Rayyan Al-Shawaf

Rayyan Al-Shawaf is a book critic and editor based in Malta. His reviews and essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Globe and Mail, Miami Herald, PopMatters, San Francisco Chronicle, Toronto Star, Truthdig, Washington Post, and elsewhere. His debut novel, When All Else Fails, was recently published by Interlink Books.

Articles

The Waiting Is the Hardest Part: Rodaan Al Galidi’s “Two Blankets, Three Sheets”
Rayyan Al-Shawaf reviews Rodaan Al Galidi’s novel “Two Blankets, Three Sheets,” translated by Jonathan Reeder....
Rayyan Al-ShawafFeb 25, 2020
- Fiction
- Translation
The Butterfly Effect: On Rajia Hassib’s “A Pure Heart”
Can a novel that squanders a tantalizing premise ever recover? Rayyan Al-Shawaf reviews Rajia Hassib’s “A Pure Heart.”...
Rayyan Al-ShawafOct 25, 2019
- Fiction
Love in the Time of Slavery: On Ayesha Harruna Attah’s “The Hundred Wells of Salaga”
Rayyan Al-Shawaf reviews the layered and thought-provoking novel "The Hundred Wells of Salaga" by Ayesha Harruna Attah....
Rayyan Al-ShawafFeb 14, 2019
- Fiction
- Translation
Between IS and God: What Must Be Understood
A top scholar of the Islamic State gets inside the story of the movement....
Rayyan Al-ShawafJul 31, 2017
The History of Popularity
Rayyan Al-Shawaf on David Hajdu's "Love for Sale: Pop Music in America."...
Rayyan Al-ShawafJan 16, 2017
- Music
Is Islamist-Secularist a Contradiction in Terms?
How oxymoronic is “Islamic-Secularist”? Owen says plenty, but that some hybrid is inevitable....
Rayyan Al-ShawafDec 20, 2016
- Politics and Economics
- Religion
A Chaotic Chronicle
Rayyan Al-Shawaf reviews Jessica Valenti’s memoir “Sex Object”....
Rayyan Al-ShawafAug 20, 2016
- Memoir
Upbringing Is All
Daphne Merkin: “For people who have never had a childhood, being a grown-up isn’t where the glamour is.”...
Rayyan Al-ShawafMar 12, 2015
- Nonfiction
Are There Universal Human Rights or Not?
Yes, Muslim women DO need saving, sometimes, says our critic....
Rayyan Al-ShawafJan 7, 2014