music

The melody of healing: music’s journey from art to therapy

While the science is still catching up in many areas, music therapy is known to have a range of psychological and physiological benefits.

Mohammed Mansour 04 October 2025

Al Majalla/Axel Rangel Garcia

How music helps bring hope and healing to Gaza's war-torn

Palestinians have always clung to their traditions. Music is one of them. Amid the death and destruction, Gaza's displaced find solace in songs of resistance and steadfastness.

Houssam Marouf 23 January 2025

K-pop girl group New Jeans perform during “2024 Korea On Stage — New Generation," held at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul on May 21, 2024.

Anthony WALLACE / AFP

Why South Korean pop culture rocks and North Korea’s does not

Dictatorship stifles creativity and joyrn

The Economist 04 June 2024

The fanfare surrounding Qabbani's musical at the Chicago World's Fair boosted its popularity among the American art and theatre elite and made a star out of performer Malaka Surur.

The oldest Arabic music recording sits in Harvard's Peabody museum

Cut 130 years ago, these records demonstrate the early interaction between Arab art and American audiences which left a lasting impact on both worlds.

Taissier Khalaf 03 March 2024

People attend the Soundstorm music festival, organized by MDLBEAST, in Banban on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 16, 2021.

AFP

Music in Saudi Arabia tunes into a new and modernised future

A new generation of young people is finding training and work in a refreshed and revitalised cultural scene, making their presence felt while also staying true to important heritage

Nawwar Jabbour 29 June 2023

Despite mention of Umm Kulthum, the Rolling Stone list reveals cultural shortcomings of a title craving influence.

Eduardo Ramon

Arab culture still unseen by the West despite Umm Kulthum’s recognition by Rolling Stone

Despite mention of Umm Kulthum, the Rolling Stone list reveals cultural shortcomings of a title craving influence

Shadi Alaa Aldin 04 February 2023

Egyptian Jazz Projekt band performing at the American University in Cairo’s Cultural Center. Credit: Salwa Samir

Band Revives 1950s Egyptian Songs in Jazzy Way

The London-based Egyptian Jazz Projekt band founded by Ahmed Harfoush has recently held a concert in downtown Cairo. Majalla attended the event and interviewed Harfoush about his band’s mission. …

Salwa Samir 02 September 2022

Noha Gamal teaching Zumba to a number of young people. (Photo Courtesy of Noha Gamal)

Dancing to the Tunes of Willpower

Although she is now 25, Noha Gamal has experienced many painful lessons in life that taught her a lot. Gamal is the first blind Zumba instructor in Egypt. Her story can be an inspiration to many. …

Salwa Samir 19 March 2022

“Of Lovers”

On the premises of one of the most enchanting Mamluk Palaces, songs of Star of the Orient Om Kulthoum, intertwined with pearls of wisdom from Al Imam Ibn Hazm Al Andalusi (7 November 994 – 15 August…

Amira el Noshokaty 13 August 2021

The group of rappers who spoke to The Diplomat. Left to right: Arif Farooq, Ahmer Javaid, Tufail Nazir, Syed Arslan, and SXR. (TNS)

The Sound of ‘Conscious’ Rap

They may look like any other group of young men chilling out on a river bank. But these young men in a huddle are scripting the revival of rap music in Indian-administered Kashmir. The narrow park…

Muheet Ul Islam 05 June 2021

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Ahmed al-Sharaa, President of the Syrian Arab Republic, and General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.) speak onstage during the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square on September 22, 2025.

Riccardo Savi / AFP

Politics

Sharaa gets warm UN welcome. But can he break the ice in Congress?

30 September 2025

Facing a legitimacy crisis both at home and abroad, the new Syrian administration may find that the road to full acceptance and sanctions relief will be a long one

Caroline Rose

Opinion

Why more celebrities are speaking out on Gaza

30 September 2025

Fans increasingly expect their idols to speak up on issues that matter to them and are not afraid to boycott to get their point across, meaning celebrities can no longer hide behind neutrality

Samer Abou Hawwach

A woman walks past a mural depicting late former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela July 27, 2024.

Maxwell Briceno / Reuters

Politics

From friends to foes: the unravelling of US-Venezuela ties

19 September 2025

From close military cooperation to coup attempts and now literal gunboat diplomacy under Trump, Al Majalla tracks the evolution of the relationship between Caracas and Washington over the decades

Stefanie Butendieck Hijerra