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... And My Dreams Run Riot

Many writers from the former Soviet Union also got into trouble with the regimes that followed in its wake; among them, the Uzbek author Jodgor Obid, who has now found refuge in Austria. Uli Rothfuss tells Obid's story and reports on the situation facing writers in Uzbekistan

Arab music down the decades

France's "sacred night" of religions

A personal take on Israel

Twelve artists from different nations were invited to participate in the long-term project "This Place". The goal was to explore Israel from a personal perspective. Their photographs and video installations can now be viewed at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. By Heike Mund

Scars on Middle East landscape bear witness to past peace failures

Afghan Legal Principles under Examination

After having been threatened with a death sentence as a punishment for his conversion from Islam to Christianity, Abdul Rahman has been set free. Peter Philipp argues that the case continues to raise fundamental questions about the "Afghanistan Project"

Cultural Affiliation through Sectarian Politics

It is not difficult these days to talk pessimistically regarding the future relations between Sunnis and Shi'ites in Iraq. But according to Ahmad al-Sa'adawi, the possibility of a civil war on the basis of sectarianism appears to be less feasible with time

"Europe Shouldn't Rely on Chequebook Diplomacy"

In an interview with Qantara.de, Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, calls on Europeans to increase their political engagement in the Middle East and pleads for a comprehensive dialogue between the EU and the Arab states. Nelly Youssef spoke with him in Cairo

Between the Moderate Islamists and the Liberals

In his detailed analysis, Gamal Abdelnasser takes a look at possible future developments of Egypt's political elites and explains why Amr Mussa is likely to step up as Mubarak's successor.

The Religious Communities in the Balkans

An estimated quarter of a million people were killed in the Balkan wars in the early 1990's. A further two million were driven from their homes. Their origin often determined whether they lived or died. The Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation invited representatives of the different Balkan religions. By Klaus Dahmann