Arab Spring Dreams

SOHRAB AHMARI is a Law student at Northeastern University, USA. As a member of the American Islamic Congress's New England Council, he organizes in Boston's Iranian and Muslim communities and frequently addresses diverse, interfaith audiences about the struggle for individual liberty in the Middle East. NASSER WEDDADYCivil is Rights Outreach Director of the American Islamic Congress. He helped design and administer the 'Dream Deferred' essay contest, and has helped lead several high-profile campaigns to free imprisoned dissidents in North Africa, Egypt, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and beyond.

• Foreword by Gloria Steinem * Introduction * PART I - TRAPPED * "I Am Not Ayman!" * Monologue with the Prince * Living Inside 1984 * Leaving Ahlam Behind * Seeking Salvation * Citizen or Subject? * At the Polling Station * Memoirs of an Egyptian Citizen * My Medal of Blasphemy * The Shredded Exam Card * The Eid al-Adha Bribe * The Tragedy of My Lover * Art in a Cage * Black Like Me * PART II - UNEQUAL * A Persian Grandmother in Tokyo* Breaking News: MP Reveals Herself as Banned Poet * The Sacred Membrane * The Cat at the Border Crossing * Women in a Maze * Women Unwelcome * The Closing of My Anonymous Blog * Hijacking the School Play * Heaven Is Beneath Mothers' Feet * My Sacred NO! * PART III - BREAKING THROUGH * Contaminating Minds * Breaking News: Egyptian Apostate Refuses Asylum * Every Prayer Is a Gift * "The Land Is for All." * Triumph of the Half-Naked * Breaking Through the Shari'a Loophole * Student Liberation Front * Dreams in a Drawer * "Iran, I Will Build You Again" * Undermining Decree Six * Driving Toward Equality * Just Another Day in 2013 * Anonymous No More * Conclusion