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"Kurdish Cinema Really Started out with Yilmaz Güney"

Is there such a thing as authentic Kurdish cinema, a Kurdish language film style? Amin Farzanefar speaks with Mehmet Aktas and Bülent Kücük

The right to a mother tongue

An estimated 800,000 Kurds from various countries live in Germany. Keeping up their mother tongue has proved difficult. Ceyda Nurtsch on the efforts to maintain Kurdish language and literature in the German diaspora, and pass them on to future generations

Tearing at the Country's Fabric

Further cracks are appearing along Turkey's ethnic fault lines. According to the Turkish authorities provocations prior to a referendum on constitutional amendments are the main reason, but experts suggest otherwise. By Ayşe Karabat

Old Prejudices Resurface

The Turkish ban on the Democratic Society Party (DTP) has led to protests and riots. Some Kurdish politicians are considering forming a new party, but since the 1990s three have already been banned. Jürgen Gottschlich investigates

We are all caliphs!

The history of the Caliphate is, with a few exceptions, an unstable and unhappy one. In this essay, Stefan Weidner explains why the self-appointed caliphs of today, like the ISIS leader in Iraq, have little in common with the caliphs of old

World History from an Islamic Perspective

Afghan-born Tamim Ansary has written a history of the world that takes Islam as its central focus. Events are related from a Muslim point of view, beginning with the life of the Prophet through to September 11th, 2001. Review by Klaus Heymach

Demonstrating the Modernity of Islam

Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American writer whose first book, 'No God but God', met with widespread acclaim. In her review for Qantara.de, Helena Sabbagh praises Aslan's combination of academic knowledge and an easy-to-read tone

Celebrating 100 Years of the Caliphate

Muslim missionaries found in Western cities are often part of the messianic Ahmidiyya movement. The peaceful beliefs of Ahmadis, who can be found in small numbers in Germany, are seen as heretical by most Muslims. Oliver Samson reports

When hope turns to fear

By extending its airstrikes against the terror organisation IS to include Kurdish militant PKK targets, Turkey risks escalating conflict with other Kurdish groups in the region. The Iraqi Kurds are worried. By Birgit Svensson in Irbil

"I Stand in Opposition of Tradition!"

German-Turkish director Faith Akin's "Head-On" took home the Berlinale's Golden Bear, making "Gegen die Wand" the first German film to win the main award in 18 years. Eleonora Volodina spoke with him about the film