In the first of new series, we look at works in Arabic and translation about Islam, capitalism, the inspiring life of a humanitarian doctor and one eventful and tragic night

In past group exhibitions, this Syrian artist proved her talent. Now, she has exhibited her work for the first time in a solo exhibition in Damascus, drawing on the symbolism of migration

The Iraqi poet and recently appointed director of the Arab World Institute in Paris talks about stones, the overlap between diplomacy and literature, and what gives him 'the spirit of life'

Director Sara Suleiman has not flinched from showing a history suffering and exploitation, but the rare and dazzling quality of this documentary is its all-pervading sense of hope and optimism

The master of the mysterious and the surreal plays with time, space, and our concepts of normality to create masterpieces with influences from German expressionism to Borges and Edgar Allan Poe

The first Arab and African woman to win Olympic boxing gold stepped into both a ring and a global culture war that reveals more about our divisive times than it does about sports or gender

By confining himself in a narrow, transparent space near the main stadium for the Olympic Games, Abraham Poincheval tried to highlight an under-highlighted problem. Did he succeed, or is he mad?

Caliph Harun al-Rashid sent Emperor Charlemagne a beautifully crafted chessboard showing how shared pastimes can be a bridge between peoples

A visionary film, and the state-of-the-art way in which it was shot, shows how modernised production is moving the country's movie-making up to global standards with a new genre: Arab action

A personal reflection on how technology has rewired our interactions, reshaping the world before our very eyes.