Qantara Startseite Englisch - Dialogue with the Islamic world
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Jafar Panahi's film "It Was Just an Accident"Humanism and humour
In the Iranian director's most critical film yet, Jafar Panahi presents a cross-section of society, takes aim at the practice of torture and shows fearless women claiming space. But there's still room for comedy.
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Historical photographs of SyriaAn obsessive archivist
Ahmed Hasan sold his house to pursue a passion for historical photographs. His collection traces Syria's history through everyday life.
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Education in SyriaReturning pupils face language barrier
Eleven-year-old Ali spent six years in Germany. Now back in Syria, he is struggling with Arabic, his native language, as the new government appears overwhelmed by the task of reintegrating returning schoolchildren.
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Syria's economyAusterity and liberalisation won't rebuild the country
Syria's government is pursuing economic growth through liberalisation, foreign investment and cuts to state spending. These moves benefit the new elite but won't lift the majority out of crisis.
Politics
More about Politics-
Religion in the armed forcesMilitary imams to be introduced in Germany
From 2026, Germany's Bundeswehr will recruit chaplains for Muslim soldiers, responding to calls from Islamic associations that go back over two decades.
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One year after AssadThe road to a new Syria
A year ago, rebel forces ousted Syria’s Assad regime. How has the country changed since? Leading experts weigh in.
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Assad's Syria"Our documents reveal how state terror was organised"
Human rights activist Hassan al-Hariri risked his life to gather evidence of the atrocities committed by the Assad regime. One year after Assad's fall, he still sees major shortcomings in Syria's process of coming to terms with its past.
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Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad"Our very existence is seen as a provocation"
Plestia Alaqad’s reporting from Gaza in 2023 reached millions worldwide. Now based in Australia, she reflects on fleeing her home and living with survivor’s guilt while representing Palestine to the international media.
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Disarming Hezbollah in LebanonNasrallah on the Pigeon Rocks
When the Lebanese government moved to disarm Hezbollah, the influential militia responded with a symbolic show of force in the heart of Beirut. Is it projecting strength, or masking political weakness?
Society
More about Society-
Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi"Intersectional long before the term was coined"
A seminal feminist text by Nawal El Saadawi has been translated into English and German for the first time, over five decades after it first appeared in Arabic. Publisher and translator Sophie Haesen explains why it should be essential reading worldwide.
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War crimes in SyriaThe starvation of Yarmouk on trial
A new trial of Syrian war crimes suspects has opened in Koblenz, Germany. It's the first since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and the first ever to charge starvation as a war crime.
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Child labour in EgyptNew regulations won't end poverty
Whether in supermarkets, workshops or factories, child labour is ubiquitous in Egypt. A new law aims to curb it, but labour laws alone will not solve the structural problems that drive children to work.
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Islah HassniyyehGaza's feminist legal pioneer
Islah Hassniyyeh was the first woman to open a law firm in Gaza. In September, she died under Israeli blockade in Gaza City. A portrait of a trailblazing lawyer and lifelong advocate for women's rights in Palestine.
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Syrian reconstruction"Debris isn't waste"
Concrete, brick, steel: Aref al-Swaidani wants to rebuild Syria from its ruins. In Weimar he’s conducting research on recycling building materials.
Culture
More about Culture-
Literature in YemenThe last bastion of beauty
Yemen's cultural scene has been hard hit by years of war, but not completely silenced. While many writers and intellectuals have left the country, the small literary club Alamaqah remains active, a testament to the resilience of Yemeni culture.
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Architecture in LibyaReclaiming a vanishing colonial heritage
As Benghazi’s Italian-era architecture slowly disappears, an exhibition brings together architects and artists rethinking the city’s history — reassessing the colonial past without celebrating it.
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Cherien Dabis's "All That's Left of You"Palestinian identity on screen
In "All That's Left of You", Cherien Dabis intertwines a three-generation family saga with the history of Israel and Palestine, placing her within a growing movement of filmmakers negotiating Palestinian identity through cinema.
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"In the Land of the Forgotten" by Aliyeh AtaeiStories of war and the fight for freedom
With a keen sense for nuance, Aliyeh Ataei describes a life between Iran and Afghanistan, one marked by resistance, a search for identity and constant confrontation with social norms.
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AlgeriaA DIY cultural renaissance
A new independent, youth-led movement is reshaping Algerian culture. Four young artists reflect on their experiences and efforts to carve out space outside of official frameworks.
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
Most read articles
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Religion in the armed forces
Military imams to be introduced in Germany
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Prostitution in Tunisia
The big reveal
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Sex tourism in Egypt
A bride for the summer
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One year after Assad
The road to a new Syria
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Syrian women in Assadʹs prisons
No end to Bashar's crimes against humanity
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10th Anniversary of the Death of Annemarie Schimmel
Searching for the Inner Life of Islam