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The threat of a new lockdown emerges

After the country initially showed itself to be gaining control over the pandemic, to the point of being classified as a safe country for travel from the European Union, the situation in Morocco has deteriorated, as the King himself has noted. So has Morocco lost its way in the fight against the coronavirus? By Ismail Azzam

Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan

One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failure

Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countries

The Prophet Muhammad never executed anyone for apostasy, nor encouraged his followers to do so. Nor is criminalising sacrilege based on Islam’s main sacred text, the Koran. In this essay, Ahmet Kuru exposes the political motivations for criminalising blasphemy and apostasy

Myanmar's denier-in-chief: ″An utter failure of moral leadership″

An estimated number of 270,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled ethnic cleansing in Myanmar and have crossed over to Bangladesh. Aid agencies are struggling to cope with the influx and are reporting an acute shortage of provisions. Roma Rajpal Weiss spoke to Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch in Asia

When women ruled the Muslim world

Were it not for the timely intervention of women down the centuries, many an Islamic dynasty would have torn itself apart. By Mohamed Yosri

Not quite the American dream

"American*ish" – co-written by Aizzah Fatima and Iman K. Zawahry, and directed by the latter – is a rom com for an America too many don't want to acknowledge. Whereas most mainstream American TV and films present the Muslim immigrant community as a monolithic group with a kind of hive mind, this film goes out of its way to break the mould. By Richard Marcus

"Human, flawed and funny"

Actor and writer Aizzah Fatima made waves in 2014 with her provocative play "Dirty Paki Lingerie" which explored what it meant to be a Muslim in the post 9/11 world. Fatima spoke to Roma Rajpal Weiss on her upcoming work – "The Art of Hijab, Kohl Black and The Right Way To Pray", a play that engages with the stigmatisation of hijab-wearing Muslim women in the Western world

The hajj: Pilgrims in their millions

Fashion for the modern Muslim woman

Belkis Baharcieva came to Germany as a refugee in 2001. At the age of 30, she began studying fashion design in Trier. Baharcieva recently set up an online fashion shop, selling her own designs to Muslim women who want to wear high-quality, beautiful Islamic clothing. Falah Elias spoke with the designer