Salma Mousa

Palestinian Arab men reading the Huna Al-Quds magazine, 1940

A Media Renaissance?

Inside the MENA Media Boom: Who Are These Magazines Really For?

Arab media is booming as Western outlets shrink – who are these new titles for, and can they balance culture, commerce, and identity?

(Ma) Bdna Nrou: When The Radio Plays Nothing Worth Plotting To

In Bad Taste

(Ma) Bdna Nrou

Against a long history of political and protest music, Salma Mousa asks why Arab pop today insists we chill when we should rage.

FEATURES

The Self-Defeating Prophecy of Being an Iconic Cool Arab

In her latest column, Salma Mousa dismantles the myth of the “cool Arab” and its uneasy dependence on validation.

FEATURES

Donkey Pop And The Labor of Listening

Salma Mousa takes aim at Donkey Pop, the latest trend of music meme-ification collapsing socio-cultural context into absentminded catchphrases.

FEATURES

Why Column? Why Opinion? Why Bite?

Why cultural writing lost its bite, and why criticism with teeth still matters. Introducing Rolling Stone MENA’s new column: In Bad Taste.

Commentary, MUSIC

An Ode to Arabic Music’s Rebel Years

From subversion to pop, the rise and fade of alternative Arabic music.