Alex Shams, Author at Ajam Media Collective

The Syrian Revolution is approaching it’s first anniversary and the situation is looking bloodier by the day. In a not entirely unexpected move, Iran recently sent two ships through the…

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Long Form

The Shahs of Sunset… and the Rest of Us: "Persian Money" in an Era of FBI Surveillance

Posted on February 8, 2012January 16, 2017
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byAlex Shams

After years of rumors and talk of a Persian version of the Jersey Shore, the nightmare is becoming reality this March when “the Shahs of Sunset” premiers on Bravo. The…

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Blog

Salam, Latinoamerica! Iran's First Spanish Language Satellite Channel Launched

Posted on February 1, 2012January 16, 2017
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byAlex Shams

Iranian television has reached Latin America, and after years of waiting to be able to travel between Caracas and Buenos Aires and still have access to our favorite Iranian soaps,…

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Blog

Central Asian Pop Music and the Eternal Question: "You’re not going to get married?!”

Posted on January 24, 2012April 17, 2020
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byAlex Shams

Tajikistan may be an integral part of the Persian-speaking community, but very often it seems as if culture and information tend to flow from Iran (or the Iranian diaspora) into…

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Blog

Iranian Women Rapping and Kicking Ass

Posted on January 19, 2012January 17, 2017
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byAlex Shams

A few months ago TM Bax released its newest music video, “Tehran Mal-e Mast.” The video itself is a great look at Tehran and explores these guys’ relationship with the…

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Blog

Iran’s A Separation Wins Big at Golden Globes [and the Oscars!]

Posted on January 16, 2012January 17, 2017
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byAlex Shams

Last night at the Golden Globe Awards, Iran’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film, “A Separation (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin)” took home the coveted prize. The film has been generating buzz…

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Blog

Tehran from 435 Meters: The View from Geisha

Posted on December 27, 2011January 16, 2017
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byAlex Shams

Tehran is a city defined by a distinctly Islamic modernity. Although some have said it is not an “interesting” city (as Asef Bayat does in his brilliant article on the…

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Blog

Patriarchy & Islamism between Tehran and Cairo

Posted on December 19, 2011January 17, 2017
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byAlex Shams

The newest viral sensation in the Egyptian blogosphere is a video purporting to be a message from the “Women of Iran” directed towards the “Women of Egypt and Tunisia,” exhorting…

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Blog

Afghanistan: Touch Down in Flight + Dancing American Soldiers

Posted on December 10, 2011January 17, 2017
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byAlex Shams

Some years ago a cousin of mine went to Afghanistan for work. His company (a shoe manufacturer) was expanding its operations into a new mall being set up in Kabul…

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Blog

Memory and Public Space in Tehran

Posted on December 5, 2011January 16, 2017
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byAlex Shams

Tehran is a city infused with politics. Every other street is named after a martyr of the Iran-Iraq war, and the most recent street signs include the word “martyr” in…

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