Maghreb
All countries-
Language and language acquisition
How the brain processes German and Arabic
Language develops in different areas of the brain. Researchers have been able to show that the way these are linked varies according to the respective native language – knowledge that could prove useful. By Katrin Ewert
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“Hot Cities: Lessons from Arab Architecture”
Inspiring cities of the future
“Hot Cities: Lessons from Arab Architecture” at Germany's Vitra Design Museum provides valuable food for thought about the ways architecture can deal with climate change. Numerous examples from Arab countries illustrate how they have been defying the heat for thousands of years. By Joseph Croitoru
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Human rights in Algeria
Banned, intimidated, driven into exile
Algeria's civil society is once again being targeted by the authorities. With the judicial dissolution of the human rights league LADDH, yet another human rights group critical of the government has been shut down – the outlook could hardly be worse. By Sofian Philip Naceur
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Tunisia in turmoil
Will Tunisians rise up against Kais Saied?
Voter turnout for parliamentary elections in Tunisia at the end of January 2023 was so low it broke world records. Tunisians are dispirited and a wannabe authoritarian leads the country. What now for the endangered democracy? By Cathrin Schaer and Tarak Guizani
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Human rights deteriorating in Morocco
Rabat's defamation drive
Morocco's regime continues to silence voices through censorship and arrest, apparently feeling vulnerable in the face of widespread popular criticism. Commentary by Abdellatif El Hamamouchi
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Blasphemy, iconoclasm, Islamophobia?
Islamic art – understanding the richness of the Muslim world
How is one to convey the history of Islamic images of Muhammad freed from today’s polarised politics? What are the challenges and pinch points of this particular academic endeavour?
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War in Ukraine, climate change, mismanagement
Tunisia milk market 'collapsing' as feed prices soar
A Tunisian farmer attaches a machine to a cow's udder and sets the pump whirring, but he only expects to fetch less than half the normal amount of milk amid soaring fodder prices
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The origins of the Maghreb
Was the Arab Maghreb a French invention?
The book "The Invention of the Maghreb: between Africa and the Middle East" prompts us to review basic terminology. This includes terms that we use almost every day as if they are definitive by virtue of geography, history and culture, such as "the Arab Maghreb", "North Africa", "the Middle East" and "sub-Saharan Africa". Shady Lewis Botros read the book
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The Tuareg: literature, language and culture
"The journey of the princess"
The term "Tuareg" refers to tribes and nomads who speak dialects of Tuareg and live in Targa, an area in south-west Libya recently renamed Wadi Al-Hayat but previously known as Wadi Ajal. By Mustafa Abdullah Abdulrahman Bashir
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Middle East and North Africa
The next Arab Spring will come
Where are the measures to deal with the looming challenges facing the Arab world? In this commentary, Marwan Muasher warns that the region is in grave danger of falling behind when it comes to human development
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Best of Qantara.de 2022
Our readers' favourite articles this year
At the end of every year, the team at Qantara.de gives you a run-down of the ten most-read articles on the site over the past 12 months. Here is a quick overview of the stories that attracted the most attention in 2022. Happy New Year to all our readers!
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Protests in Iran
Rethinking Sharia and democracy
According to a recent survey, half of all Iranians say that they have left Islam as a religion, while two-thirds believe Islamic law should be excluded from their legal system. In the following essay, Ahmet T. Kuru explores the implications