Essays
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Middle EastEnding Iraq′s humanitarian crisis: Trust the people
Provided its leaders correctly reassess the changing regional and domestic dynamics and agree to allow all Iraqis, regardless of their sect and cultural orientation, to choose their own political and civil structure, the country can still overcome the horrors of the past 14 years. Essay by Alon Ben-Meir
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Arab nationalism and political IslamSecularism – ″the other option″?
In his essay, Syrian publicist and writer Hammud Hammud debunks conventional Islamist prejudices regarding the concept of secularism and examines the ambivalence of political Islam and Arab nationalism
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Violence in the Arab worldBorn of a barbaric state
In this essay, the Syrian writer Morris Ayek describes how repressive Arab states have succeeded in creating societies modelled on themselves
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Islam in the Middle EastThe curse of religiosity
Some regard the fanatical and raging tide currently sweeping through Arab societies as variations of a "latent Daesh-isation". Indeed, argues Khaled Hroub, despite falling short of the use of violence or arms, in its most extreme form, its ideological principles and convictions share common ground with the heinous beliefs of Islamic State
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Terror attack on Egypt′s Christian minorityWhy the Coptic focus?
Last week′s heinous bus attack was just the latest in a wave of brutal terrorist strikes by the Islamic State group on Egypt′s minority community of Coptic Christians. In his essay, the Egyptian writer Shady Lewis Botros looks at why the Copts in particular are bearing the brunt of these vicious assaults
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Arab identity crisisWhat is left of the Arabs?
Despite war and mass murder, the Arabs were never as numerous as they are today. But they were also never as unsure about who they are. Does an Arab identity survive? What about Arab culture? These are the questions being asked today. In view of the political and social downward spiral, all of this is now at stake, says Stefan Buchen in his essay
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The Syrian conflictMendacious diplomacy
As the war in Syria rolls on and civilians continue to die, caught in the deadly crossfire of a multi-front conflict, the Syrian military and political opposition – bowing to intense international diplomatic pressure – has been dragged into political negotiations that lack the minimum conditions for success. Essay by Burhan Ghalioun, former chairman of the Syrian opposition Transitional National Council
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What it means to be GermanRecognise the potential
Germany is a country of immigration. Clinging to an out-dated and mythical understanding of what it means to be German not only adds grist to the right-wing populists′ mill, it also endangers social cohesion. By Andreas Bock
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Islam the bogeymanTarred with the same brush
The fear of Islam is socially construed and tied to societally entrenched anti-Muslim racism that fails to distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Essay by Andreas Bock
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The West and the Muslim worldBin the black and white model
East-West dualism fuelled by the rise of right-wing populists in Europe and the election of US President Trump is hampering the progress of the Orient and that of Muslim communities in the West, warns analyst Shafeeq Ghabra. High time for some ideological disarmament, says the political scientist