Ali's House

The main difference between an average American family and an Arab-American family may simply be the food and music. Ali’s house is filled with the smells of mamoul (date cookies) and mujadrah (lentil and rice stew) and the sound of music coming from Ali’s various ouds, nays, and darboukas.

From Ali’s love for his falafel stand situated in a suburban mall to his niece Maisa’s struggle to be accepted by her peers on her first day in an American school, the family’s everyday situations surrounding kinship, pop culture, and work are what you will find when you peer into the windows of Ali’s New Jersey home.