We recently launched our brand-new website and very first print edition with an amazing launch event in Ramallah, Palestine! Check out the wrap-up video.
Fikra is an independent magazine. We do not accept any donations from governments and are not politically affiliated. Your donation helps us to publish the best, most original, and most revolutionary Palestinian art and literature.
We are creating a community of readers and writers. We believe in the importance of a public and uncensored platform where we can discuss literature and art freely.
Fikra Magazine is designated as a Public Benefit Organization by the Dutch Tax Office. For Dutch donors this means that every donation is tax deductible multiplied by 1.25 (Culturele ANBI). In your country of residence you may have similar tax benefits. Please contact your domestic Tax Office to determine what this means for your donation.
An Idea Comes to Life
Fikra Magazine is an online Palestinian cultural and literary magazine – writing and art by and for Palestinians. High-quality content that doesn’t conform to stereotypes and old-fashioned ideas about Palestine. Its original, It’s inspiring, it’s bold.
Freedom of Expression…
Over the last few years, the crackdown on Palestinian cultural expression has increased in severity. Both online and offline censorship have taken a toll on cultural and literary media-platforms in Palestine.
Although platforms about Palestine exist and often do good work, we think it is important to create a platform for Palestinians rather than about them.
Fikra Magazine does not shy away from difficult topics and questions, because we believe that an open and inclusive platform should refrain from (self)-censorship and discuss taboo-topics freely.
Another Magazine?
Great writing will not solve the issues Palestinians face on a daily basis, but cultural expression can provide the fundament for new thoughts, dreams, hopes and reflections – the high-brow and the ‘low’, every expression worth your while — visual art, science-fiction, jokes, podcasts, video, and so much more. Palestinian writers and artists deserve their place at the forefront of high-quality writing. And we are here to publish them.
In Arabic and English
Every piece we publish is professionally translated from Arabic to English – or vice versa. Palestinians in the Diaspora often don’t read Arabic as their mother tongue, and we want to include all Palestinians – from the river to the sea and far beyond.
What we Publish
Fikra is an online platform. You’ll find Palestinian writers and artists from all corners of the world – from Gaza, the West-Bank, East-Jerusalem, 48, and the diaspora.
We publish high-quality writing and art consistently, with the help of our professional editorial board and translating team. We include all expressions of Palestine. You may come across science fiction, poetry, paintings, design, cartoons, columns, scientific essays, pamphlets, and reporting. Good pieces can be as short as two sentences of poetry or as long as a four thousand-word thoroughly researched essay.
What We Stand for
Fikra Magazine is a non-profit organization. Your donations are used to pay contributors, and to pay them fairly: the writers, translators, local editors, illustrators, and photographers who bring the magazine to life.
We are an independent magazine that does not accept donations or grants from any governmental organization. We have both worked at governmental agencies before, and we are well-versed in the rules and regulations of those institutions when it comes to projects in the Middle-East. As we are an uncensored and open platform, we recognize the importance of not being funded by governmental agencies.
We are an inclusive magazine. We publish content by Palestinians from all over the world, with different perspectives, backgrounds, and proclivities. You might have noticed that Fikra Magazine is mainly a Palestinian magazine, with Palestinian contributors. Do we exclude other nationalities? No, we don’t, but we do feel that publication for Palestinians elsewhere is difficult, so yes, we are mostly Palestinian.
We are a Bold Magazine. We don’t shy away from difficult topics. We experiment, innovate, create, dream, and hope. We invite our contributors to write and create original content that does not conform to stereotypes but rather mocks them. We respect the great Palestinian literary tradition, and stand on the shoulders of the greats like Said, Kanafani, Darwish. But a new generation with new visions beckons to be published.
Who we Are
We are Aisha and Kevin, partners and co-founders of Fikra Magazine. As a Palestinian, Aisha has long dreamt of going back to Palestine and try to do something for her community and people. As a former diplomat and professional in development cooperation, she knows the pitfalls that NGOs can fall into. Kevin, as a major in Philosophy and Literature, is suited to work with our writers, editors and translators. Fikra will be run from their home base Ramallah.
Having trouble with payment?
If you have trouble with your payment, please contact [email protected] and we will provide you with assistance to make a direct bank transfer to Fikra Magazine.
