Abstract: The excavation campaigns at Modica—Scorrione W (2020-2022) have brought together a consistent dataset which challenges the traditional picture of the appearance and economic background of rural rock-cut cemeteries during Late Antiquity. It is argued that rock-cut and lighter structures, as well as a number of decorative means, were employed in order to define the spatial hierarchy of the site. Besides its aesthetic implications, the use of stone, light, painting and wood in this kind of site poses a number of questions regarding the economic geography of Sicily and the access of rural communities to metropolitan-based goods and services.

Abstract: Jakob Wassermann was a significant German-Jewish author of the 20th century, whose works captivated audiences with their psychological depth and literary brilliance. In the Prologue: Sabbatai Zewi to the novel The Dark Pilgrimage (1897) by Jakob Wassermann, the narrative delves into the enigmatic life and spiritual journey of the titular 17th-century Jewish mystic and false Messiah. This article aims to analyse the forms and functions of Sabbatianism and Sabbatai Zewi motif in Wassermann’s work. This should demonstrate Wassermann’s use of Jewish history, mysticism, and culture. Grounded in historical context, this study aims to examine the representation of historical realities, emphasising the conditions for messianism, depicting the birth of the Messiah within the novel, and elucidating Wassermann’s portrayal of Zewi and Messianism in his work. As a secondary objective, if needed, the fictional character in the prologue will be utilised and analysed with the support of historical facts. This is undertaken since the intention is to draw parallels with the historical figure of Sabbatai Zewi.

Abstract: One of the major goals of the American missionary activities in the nineteenth century was to evangelise and enlighten the Orient. Having lived in the Ottoman Empire for over forty years and well-versed in more than ten languages, William Gottlieb Schauffler (1798-1883) was one of the longest-serving and most influential Protestant missionaries to achieve this religious and secular American dream in the Middle East. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the life and legacy of Schauffler, emphasising his pivotal role in establishing and institutionalising American Protestant missions among Ottoman Jews, Sabbateans and Turks. It also evaluates his substantial contributions to the translation of both secular and religious texts, including dictionaries and Holy Scriptures, from German, English, and Hebrew into the vernacular languages of Ladino and Turkish in the nineteenth-century Ottoman Empire. Drawing on missionary archival records and scanty Ottoman documents, the article argues that Schauffler, through his passionate and solitary efforts, helped to institutionalise American missions, targeting mainly Jews and Dönmes within the Ottoman Empire. As such, Schauffler's life and endeavours warrant distinctive recognition in the historiography of Ottoman Jews and Sabbateans.

Abstract: The rise of Arab Nationalism during 1950s Egypt as an anti-colonial ideology has deeply impacted the narrative of Egyptianness. As a result of the ideologization of national identity narrative mainly during the rule of Nasser’s rule, the concept of Egyptianness has evolved into more a exclusionary label as it has become fully anchored to Arabness. In opposition to the institutional ideologization of Egyptianness, counter-Nasserite discourses have emerged since the 1960s and principally led by the opponents of the regime. Diasporic Egyptian literature has become a significant site of contestation whereby these counter-Nasserite discourses of Egyptianness have been articulated. This paper explores the counter-hegemonic narrative of Egyptianness introduced by the Egyptian writer Leila Ahmed in her autobiographical work A Border Passage: From Cairo to America: A Woman’s Journey. It particularly sheds light on the contesting apprehensions of Egyptian identity articulated in the text from an alternative perspective.

Abstract: This paper seeks to reflect on how race relations have evolved in Malta since the turn of the twenty-first Century, and offers some reflections on how the nation has negotiated and constructed race relations and belonging following EU accession. Adopting a critical approach to discourse analysis, the paper documents key political, economic, demographic and sociocultural changes and explores how racialised border politics around the Mediterranean Sea migrant arrivals, and a determined shift in the economic model built on the importation of migrant labour, has impacted notions of belonging and new racial hierarchies in Malta. The paper concludes that whilst contemporary discourse around ‘Malteseness’ appears to be more inclusive, supported by an economic logic that, on the surface at least, appears to celebrate cosmopolitanism and plurality, the nation’s path to progress depends on a continuation of historical racial hierarchies, manifested for example, as exploitative work, racial profiling and violent practices of surveillance and control.

Abstract: This article deals with crypto-Christianity in Ottoman lands, particularly in the Archipelago during the seventeenth century. The main goal is to explain why converts to Islam and their offspring would risk themselves to keep their former habits. This paper also intends to discuss the relevance of religious secrecy at that time and place, which will be analysed from an institutional, communitarian and familiar point of view. As a novelty, the topic of crypto-Christianity has been studied through several inquisitorial trials, coming mainly from the Maltese Inquisition. These sources contain rich, first-hand testimonies that allow to approach this phenomenon from an anthropological perspective. Such a methodology helps to achieve a closer and more human picture of those officially Islamic families who decided to observe the Christian faith discretely.