Politics

Pakistan's Domestic Crisis

Endgame for Musharraf

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf discovered the limits to his powers when he tried to sack the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, who has since acted as a lightning rod for the anti-Musharraf feelings that have been building up for years. Irfan Husain reports
Jailed Opposition Activists in Syria

Don't Lock 'em up, Listen to What They Have to Say!

Shortly before President Bashar al Assad's re-election, several prominent critics of his regime were given long prison sentences. With this move, argues Kristin Helberg, the regime in Damascus threw away the chance of involving the country's moderate opposition in a long overdue process of political reform
Turkey's Political Crisis

Fanning the Flames of Fear

The mass rallies against the conservative Islamic government, such as the one that recently took place in Izmir, are drawing attention to the widely feared creeping Islamicization of Turkey and the country's current political crisis. By Ömer Erzeren
Murat Kurnaz, the "Bremen Taliban"

Inside Guantánamo

Murat Kurnaz, a Bremen-born Muslim living in Germany with a Turkish passport, spent five years in Guantánamo. After reading his recently published book, Julia Gerlach sums up that it is not Kurnaz that is a security risk – but the story he has chronicled
Nicolas Sarkozy and France's Middle East Policy

An Adjusted Continuity

Divided between uncertainty and anxiety, the Arab world is waiting with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion for Nicolas Sarkozy and the future of French politics in the Middle East. Hamid Skif reports
The Murat Kurnaz Case

A Parable on the Divisibility of Human Rights

The German security services say that Murat Kurnaz was a security risk; he describes himself as a pious Muslim who went to Pakistan to look for religious guidance. Eberhard Seidel thinks that the case shows that Germany has failed to come up to its own standards
State of Emergency in Bangladesh

Litmus Test for Democracy

The transitional government in Bangladesh, in office since January this year, has put off parliamentary elections until next year. By then it aims to have rooted out the country's widespread corruption. Sonja Ernst reports
"Hamas" by Joseph Croitoru

The Islamic Struggle for Palestine

The informative and entertainingly written book "Hamas – the Islamic Struggle for Palestine" by the historian and journalist Joseph Croitoru offers readers a better understanding of Hamas and the Middle East conflict. Jürgen Endres takes a look
Interview with Mainat Abdulayeva

The Media in Chechnya

Recent events have cast doubts on the freedom of the press in both Russia and Cechnya. Ariana Mirza spoke to Chechen journalist Mainat Abdulayeva, who has been living in Germany since threats were made on her life, and asked her how she sees the situation
Presidential Election in France

No Unified "Muslim Vote"

None of the twelve candidates in the French presidential elections could count on the undivided support of the Islamic associations. And neither Sarkozy nor Royal can be sure of Muslim votes in the run-off on 6 May. By Götz Nordbruch
Missionary Activity in Turkey

Pressure Applied from All Sides

Although very few people in Turkey convert to another religion, both left and right are heralding a crisis caused by Christian missionary activity. Tarık Işık and İsmail Saymaz report
UN Troops for Darfur

Aid Workers Remain Sceptical

Sudan gives way and allows 3,000 UN troops into Darfur. After repeated disappointments in the past, aid organisations remain sceptical. By Marc Engelhardt, Nairobi