Society

"Women's Power in Arabic"

Long-overdue Confrontations

In his new book, the journalist Karim El-Gawhary gives a voice and a face to strong Arab women, while moving beyond the clichés and headscarf debates. Martina Sabra describes the book as multifaceted, revealing, entertaining, emotionally moving, and definitely worth reading
By Martina Sabra
Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Bleak Prospects

Syrian refugees in Jordan live under dire conditions, Amnesty International reports. The situation is particularly difficult for young girls, according to Amnesty International's Mideast consultant Ruth Jüttner. An interview by Kersten Knipp
By Kersten Knipp
Germany's New Minister for Migration

Aydan Özoguz, a Turkish-German at the Top

The SPD's Aydan Özoguz is the first politician of Turkish origin to hold a top post in Germany. As integration minister, she gives a voice to the country's many migrants - but she has not been without controversy. By Michael Hartlep
By Michael Hartlep
Human Rights Activist Razan Zeitouneh Kidnapped

Syria's Fearless Dissident

For some two decades, the lawyer, recipient of the Sakharov Prize, and head of the Centre for Documentation of Violations in Syria has tirelessly fought against the Assad dictatorship. Together with three other activists, she has recently been kidnapped in Syria. Details by Albert Kadir
By Albert Kadir
Libya

Removing Gaddafi from Schoolbooks

History should be a source of inspiration for people to build their future. For this purpose, you need history books based on accuracy and objectivity, so pupils at schools learn about their country's past without distortion. In the case of Libya, this is proving to be difficult. By Reda Fhelboom
By Reda Fhelboom
Higher Education in Afghanistan

Education for Progress in Afghanistan

The Afghan higher education system has undergone considerable improvement since the end of the Taliban regime in 2001. German scholarships aim to promote and continue this development. Background information from Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
By Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
Interview with Angelika Neuwirth

"The claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age-old cliche"

In this interview with Anna Alvi and Alia Hübsch, Prof. Angelika Neuwirth says that the claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age old cliché, and that it is pride in the Enlightenment that continues to lead people to believe that Western Culture is superior to Islam
By Anna Alvi und Alia Hübsch
Journalism from the Middle East

Tall Tales from the Desert

A blogging Syrian lesbian, Libyan soldiers in a Viagra-fuelled frenzy, Tunisian women on a sexual Jihad: The blend of sex, Islam and war is failsafe bait for western media, which often fall for propaganda from the Middle East. Not all of the stories are hoaxes, but many of them are. By Sonja Zekri in Cairo
By Sonja Zekri
Interview with the Migration Expert Rita Süssmuth

Learning to Deal with Diversity

If Europe's immigration policy is not changed in the coming years, the continent's population will start to shrink dramatically in 2025. Annika Zeitler spoke to the German migration expert and former President of the Bundestag, Rita Süssmuth
By Annika Zeitler
Debate on European Islam

A Mined Terrain

The concept of European Islam has proved to be a constant source of controversy. For some it embodies the deliverance of Islam from everything that is perceived as backward looking and pre-modern. Others fear that a European Islam is a watered-down religion, a kind of government-controlled "state Islam", prepared to fully accommodate to the wishes of the authorities. By Claudia Mende
By Claudia Mende
Islamophobia and Racism in France

Shocking Indifference

Attacks on Muslim establishments are on the increase in France. Most recently, the Grand Mosquée in Paris was daubed with racist slogans. Islamophobia and xenophobia are also featuring more prominently in the public discourse. Bernhard Schmid reports
By Bernhard Schmid
Mohammed Helmy

First Arab Honoured by Israel for Rescuing Jewish Family from the Nazis

Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial institute for the first time granted an award to an Egyptian for rescuing a Jewish family during World War II in Berlin. Igal Avidan spoke to Irena Steinfeldt, director of the Department for the Righteous Among the Nations in Yad Vashem
By Igal Avidan