Politics

Terror in Mumbai

Attacks Likely to Provoke Wider Unrest

The attack on Mumbai shows signs of al Qaeda involvement, and is likely to bring unrest to all of Southeast Asia, says Thomas Baerthlein, expert on Pakistan and India at Deutsche Welle
Turkey and the Financial Crisis

Detroit as a Bad Omen

Since the reforms of 2001, Turkey was well on its way to becoming an economic power. It was believed that the country would be immune to the current financial crisis. In a recent trip to the auto manufacturing city of Bursa, however, Daniela Schröder discovered how tightly Turkey's economy is interwoven with that of Europe
The Gulf Region as a Foreign Policy Challenge

Fragile Epicentre of Globalisation

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation recently hosted an international conference attended by renowned experts to discuss the foreign and security policy challenges in the geostrategic important Gulf region – and the realistic opportunities for a stronger European commitment. Loay Mudhoon reports from Berlin
Hip Hop and Islamism in Britain

Rapping for the Holy War?

Islamists in the United Kingdom are using rap music videos as a call to arms to recruit young people for the holy war. Are young people being radicalised as a result or simply adopting Islam as a posture? Matthias Becker investigates
Religious Affiliation in Lebanon

Confessionalism as a Phase-out Model

Confessionalism, where religion is placed firmly at the centre of daily life, is seen as a fundamental obstacle to internal peace within Lebanon. A study by Anne Françoise Weber explores daily life and attitudes of Lebanese families in which more than one religious confession has been brought together. Martina Sabra presents its findings
The Obama Administration's Middle Eastern Policy

In Search of a New Strategic Imperative

According to the political scientist Thomas Jäger, a fundamental re-orientation of American policy on the Middle East under President Obama is highly unlikely. The key factor for the USA's activities in the Middle East will be whether American foreign policy receives a new framework for law and order beyond the "War on Terror"
Germany's National Integration Summit

Integration Cannot Be Dictated from Above

The third of Germany's National Integration Summits has done little to close the gap between the government and the country's migrant population. Baha Güngör comments
Reactions to Obama's Election Victory in the Islamic World

A Call for Change – in the Islamic World Too?

Not unexpectedly, Barack Obama's election as the next president of the United States harvested a mainly positive echo in the Arab states and Iran, where people are hopeful for a change in US policy. Peter Philipp sums up the reactions
Muslim Integration in Europe

Is Europe Trying to Build a Fundamentalist Islam?

People with a Muslim background in Europe are often reduced to their religious identity by the authorities in their countries. But many immigrants do not identify themselves by religion. The American historian Philip Jenkins says that this religious identification by the authorities has highly damaging consequences
Restructuring the Religious Sector in Morocco

Nipping Religious Extremism in the Bud

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has restructured the religious sector in his kingdom for the second time. He hopes that these new sweeping reforms of the religious establishment will promote a moderate brand of Islam and nip radical Islamism in the bud. Alfred Hackensberger has the details
Turkey's Image in the Arab Countries

"Are There Any Muslims in Turkey?"

Part of the West or leader of the Islamic world? The Arab nations see their neighbour Turkey in various ways. The Jordanian journalist Yousef Alsharif, head of TV station Al Jazeera's Turkey office in Ankara analyses how the perception of Turkey in the neighbouring Arab states has changed
"Napoleon in Egypt"

Three Short Years and Their Aftermath

At the end of the 18th century, Napoleon made an attempt to capture Egypt, for strategic and economic reasons. An exhibition in the Paris Institut du Monde Arabe takes a look at this colonial episode.
By Susan Javad