Meshkal

The word Meshkal is Arabic for “kaleidoscope,” an instrument that—when you look through one end of it and point the other end towards a light source—presents a rich constellation of colored patterns. Rotate a kaleidoscope slightly and the patterns and colors will change. Like a kaleidoscope, Meshkal brings different perspectives and shows how a single phenomenon can appear layered and complex when seen from slightly different angles. Our journalists report news events comprehensively, including in a single article different—and often opposing—perspectives. We don’t publish opinion editorials (op-eds)—narrow apertures that direct readers on what and how to perceive. Instead we listen to, question, watch, record, and think about the voices of multiple people and then present them or represent them as truly as possible. The paths of some farmers and peasants, officials and stateswomen, teachers, artists, workers, siblings and parents, diplomats, scholars, and dreamers may never cross except in the pages of Meshkal, where we sketch how their lives and actions might be intertwined in relationships seen and unseen. Since our launch in April 2019, Meshkal has aimed for high standards of professionalism, including in each article clear and understandable datelines and bylines, multiple sources of information, and the relevant historical, social, political, and cultural context for new developments. We do so because few others do, and because we think it is important that the public has access to true, reliable information. – Fadil Aliriza, Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Meshkal