Iftah Ya Simsim
Iftah Ya Simsim (; meaning "Open Sesame") is the first international co-production of the American children's television series "Sesame Street" created in the Arab world. It premiered in Kuwait on September 14, 1979 and was broadcast in 22 Arabic-speaking countries, running until April 6, 1990. The program continued to be well-known decades after it went off the air. In 1978, educators, mass media officers, and social planners agreed to adopt "Sesame Street" as a feasible and economical solution for the low attendance in preschools and illiteracy that plagued the region. They approached the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), the producers of the American show, and purchased the rights to create an Arab version for US$2.5 million.
Isma'ilism
One of the most important texts in Ismaili historiography is the "ʿUyun al-akhbar", which is a reference source on the history of Ismailism that was composed in 7 books by the Tayyibi Musta‘lian Ismaili "da‘i"-scholar, Idris Imad al-Din (born ca. 1392). This text presents the most comprehensive history of the Ismaili imams and "da‘wa", from the earliest period of Muslim history until the late Fatimid era. The author, Idris Imad al-Din, descended from the prominent al-Walid family of the Quraysh in Yemen, who led the Tayyibi Musta‘lian Ismaili "da‘wa" for more than three centuries. This gave him access to the literary heritage of the Ismailis, including the majority of the extant Fatimid manuscripts transferred to Yemen. The "‘Uyun al-akhbar" is being published in 7 volumes of annotated Arabic critical editions as part of an institutional collaboration between the Institut Français du Proche Orient (IFPO) in Damascus and The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) in London. This voluminous text has been critically edited based on several old manuscripts from The Institute of Ismaili Studies' vast collection. These academic editions have been prepared by a team of Syrian and Egyptian scholars, including Dr Ayman F­ Sayyid, and this major publication project has been coordinated by Dr Nader El-Bizri (IIS) and Dr Sarab Atassi-Khattab (IFPO).