This ASQ issue includes two articles and two essays. Samir Abed-Rabbo’s “Germany’s Never-Ending Guilt Trip” argues that the secret relationship between Germany and the Zionists whose goal was to establish a settler-colonial entity in Palestine “is in clear violation of German law.” Furthermore, Zionism created “a universal guilt feeling among Germans for the crime of the holocaust …”
Louis Brehony’s “Exile Songwriters of the Palestinian Revolution (and the Problem with Sugar Man)” introduces the contributions of Zeinab Shaath, George Totari, and George Kirmiz. Brehony shows the relationship of the songwriters/musicians to their respective “political and social goals.”
Mohamed Bamyeh’s (controversial) essay “The Rise and Fall of Postcolonial Charisma” posits that the era of charismatic leaders in social revolutions has elapsed and that the new era is one of ordinary (uncharismatic) leaders. In a creative twist, the author suggests that because charisma is part of historic memory, “that memory itself now generates demand for future charisma.” However, this future “charismatic experience” will not be the same as the previous ones. Furthermore, the author argues that social revolutions have not generated vanguard parties. Finally, he differentiates between, charisma, cult of personality, and populism.
In his essay “Amr Goes to Hollywood: An Actor’s Perspective on Hateful Arab and Muslim Stereotypes and Narratives in Film & Television” Amr El-Bayoumi discusses the way in which stereotypes about the Other regenerate themselves in film and television to become more destructive. Drawing on his experience as an actor, El-Bayoumi looks at “the evolution of Arab and Muslim stereotypes” as tools for “learning to hate.”