Alexander Jabbari
@ajab.bsky.social
Professor of sundry Persianate things. I write about language, literature, history, philology, politics.
Pinned
Alexander Jabbari
@ajab.bsky.social
· Oct 2
My latest article "Cosmopolitan Philology and Sacred Grammar" is out in @histandtheojrnl.bsky.social. I examine the 1st Persian grammar "Minhaj al-Talab" (1660, from China), using it to think through the history of Persian philology & the relationship between cosmopolitan/vernacular & Persian/Islam.
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
woohoo! uc press cover design, fall 2026 insha'allah. ✨
January 3, 2026 at 5:22 PM
woohoo! uc press cover design, fall 2026 insha'allah. ✨
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
My two main reading groups this year
January 2, 2026 at 7:27 PM
My two main reading groups this year
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
my book, _Islamic Ethics and Spiritual Sovereignty: Genres of Tradition in Muslim South Asia_, will be published by @undpress.bsky.social in June 2026
i'm going through the proofs, and don't see any typos in the epilogue, so sharing this 3-page essay here
undpress.nd.edu/978026821090...
i'm going through the proofs, and don't see any typos in the epilogue, so sharing this 3-page essay here
undpress.nd.edu/978026821090...
January 2, 2026 at 1:46 AM
my book, _Islamic Ethics and Spiritual Sovereignty: Genres of Tradition in Muslim South Asia_, will be published by @undpress.bsky.social in June 2026
i'm going through the proofs, and don't see any typos in the epilogue, so sharing this 3-page essay here
undpress.nd.edu/978026821090...
i'm going through the proofs, and don't see any typos in the epilogue, so sharing this 3-page essay here
undpress.nd.edu/978026821090...
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
New Medieval Books: The Emergence of Arabic Poetry www.medievalists.net/2024/12/new-... #poetry
New Medieval Books: The Emergence of Arabic Poetry - Medievalists.net
Offering a fresh look at the origins and development of Arabic poetry, this book argues that pre-Islamic poetry reflected regional identities and that later Islamic scholars favoured a specific style…
www.medievalists.net
December 27, 2025 at 3:17 PM
New Medieval Books: The Emergence of Arabic Poetry www.medievalists.net/2024/12/new-... #poetry
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
do you also sometimes feel like literally anything worth doing in life requires knowledge of Persian poetry
December 27, 2025 at 7:40 PM
do you also sometimes feel like literally anything worth doing in life requires knowledge of Persian poetry
I saw Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident. With less than a week left in the year it snagged the #1 spot on my worst films of 2025 list.
December 27, 2025 at 3:10 AM
I saw Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident. With less than a week left in the year it snagged the #1 spot on my worst films of 2025 list.
There should be a new straight edge movement that shuns scrolling, slop, and AI
December 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
There should be a new straight edge movement that shuns scrolling, slop, and AI
MESA book fair haul
November 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
MESA book fair haul
En route to DC for MESA!
November 22, 2025 at 2:53 PM
En route to DC for MESA!
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
Zazaki language classes online
Beginner to advanced, scholarships available
Classes cover grammar fundamentals, real‑time speaking/listening practice, reading and writing drills, fun interactive activities (games, role‑play, music, literature)
www.halbuki.org/zazaki
Beginner to advanced, scholarships available
Classes cover grammar fundamentals, real‑time speaking/listening practice, reading and writing drills, fun interactive activities (games, role‑play, music, literature)
www.halbuki.org/zazaki
Zazaki | Halbuki
Online Modern Zazaki Language Lessons from Beginner to Advanced Levels.
www.halbuki.org
November 16, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Zazaki language classes online
Beginner to advanced, scholarships available
Classes cover grammar fundamentals, real‑time speaking/listening practice, reading and writing drills, fun interactive activities (games, role‑play, music, literature)
www.halbuki.org/zazaki
Beginner to advanced, scholarships available
Classes cover grammar fundamentals, real‑time speaking/listening practice, reading and writing drills, fun interactive activities (games, role‑play, music, literature)
www.halbuki.org/zazaki
English #etymology of the day: the word "mocha" (as in coffee) is ultimately from the name of the city of Mocha or المخا al-Mukhā in Yemen. A port city on the Red Sea, Mocha played an important role in the historic coffee trade. "Moka pot" also has the same etymology.
Reading about Rabbi Baruch ben Shumel. Born in Pinsk, immigrated to Safed (1819) and then travelled widely in the Arab world. Became the physician of the Imam of Sanaa, al-Imam al-Mahdi Abdallah, and then killed by him (after advising the Imam to refrain from sex, and asking to be governor of Mocha)
November 8, 2025 at 10:54 PM
English #etymology of the day: the word "mocha" (as in coffee) is ultimately from the name of the city of Mocha or المخا al-Mukhā in Yemen. A port city on the Red Sea, Mocha played an important role in the historic coffee trade. "Moka pot" also has the same etymology.
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
“Mysticism now rules the world, the cult of blood and violence, darkness, the longing for the past, nationalism. Do you think that anything great and noble, like this book, can come out of such chaos? No; you’ll see, our time will be remembered for its barbarity and barrenness.”
November 7, 2025 at 3:25 PM
“Mysticism now rules the world, the cult of blood and violence, darkness, the longing for the past, nationalism. Do you think that anything great and noble, like this book, can come out of such chaos? No; you’ll see, our time will be remembered for its barbarity and barrenness.”
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
Thinking about how the Israeli gov intervened to get Omri Boehm, Israeli-born philosopher and grandson of Holocaust survivors, banned from speaking at the 80th anniversary ceremony of the liberation of Buchenwald this year, because he planned to say that "Never again" is about more than just Jews.
October 28, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Thinking about how the Israeli gov intervened to get Omri Boehm, Israeli-born philosopher and grandson of Holocaust survivors, banned from speaking at the 80th anniversary ceremony of the liberation of Buchenwald this year, because he planned to say that "Never again" is about more than just Jews.
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
NEW: Identity and Cultural Diplomacy of the Abraham Accords
Shir Alon interrogates how the Abraham Accords normalization process has sought to transform Arab and Jewish identity in the region.
Shir Alon interrogates how the Abraham Accords normalization process has sought to transform Arab and Jewish identity in the region.
Identity and Cultural Diplomacy of the Abraham Accords
In December 2020, three months after the Abraham Accords were signed enabling the first commercial flights between Israel and the UAE, a short video went modestly viral on Israeli twitter. A man in a…
buff.ly
October 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
NEW: Identity and Cultural Diplomacy of the Abraham Accords
Shir Alon interrogates how the Abraham Accords normalization process has sought to transform Arab and Jewish identity in the region.
Shir Alon interrogates how the Abraham Accords normalization process has sought to transform Arab and Jewish identity in the region.
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
NEW: "Material Politics of Normalization" the Summer/Fall Issue of Middle East Report!
A hard hitting collection of 11 essays, reviews, and interviews on the architecture of normalization with Israel, from the Abraham Accords to the Gaza Genocide.
buff.ly/ZmeaAty
A hard hitting collection of 11 essays, reviews, and interviews on the architecture of normalization with Israel, from the Abraham Accords to the Gaza Genocide.
buff.ly/ZmeaAty
Material Politics of Normalization
Summer/Fall 2025
www.merip.org
October 21, 2025 at 5:30 PM
NEW: "Material Politics of Normalization" the Summer/Fall Issue of Middle East Report!
A hard hitting collection of 11 essays, reviews, and interviews on the architecture of normalization with Israel, from the Abraham Accords to the Gaza Genocide.
buff.ly/ZmeaAty
A hard hitting collection of 11 essays, reviews, and interviews on the architecture of normalization with Israel, from the Abraham Accords to the Gaza Genocide.
buff.ly/ZmeaAty
"Ceviche" and "escabeche" in Spanish may have a Persian #etymology. The RAE says they're from Arabic sikbāj, itself from Middle Persian sik "vinegar" + bāg "soup" (cf. سکبا).
October 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
"Ceviche" and "escabeche" in Spanish may have a Persian #etymology. The RAE says they're from Arabic sikbāj, itself from Middle Persian sik "vinegar" + bāg "soup" (cf. سکبا).
Hunting in America - Tehila Hakimi
Devoured this violent little novel in just a couple hours. It's great.
Devoured this violent little novel in just a couple hours. It's great.
October 16, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Hunting in America - Tehila Hakimi
Devoured this violent little novel in just a couple hours. It's great.
Devoured this violent little novel in just a couple hours. It's great.
Reposted by Alexander Jabbari
Two years into Israel’s genocide, the US movement in solidarity with Palestinians is far weaker than it should be.
To cut off American arms to Israel, we need to build a powerful movement oriented to ordinary Americans beyond activist circles.
To cut off American arms to Israel, we need to build a powerful movement oriented to ordinary Americans beyond activist circles.
Ultraleftism Can’t Free Palestine
Two years into Israel’s genocide, the US movement in solidarity with Palestinians is far weaker than it should be. To cut off American arms to Israel, we need to build a powerful movement oriented to ordinary Americans beyond activist circles.
jacobin.com
October 7, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Two years into Israel’s genocide, the US movement in solidarity with Palestinians is far weaker than it should be.
To cut off American arms to Israel, we need to build a powerful movement oriented to ordinary Americans beyond activist circles.
To cut off American arms to Israel, we need to build a powerful movement oriented to ordinary Americans beyond activist circles.
I have a feeling the Urdu hajj pe jānā, literally "to go on Hajj," is calqued from English. English uses the phrasal verb "to go on" holiday, pilgrimage, etc.
October 5, 2025 at 3:06 PM
I have a feeling the Urdu hajj pe jānā, literally "to go on Hajj," is calqued from English. English uses the phrasal verb "to go on" holiday, pilgrimage, etc.