[The following letter introducing Bidayat was received by Jadaliyya]
I would like to bring to your attention a new quarterly journal in Arabic of political and cultural analysis and commentary, Bidayat.
Bidayat is an Arabic language intellectual and cultural quarterly publication that aims to make a significant contribution in the on-going struggles of Arab societies towards self-determination, citizenship, democracy, secularism, social and economic justice, guided by the values of equality, freedom and humanism and recognizing ethnic, gender and cultural diversity.
The publication was launched in early 2012 , inspired by and in response to the historic transformations brought forth by the revolutions that have been taking place in the Arab world since 2011. It is our firm belief that these revolutions are imparting change at the level of state, regimes of power and society, but also challenging prevailing paradigms on rule, governance and citizenship in the Arab world. Bidayat is conceived as an open cultural and intellectual forum for mediation and debate.
The various Opinion, Op-Ed and Culture sections of major and minor Arab newspapers (in hard and electronic media) fail to provide space for profound analysis, synthesis, thoroughly researched arguments, as well as visual expression. Bidayat is a multi-disciplinary, diverse and plural forum aimed at a general readership, fluent in Arabic, with a keen address to the emerging, younger generations of activists, writers, artists and thinkers. It is dedicated to provide a platform for a new production of knowledge, original in the themes explored, provocative in approach, and novel in the array of contributors solicited.
The publication’s sections include: a review of current events; an in-depth exploration of the central theme for each issue; emerging voices (youth), review of events in the global south (beyond the Arab world); issues in political economy; book reviews; visual memory; ideas; creative writing; popular (folk) culture; music. So far, the journal has published for prominent social scientists and lead intellectuals in the Arab world as well as opened its pages to promising young generation of journalists, social scientists, as well as artists of all background. It also is trying to translate work by lead intellectuals who share the same values as the magazine.
To have a look at previous publications please visit our website at
We would really appreciate it if you can contribute to the effort of sustaining Bidayat, by subscribing to the journal and/or securing an institutional subscription (details below, and also at the journal`s website).