Society

Interview with Gudrun Kramer

Muslims must take a critical look at controversial passages in the Koran

The majority of Muslims are quite rightly resisting attempts by jihadists to co-opt their religion. Yet at the same, both jihadists and their opponents justify their arguments by quoting passages from the Koran. Ulrich von Schwerin spoke to the Islam Studies scholar Gudrun Kramer about the relationship between Islam and violence, the interpretation of the Koran and possible ways of combating jihadism
By Ulrich von Schwerin
Interview with Karen Armstrong

Islamist violence is "in part a product of Western disdain"

Karen Armstrong, British scholar of comparative religion, finds that there is a long and inglorious tradition of distorting Islam in Europe. She criticises the notion that Islam is essentially more violent than Christianity and speaks about the genesis of Western disdain for the Arab world. Interview by Claudia Mende
By Claudia Mende
Photo project "This Place"

A missed opportunity

Twelve international photographers set out to explore Israel and the West Bank through the lenses of their cameras for the photo project "This Place". The aim was to see Israel as a metaphor and to go beyond the stereotypes. According to Felix Koltermann, however, the project makes no more than a marginal contribution to a more profound engagement with the reality of the region
By Felix Koltermann
Muslims and the Paris attacks

European Muslims must speak as one

Islam will continue to be equated with brutality until such time as the Muslims of Europe stand together as a group that not only protects its religiousness, but also projects a positive image of its religion, says Jordanian writer Mousa Barhouma
By Mousa Barhouma
The anti-Semitism debate

A desperate need for a third way

In the wake of a protest against Israel's war in Gaza last year, Israel's ambassador to Germany claimed that Jews are being hunted again in Germany "like it's 1938". In this article, William Noah Glucroft, a Jew living in Berlin, considers this statement and what people mean when they talk about anti-Semitism
By William Noah Glucroft
Taliban attacks on schools in Pakistan

"We will never forget what happened"

On 16 December 2014, a group of Pakistan Taliban militants entered the auditorium and classrooms of the Army Public School in Peshawar and opened fire, killing over 140 people. The attack outraged the world and triggered a debate about the Taliban threat to schools in the country. Sadly, this school attack was no isolated incident: since 2007, more than 1,000 schools have been attacked or destroyed. By Kiran Nazish in Peshawar and Swat
By Kiran Nazish
Democracy and freedom of speech

Charlie and Theo

In the wake of the Paris attacks, many people were quick to view the killings as a direct attack on democracy and to claim that freedom of speech is absolute. In this essay, Ian Buruma explores the principles of free speech and tolerance
By Ian Buruma
Interview with Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole

"There is a collective will to live together"

Prominent Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole is a leading authority on Islamic identity and urban Muslim women. In an interview with Ceyda Nurtsch, she explains why freedom of speech is not sacred and why a new society in Europe is inevitable
By Ceyda Nurtsch
The Salaam-Shalom Initiative

Breaking down artificial walls

A year after its launch, the Salaam-Shalom Initiative has become one of the biggest intercultural groups in Berlin with dozens of events in mosques, synagogues and community centres. Armin Langer looks back on an eventful year
By Armin Langer
On Raif Badawi, Charlie Hebdo and non-violent Islamism

"We are all in this together, like it or not"

The shocking events of recent weeks – from the attacks in Paris, the flogging of Raif Badawi, and massacres in Nigeria and Pakistan – are all connected, writes Elham Manea, and they all deserve our equal and unreserved outrage and attention
By Elham Manea
German–Israeli–Palestinian research co-operation

Science in the shadow of war

The conflict in the Middle East has been making negative headlines in the international media for decades. Less attention is paid to initiatives in the region that specifically and deliberately bring people from the different sides of the conflict together, such as an academic project involving German, Israeli and Palestinian scientists. By Thomas Kramer
By Thomas Krämer
Historical roots of the current Middle East crisis

The end of an artificial construct

After the First World War, many people hoped for a lasting order that would bring peace. The mandate system, which was supervised by the international community, was supposed to bring a new form of "benevolent" imperialism to the Middle East. However, the region is still dominated by the problems that were created at that time – more so today than ever before. By Jakob Krais
By Jakob Krais