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Tarred with the same brush

The fear of Islam is socially construed and tied to societally entrenched anti-Muslim racism that fails to distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Essay by Andreas Bock

Israel, Palestine – and nuance as the moral imperative

As someone accustomed to presenting his country to interested outsiders, Israeli teacher and tour guide Noam Yatsiv makes the case for a more nuanced appreciation of the historical circumstances in Israel/Palestine, deeming it a "moral obligation" of European observers

Israel's COVID-19 vaccination drive: fair share for Palestinians?

Coronavirus and the Middle East's ongoing state of emergency

Plagued by troubled state-citizen relationships on the one hand and conflict on the other, states in the Middle East could discover new uses for COVID-19 lockdown measures. By Abdalhadi Alijla

The big reveal

An art project exposes just how much the state controls sex workers in Tunisia. Such women not only have their freedom of movement restricted, they also face social isolation. Several brothels have been closed down since the Jasmine revolution. A report by Christina Omlin

Bangladesh's first lesbian comic strip heroine

Homosexuality is a taboo in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country. To foster awareness about the rights of homosexual people, the country's largest gay rights group has launched a lesbian comic strip

"Rana Plaza" film ban: the two sides of the story

"Rana Plaza", a Bengali film based on the 2013 garment factory disaster in Bangladesh, has been banned by the High Court in Dhaka. Deutsche Welle spoke to the writ petitioner as well as the filmmaker

"We needed to do more than just attend candlelight vigils"

"Paasban" (The Guardian) is a series of Pakistani comic books that seeks to fight extremism by raising awareness among young people. The books tell the story of a group of college friends who become worried when one of their number disappears. They later find out that he was recruited by an extremist organisation. Mustafa Hasnain, Gauhar Aftab and Yahya Ehsan came together to create "Paasban". Roma Rajpal Weiß spoke to Hasnain and Aftab about the series and the inspiration behind it

Even Khomeini can be disqualified

The moderate cleric Hassan Khomeini has been excluded as a candidate for the Assembly of Experts in Iran, even though he is the grandson of the nation's founder. This example shows why it so difficult for the moderates and reformists to assert themselves against the country's conservative establishment. By Ulrich von Schwerin

The Islamic Republic's never-ending labour pains

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been subject to sanctions ever since its creation in 1979. The more the regime has entrenched itself and expanded its power in the region, the more sophisticated the sanctions have become, effectively crippling the country. Will they ever end? Ali Sadrzadeh traces their history