The first print edition of Daftar, the online media edited by Afikra, a platform focused on the history, debates, and cultures of the Arab world.
Celebrating 11 years of fostering global curiosity and understanding about the Arab world, afikra has sent its first book, Daftar: Beginnings, to print. Co-published with Kaph Books, the book is the inaugural print edition of Daftar, which began as a journal and developed into a quarterly online platform featuring essays and interviews on the region's histories and cultures.
This physical publication mirrors afikra's mission: to cultivate curiosity and build community through shared learning. Named after the Arabic word for notebook, "daftar," the book is intended as a space for reflection, ideas, and marginalia—a humble but essential artifact to spark discourse.
Titled "Beginnings," the edition marks a starting point and a return, symbolizing the act of reclaiming authorship over the Arab narrative—a history often scattered, erased, or narrated by others. The issue features diverse voices exploring what "beginnings" mean across various disciplines and contexts, including art, architecture, heritage, design, and poetry.
Contributors like Alia Yunis, Idriss Jebari, and Khalid Albaih examine foundations and memory. Leading thinkers such as Alia Al-Senussi, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, and Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi challenge assumptions about cultural continuity. Experts were invited to cover cinema (Brahim "Snoopy" Ahmed), poetry (Rabab Chamseldine), urban art (Mahmoud Talaat, Farida Youssef), architectural reimagining (Ali Karimi), history through photography (Teymur Faris), culinary heritage (Jade George and Rafram Chaddad), and urban history (Nadi Abusaada and Ziad Jamaleddine).
Designed as a chorus of voices rather than a singular story, Daftar: Beginnings is an invitation for readers to engage in the collective, creative act of remembering, reframing, and reimagining the Arab world. Beginnings, in this context, are acts of reflection, return, and reclamation.
