Society

Interview with Turkish women's rights activist Selime Buyukgoze

A history of resistance

The attempted rape and subsequent murder of the student Ozgecan Aslan alerted the world to violence against women in Turkey. Ceyda Nurtsch spoke with Selime Buyukgoze from the women's rights organisation Mor Cati about women's struggle for self-determination
By Ceyda Nurtsch
Book review: Victoria Schneider's "Are you Charlie?"

A deeply divided country

A very topical and important e-book entitled "Are you Charlie?" was published on 25 February. Its author, Victoria Schneider, offers her impressions of France after the "Charlie Hebdo" attack and paints a picture of a divided society. Claudia Kramatschek read the book
By Claudia Kramatschek
Interview with the Islam scholar Lamya Kaddor

Jihad as a form of youth protest

In her new book "Zum Töten bereit. Warum deutsche Jugendliche in den Dschihad ziehen" (Willing to kill. Why German youths are joining the jihad), religious education teacher and scholar of Islam Lamya Kaddor asks why some young Germans are attracted to the jihadi cause. Claudia Mende spoke to her about the radicalisation of young Germans
By Claudia Mende
Leslee Udwin's controversial documentary "India's daughter"

Indian government ban causes uproar

The Indian government's ban on the broadcasting of "India's Daughter", a documentary about the fatal gang-rape of a woman in New Delhi in 2012, has reopened the debate about the attitude to violence against women in the country. In the wake of this dreadful crime, women and activists are resorting to new measures to create awareness and challenge sexual harassment in the country.
By Roma Rajpal Weiss
Jihadism in Dagestan

A growing problem in the fight against terrorism

Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia are known to be hotbeds of Islamist activity. For some time now, many young, radicalised Muslims have been leaving their homes in Europe and northern Africa to join the ranks of radical Islamist groups such as IS. However, little attention has thus far been paid to the number of jihadis coming out of the Russian Republic of Dagestan. By Kiran Nazish in Afghanistan
By Kiran Nazish
Anti-Muslim sentiment in Canada and the US

Playing on people's fears

North America has seen an alarming number of anti-Muslim attacks in recent months. With elections coming up in both Canada and the US in the next two years, Richard Marcus takes a look at the context of these attacks and the reactions to them
By Richard Marcus
Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

A third way, yes, but one that acknowledges the complexity of today's realities

Terrorist attacks, the rise of hate-crimes and extremism threaten the cohesion of European societies. All of these events underline the need for a "third way", one that neither strives for isolation nor promotes animosity. Yet a "third way" must not turn a blind eye to the impact of hate-speech and hate-crimes on the collective conscience of a targeted group. And it has to resist the temptation to exaggerate reality for the sake of its mission. By David Neuwirth
By David Neuwirth
Manifesto published by Muslim intellectuals

For Islam and democracy

Muslim intellectuals have called on their fellow believers to indentify the failures of Muslim societies and develop an Islam for the twenty-first century. Loay Mudhoon believes that Europe should unreservedly support this effort
By Loay Mudhoon
"Women of the Islamic State"

Prisoners of a barbaric system

Marriage at age nine is permitted, working is not; make-up is evil. A new treatise written by female supporters of IS sheds light on the image and role of women in the area controlled by Islamic State. By Prof Susanne Schroeter
By Susanne Schröter
The post-Pegida period

Pegida may be running out of steam, but its ideas live on

The Pegida activists' winter fairy tale is drawing to a close. We owe this not only to the movement's internal disputes and confused agenda, but also to a large number of counter-demonstrations. Civil society is apparently united in opposition to right wing demonstrations. All's well that ends well? Answers from Stefan Weidner
By Stefan Weidner
Religious communities in the Middle East

No to sectarianism; yes to equal citizenship!

The author and media commentator Khaled Hroub believes that Christians, Muslims, Jews and followers of other religions can only live peacefully together in the Middle East if people in these countries stop looking at each other in terms of their faith and start treating everyone – without exception – as citizens with equal rights
By Khaled Hroub
Arabs and Jews in Israel

You can't tear us apart

Israeli society is divided. Most Israeli Arabs and Jews live in separate worlds. Most, but not all. Andrea Backhaus presents three inspiring examples of co-existence in Israel
By Andrea Backhaus