Essays
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The West and the Islamic world
The despotic temptation
Unable to contain the violence, suffering, and chaos engulfing the Middle East and North Africa, Western leaders are falling back into the Cold War trap. All they want is for someone – and now virtually anyone – to enforce order. By Ana Palacio
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Post-Arabellion reform deadlock
The logic of power
The Arab world is locked into a huge cycle of violence. At the same time, reformers are isolated - both within the regimes and outside them. Those who advocate violence, on the other hand, sense momentum and are growing in number. And they are convinced that the future will be a violent one. An essay by the Kuwaiti political scientist Shafeeq Ghabra
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Racism in Germany
The taint of PEGIDA journalism
No one who has written in support of a "culture of rejection" should be surprised by the Pirincci scandal, or that someone might lash out in response. Robert Misik considers the debate
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Political rule before and after the ″Arabellion″
Internal colonialism and counter-revolution
When an elite ruling class controls state institutions and resources and uses them for its own benefit, this can be called ″internal colonialism″. Such systems exist in their worst form in the Arab world. The Syrian author Louay Safi believes, however, that all signs indicate that the Arab peoples will rid themselves of this colonialism and that the repressive military regimes will be smothered by their own crimes and corruption
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Refugee crisis in Europe
The price of European indifference
In dealing with the refugee crisis – harassed by its xenophobes and consumed by self-doubt – Europe has turned its back on its values. Or has it lost sight of them altogether? A critical discussion by the French philosopher Bernhard-Henri Levy
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Taha Hussein and the democratisation of education in Egypt
The sea of knowledge
The Egyptian author Taha Hussein warned as long ago as the 1930s that the future of Egypt depended on reforming its education system. His book "The Future of Culture in Egypt" is a plea for an enlightened, democratic and Mediterranean Egypt. By Andreas Pflitsch
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Immigration and the new class divide
Feeding on people's grievances
In this essay, Ian Buruma explores what it is that American Tea Party enthusiasts, Russian chauvinists, right-wing populist Dutch and Danes, and Singaporean leftists have in common and why this common ground is driving anti-immigrant sentiment around the world
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The perception of Islam as the enemy
When fear creeps in
The sudden rise of the Pegida movement in Germany has shown that many people here obviously have a deep-seated fear of Islam. Khola Maryam Hubsch wonders what it is that makes people fear a threat that doesn't actually exist
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Muslims in Germany
Blocked integration
The case of the cancelled event against homophobia at the Sehitlik Mosque in Berlin is not evidence of the "backwardness of Islam", as many so-called "critics of Islam" are claiming. It is solely an illustration of the fact that conditions in Germany make it incredibly difficult for Muslims to be a self-determined and equal part of our society. By Armin Langer
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LGBT in Islam
"Islam does give us leeway to think"
Muslim and gay? Most scholars consider homosexual acts unlawful – not so Muhsin Hendricks, who says that the Koran does not say that homosexuality is a sin. Jannis Hagmann spoke to the South African imam about Islam, homosexuality and Koranic interpretation