religion, self awarness, tunisia, Tunisian

On September 19 2017, I came to a realisation that my faith and spirituality should not be something I would like strangers to identify me with, and consequently I took off my Hijab. Questioning my Identification with the headscarf was something I have never thought about before. Actuality, it’s something that terrified me altogether […]

A New Beginning by Ahmed, Sudan

Author: By Ahmed, Sudan
Published: November 29, 2018
Categories: in English, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Religion, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Difference, life, opinion, religion, school, truth

My name is Ahmed, I was born into a Muslim family originally from Sudan. I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia then moved to Sudan for University. I studied medicine and currently work as a doctor, and I have remained in Sudan ever since. In Saudi Arabia, people born to Non-Saudi parents do not […]

A Whore by Maryem Gamar, Morocco

Author: By Maryem Gamar, Morocco
Published: September 14, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Gender and LGBTQ, Human Rights, Identity, Life Style, Morocco, Religion, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Humanity, Inspiration, life, politics, religion, women rights

A Whore. That is how they called her and any other women in Arab-Speaking countries. Women are called this if they dare to barge out of the social traditions that make their body a barn from which animals of this misogynistic species feed. Their freedom increases or decreases according to the politics of the country, […]

Photo Essay | Chaos & Faith by Paula, Brazil-Israel

Author: By Paula, Brazil-Israel
Published: September 7, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Identity, Language, Photo Essays, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Al-Quds, conflict, holycity, holyland, jerusalem, peace, photography, religion, YaLa Photo Essay

By Paula

A Path to Grow, by Abd-Allah T., Gaza, Palestine

Author: By Abd-Allah T., Gaza, Palestine
Published: June 13, 2018
Categories: in Civil Activism, Conflict & Peacebuilding, Culture and Heritage, Current Events, Education, English, Human Rights, Identity, Israel-Palestine, Life Style, Palestine, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: gaza, Humanity, Inspiration, life, news, opinion, politics, religion

I understand how closed communities feel about their beliefs. I understand how in these communities, the narrative can be easily set by the people at the top because interaction with the different sides of the argument is minimal. I understand how someone can be attached to their beliefs as a result of being nurtured in […]

My First Christmas by Tamar Schechtman, Israel

Author: By Tamar Schechtman, Israel
Published: March 28, 2018
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, Education, English, Friendship, Hebrew, Identity, Israel, Tolerance, Travel
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: christmas, home, learning, life, religion, Travel

I was born and raised in a quiet little town by the sea, far from borders and conflict and also far from cultural diversity. Other than a short exchange program in Germany during high school, I never actually met anyone who wasn’t Jewish. I knew nothing else. Though I was supposedly privileged, I felt deprived […]

Yemenites with No Religious Differences by Mokhtar Ramadan, Yemen

Published: November 23, 2017
Categories: in English, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance, Yemen
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: #thinkactyala, coexistence, family, inclusion, memories, peace, peacebuilding, religion, yemen, yemenite

On June 7, 2017, my grandfather from my mother side, who is now about 73 years old, came to my house and spent a couple of days with us: me and my family. We are from Al-Nazhah village, Ibb, Yemen. My village is about 150 km south of Sana’a, the Yemenite capital. In my village […]

A Sudden Death, by Mariyamme Nabbi, Morocco

Published: April 5, 2017
Categories: in Culture and Heritage, English, Friendship, Identity, Morocco, Religion
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: death, family, hope, love, morocco, religion, traditions

As I got back from school on Tuesday evening, I ate my lunch with my beautiful family, and proceeded to take a nap. I got up after an hour and a half and I realized that I should begin to work on my homework. It was not actually homework, but I had to revise many […]

Clandestine Attitudes by Rima, Tunisia – photo essay –

Published: March 23, 2017
Categories: in Gender and LGBTQ, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: family, genderequality, religion, traditions, tunisia, women, women rights, yalayoungleaders

This is a series of pictures taken from different hidden parts of an Arab girl’s diary. Most women I have known in my country are having two or even three parallel lives so that they can satisfy their family and the society’s expectation and then a “clandestino” life where a woman can think about herself […]

The Modern Exodus

Author: Miriam Yosef, Germany
Published: March 19, 2017
Categories: in Conflict & Peacebuilding, Current Events, English, Human Rights
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: change, egypt, germany, hope, israel, peace, religion

Moses led his people through the desert on the journey to the Holy Land. Those who are coming today don’t have a leader and are not coming for religious reasons: they are mostly Sudanese, Ethiopians and Eritreans who escaped their homeland because of war, poverty and violence. They regard Israel as a safe destination. However, […]

A Muslim Was In The House | Q.A, Israel

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: family, hijab, israel, religion, tolerace, USA

At the young age of 16, during my youth exchange and study abroad year in the United States, I realized the value of seeking integrity before taking impulsive actions. Right before my trip, I decided to confront my parents about my decision to remove the hijab that I wore for about 5 years at the […]

My First Egalitarian Prayer by Binny Zupnick, Israel

Published: November 24, 2016
Categories: in English, Fall Semester 2016, Friendship, Human Rights, Identity, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: egalitarian, israel, judaism, religion

“Want to come with us to the synagogue we’re praying at?” “Okay.” What seems at first glance like an innocuous and rote question and answer, this exchange has stuck with me over the years. It was Shavuot[1] night, 2014, Jerusalem, Katamon, at my family friend’s with whom I was staying for the holiday. Two other […]

Hijabs, Basketball and Equality by Asma Elbadawi, Sudan

Published: July 19, 2016
Categories: in English, Gender and LGBTQ, Tolerance
Comments: 3 Comments
Tags: basketball, fiba, gender equality, hijab, religion, sudan, tolerance, traditions, women, women rights

My name Is Asma Elbadawi, I am a Basketball player, Coach, Artist and spoken word poet from Sudan. I am also an activist: I am campaigning for the International Basketball Federation to extend its 2 year preliminary rule which allows players in turbans, hijabs, and other religious headgear to play, and to apply this rule […]

Five years after the Jasmine Revolution- 2 blogs by YaLa Citizen Journalists from Tunisia

Published: May 10, 2016
Categories: in Civil Activism, Current Events, English
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: activism, arabspring, change, jasminerevolution, religion, revolution, traditions, tunisia, women rights, yala young leaders

Tunisian Women Five After Years of the Jasmine Revolution by Marwa Belkhiria, Tunisia Prior to the revolution, the Tunisian woman was a role model for the women of the Arab region. When the newspapers and TV programs would speak about the rights given to Tunisian women in comparison with other countries, I used to feel […]

God is not yours by Yousra S, Egypt

Author: By Yousra S, Egypt
Published: February 3, 2016
Categories: in Egypt, English, Identity, Religion, Tolerance
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: believers, egypt, god, PVE, religion, tolerance

I don’t believe you have to be part of a certain group, follow a “holy” person, or pray in a specific way to find god, I believe God can be found in many ways and forms; you can experience god’s beauty in someone you love, sense god’s peacefulness in a baby’s smile, or feel his […]

Create your Castle with books, by Amr, Palestine

Published: November 19, 2015
Categories: in English, Past Special Editions
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: conflict, cult, diversity, egypt, gaza, manipulation, religion, traditions, youth

Each one of us has been manipulated at some point. Sometimes you lose your money or life because of this manipulation, when your mind becomes injected with an idea or an ideology to the extent that makes you a slave to it. Then you no longer have control over your decisions and way of […]

Emancipation by Ala Oueslati, Tunisia

Published: September 13, 2015
Categories: in English, Identity
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: education, MENA, religion, traditions

Religion is a source of knowledge, inspiration, hope and serenity that people hold to give them purpose, value and peace. That is not what I was taught when I was younger. That is not what is being taught where I come from. What I was taught though, like most young people in the Middle East […]

Jordan Culture and Traditions by Sufian AlNweihi, Jordan

Published: July 20, 2015
Categories: in English, Identity, Jordan
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: Culture, identity, jordan, nationality, religion, traditions, tribe, yala young leaders

Jordan’s culture is a pleasant jumble of old and new, and Amman (its capital) has rapidly become one of the most sophisticated cities in the Middle East. Values & Traditions Jordan can be regarded as a typically Arab country, for its people are very warm, friendly and hospitable. Jordanians are typically happy to forgive […]

Nuran Abu Tabikh, Jaffa – photo essay –

Published: July 7, 2015
Categories: in Media, Photo Essays
Comments: 0 Comments
Tags: coexistence, Jaffa, religion, YaLa Photo Essay

My grandmother is Jewish and my grandfather is a Palestinian Muslim. My grandfather had all the reasons to hate the Jewish people. During the 1948 war he and his family had to leave their home in Jaffa in order to go to a safer place, when they came back, there was nothing left, his father was shot and they had to start all over by themselves.

Tag: religion