Zohran Mamdani's Wife Rama Loved This Unique Book In 2025
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Rama Duwaji, whose signature 'bixie' cut is the hottest new hair craze, has said she uses her social media platforms to address human injustices and connect with her younger demographic online. "All I can do is use my voice to speak out about what's happening in the U.S., and Palestine, and Syria as much as I can," she told Yung Magazine. But while activism is a huge part of her image, the American-Syrian illustrator has started to connect with her supporters in a different way. At the beginning of 2025, Duwaji launched her new Instagram thread, "Things I saw in ... that made me want to create art," which she uses to highlight her monthly favorites and recommend different art materials, including books, to her followers.
Combining her activism and artistic tropes, in her June 2025 list, Duwaji praised "Against Erasure," a photobook co-edited by Teresa Aranguren and Sandra Barrilaro. "Against Erasure" was published as an ode to Palestine before the Israeli occupation and Nakba, meaning "disaster" or "catastrophe" in Arabic. Duwaji said it was "a beautiful book [she] poured over for hours."
Like Duwaji, many other readers had a favorable opinion of the book. Some described the book as a stunning insight into Palestinian life prior to occupation. "The joy on the faces of the Palestinian people in the photos is a reminder of their resilience," one reader wrote on Good Reads. While Duwaji has yet to include any literature in her 2026 "Things I saw" rendition on Instagram, fans are enjoying some of the other books she loved reading in 2025.
Here are some other books that Rama Duwaji has recommended
Despite drawing criticism for her pro-Palestine stance in the past – including liking social media posts related to the Oct. 7 massacre and making headlines for working with Palestinian-American author Susan Abdulhawa –Duwaji continues to take creative inspiration from around the world.
Like "Against Erasure," Duwaji's other favorite reads highlight her liberal views and advocacy for oppressed groups. Included in her list of February 2025 favorites was a Substack article titled "The Dollhouse Economy," by Jeremy Matthew. Duwaji revealed that she was particularly fond of the read, for it asked the question: "Could boycotts actually be possible if people learned how to make things?" Later, in her August Instagram post, which showed that the first lady of New York has stunning style, Duwaji highlighted her love for art history by spotlighting "In Praise of Hands" by Mexican diplomat Octavio Paz. In September, Duwaji shared a picture taken from the photo book "The Other Side" by Nan Goldin, which she published to document her time spent with drag queens from the early 1970s to the 1990s.
In her October list on Instagram, Duwaji gave a shoutout to the book "The Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy" by Mohammed Sielmassi and Abdelkébir Khatibi. The book analyzes the metamorphosis of Arabic writing from its origin to the present day. Her latest read, that was recommended via Instagram in November, is "The Sudanese Kitchen" by Omer Al Tijani. "The Sudanese Kitchen is beautiful inside and out," Duwaji wrote. The book contains a list of Sudanese recipes curated by British-Sudanese chef Al Tijani, accompanied by anecdotal stories, to tackle the mistaken perception of his homeland.