Essays
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Interview with the Moroccan thinker Hassan AouridDemocracy cannot be stopped
Hassan Aourid is one of the most important political and intellectual figures in Morocco. In interview with Ismail Azzam for Qantara, Aourid outlines his vision of the decline of political Islam and the future of democracy and human rights in the Maghreb
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Modiʹs identity politicsIslamophobia threatens to engulf India
Indiaʹs constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, but the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not care. Run by Hindu-supremacists, it is enforcing aggressive anti-Muslim policies. By Arfa Khanum Sherwani
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An enduring stereotypeThe West's gleeful obsession with the 'oppressed Arab woman'
The stereotype of the oppressed Arab woman continues to dominate public discourse throughout Europe. Not only is this skewed image altering the perception of changing notions of family and roles within the Arab world, it is also an expression of our own cultural insecurity, writes Claudia Mende
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Revenge is not the answer!Prosecuting tyranny in the Arab world
In the wake of the Arab Spring, not one Arab dictator has faced charges for creating a police state and inducing terror among citizens. Similarly, none has been prosecuted for destroying state institutions, the essentials of citizenship, or the means of social advancement. Analysis by Shafiq Nazim Ghabra
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Identity politics in the WestIslam – no longer the bogeyman
The champions of white identity are re-grouping. In the West hostility towards Islam has had its day. It is now being absorbed into common or garden racism, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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German-Iranian artist Parastou ForouharWhat it means to be Iranian these days
Whether in the news or on social media, what is currently penetrating the outside world from Iran depicts an all-encompassing crisis. For Iranians observing from the diaspora, this constitutes a scarcely tolerable new banishment into impotent speechlessness and helplessness. By Parastou Forouhar
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Europe's policies in the Middle EastLate-colonial convulsions
The UK has stopped an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar. Italy and France are supporting opposing parties at war in Libya. Germany has other priorities. Europe is doing almost exactly what it did 100 years ago. An essay by Stefan Buchen
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Syrian conflictThe war in Syria is not over
Policymakers and media have recently taken to announcing the end of the war in Syria, concluding that the refugees could now begin to return home. Syrian author Tarek Azizeh, however, is convinced that as long as Assad controls the country, there will be no peace
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Military dictatorships in the Middle EastThe real enemies of the Arab Spring
For people in the Arab world to be able to throw off the yoke of military rule, a new balance must be struck between political and social forces and the military. Though it is now years since the Arab Spring, this goal still seems a long way off. By Ali Anouzla
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Womenʹs rights in SudanMotivated by hope
Political Islam posed an unprecedented challenge to womenʹs emancipation in Sudan. Despite worsening circumstances, numerous womenʹs rights organisations, associations and centres continued to lead courageous campaigns all over the country to address the many pressing issues women were and are still facing. By Wini Omer