Iran
All countries-
Relations with the Middle East
Europe can still make a difference
The European Union is faced with the challenge of finding a common line towards the Middle East that both takes into account the different national positions and promotes a coherent foreign policy. How can this be realized?
-
Israeli peace activist Yoav Peck on the Gaza war
"I am appalled by the hard-heartedness"
Peace activist and former Sulha Peace Project director Yoav Peck talks about the Gaza war, the hardening of the fronts in Israel – and his vision for the future
-
Kurdish singer Hani Mojtahedi
Myths re-imagined
Kurdish singer Hani Mojtahedi and German electro legend Andi Toma of Mouse On Mars have collaborated on an album that also pays homage to Mojtahedi’s grandfather, a Sufi master
-
Cinema in Iran
Unveiled women conquer the silver screen
More and more Iranian films are breaking taboos – the results are being met with amazement both in and outside Iran. "My Favourite Cake", which premiered at the Berlinale in February, is just the latest example
-
The universal language of music
Music dossier: Tuning in to the unfamiliar
An independent, modern music scene has long since developed in the Islamic world and Europe. Breaking with convention, it is a far cry from belly dance and folklore cliches. In this dossier, we present some of its leading protagonists, genres and events
-
Israel, the USA and the Islamic Republic
Understanding Iran's "offensive-defensive" strategy
April 2024 not only saw Iran's unprecedented direct assault on Israel but also a violent crackdown on women in Iran refusing to wear the hijab. So what is behind Tehran's conflicting sense of hubris and insecurity?
-
Nassir Djafari's "Der Großcousin"
On the run
A man who has lost touch with his Iranian roots meets a distant relative fleeing to Germany at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015. "Der Großcousin", Nassir Djafari's third novel, makes for a thrilling and topical read
-
Iranian protest literature
Ehtesham-Zadeh and the inner revolution
"Zan", Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh's short story collection, tells of Iranian women during the uprising in Iran, and of women in exile grappling in diverse ways with their identity and roots. A book about women, life and freedom that has arrived at exactly the right moment
-
Kurdistan + 100
Stories from a future republic
"Kurdistan + 100" is the third anthology in Comma Press's "future past" series, and a fourth – Egypt + 100 – is set to be published next year. Writers are asked to imagine a moment in the future connected to an event in their shared past
-
The Iranian theologian and feminist Sedigheh Vasmaghi
A revolution in Islamic law
With her work, Iranian feminist and legal scholar Sedigheh Vasmaghi is putting an end to male dominance in Islamic jurisprudence, striking at the very heart of the Islamic Republic.
-
Death sentence for Rapper Toomaj
Tehran's legitimacy crisis
The rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to death in Iran. His case shows how the regime is fighting to maintain its power, and against whom
-
Parliamentary elections in Iran
Tehran's election fiasco
Regime and society in Iran remain on a collision course with the actual turnout in the second round of Iran's parliamentary election last week estimated to have fallen below 40 per cent.