Society

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 Das ist ein Test
Muslims in Britain

Seeking to Combat Extremism

The brutal killing of Lee Rigby in London in May by two Muslim converts was widely condemned by Muslim religious leaders, but still led to a rise in threats made against Muslims and mosques. Many Muslims in Britain, however, work to try and counter extremism. Joanna Impey reports
By Joanna Impey
The Arab Spring in Historical Perspective

Revolutions Take Time

Analysts have gleefully declared the Arab Spring to have failed. What they don't understand however, is that fundamental societal changes don't occur over night. In her essay, Ingrid Thurner pleads for more time for the Arab Spring
By Ingrid Thurner
Islamic environmentalism

The call to eco-jihad

Gradually – and unnoticed by most Muslims – Muslim intellectuals and scholars have, since the late 1960s, been developing an Islamic environmental theology. Their aim is to examine green principles such as sustainability, environmental protection, animal welfare, and biodiversity in terms of their compatibility with Islam. By Monika Zbidi
By Monika Zbidi
Muslims in Germany

Nice and Mild Sharia

Muslims should engage and transform this society. This would require them, however, to overcome the fear of being liked by some. Or is the only good Muslim a rejected Muslim? An essay by Charlotte Wiedemann
By Charlotte Wiedemann
Muslims in Liberal Democracies

Why the West Fears Islam

Harvard professor and Islam expert Jocelyne Cesari looks into the mechanisms of the West's fear of Islam, and ponders on how the dominant narrative that tends to present Islam as an alien religion can be countered
By Jocelyne Cesari
Interfaith Partnerships in Germany

Cultural Diversity as an Enrichment

In light of the increasing cultural and religious diversity in society, interfaith partnerships are nowadays no longer a rarity. How do these couples experience everyday life together and how to they deal with each other's different culture, traditions, and value systems? Julie Schwannecke provides some insight
By Julie Schwannecke
The Dialogue Lexicon

Christianity and Islam on Equal Terms

The Eugen Biser Foundation in Munich and the Islamic-Theological Faculty at the University of Ankara have published a joint lexicon of basic terms from Christianity and Islam. The reference text in German and Turkish provides, for the first time, a parallel presentation of two monotheistic religions in one work. By Claudia Mende
By Claudia Mende
Turkish Victims of the NSU Murders in Germany

A Victim's Daughter Testifies

When she appears in court, Gamze Kubasik will testify in the presence of those accused of killing her father. She hopes for composure. She also seeks justice and a sense of "inner peace" that vanished in April 2006. Andrea Grunau reports
By Andrea Grunau
Oriental Christians in Germany

Providing a Diplomatic Bridge

A new central council of oriental Christians has been formed in Germany to raise public awareness of the problems Arab Christians are facing in conflict-ridden countries like Syria, Egypt and Iraq. Günther Birkenstock reports
By Günther Birkenstock