Most recent articles by Ruth Renée Reif
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Interview with the journalist and author Garance le Caisne
Caesar and the butcher of Damascus
In her book ″Codename Caesar. Im Herzen der syrischen Todesmaschinerie″ (Codename Caesar. At the heart of the Syrian death machine), Garance le Caisne reveals Bashar al-Assad′s system of torture and the efforts of ″Caesar″ the photographer to put an end to the murder. Interview by Ruth Renee Reif
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Interview with the Islam scholar Ahmad Milad Karimi
Accessing the Koran
Ahmad Milad Karimi is one of Germany′s most dynamic philosophers of religion. Having come to the country as a refugee when he was a child, he is now helping to establish an Islamic philosophy of religion and has produced a new translation of the Koran. His main concern is to break down the foreignness of Islam
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Interview with Rafik Schami
"Escape is a life-saver"
In conversation with Ruth Renee Reif, the renowned writer Rafik Schami gives his views on the European refugee crisis and has sharp criticism for the West's political dealings with the Assad regime in Syria
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Interview with literary translator Hartmut Faehndrich
"What I don't see is an on-going interest in Arabic literature"
Hartmut Faehndrich is one of the most renowned translators of Arabic literature in the German-speaking world. He has translated nearly 60 novels into German. In this interview with Ruth Renée Reif, he explains why Arabic literature is undervalued in the German-speaking world
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Interview with Saudi Arabian writer Raja Alem
"When I write I am free, like flying in my dreams"
The Saudi writer Raja Alem is an outstanding voice in Arabic literature. Zurich's Unionsverlag has just published the German translation of her novel "The Doves' Necklace", which won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2011. Ruth Reif spoke to Raja Alem about her work and influences