Society

Gender Equality and the Sharia

Thirty Egyptian Women Assume Judgeships

After a decision by the Supreme Judicial Council the judicial world in Egypt is split along those who encourage the presence of women on the bench and between those who strongly object to female presence as a practise that goes against the shari'a. Nelly Youssef reports
Media in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Between Self-censorship and Repression

Mass media in Iran are subjected to censorship and the tyranny of state control. Journalists who refuse to toe the line and follow the official ideology have to be prepared to suffer severe repression – or to flee abroad. By Asghar Schirazi
Holocaust Conference in Indonesia

Breaking Down Prejudices and Ignorance

An international holocaust conference was recently held in the world's most highly populated Muslim country, Indonesia. The unusual gathering brought together Muslim dignitaries, holocaust survivors and even Israeli rabbis. Tobias Grote-Beverborg has the details
Afghan Journalist Murdered

The Voice of Peace Has Been Silenced

The number of targeted attacks on women who play an active role in public life in Afghanistan is on the increase. The murder of Zakia Zaki on 6 June is the latest instalment in an appalling series of murders in Afghanistan. By Ratbil Shamel and Sayed Rohulla Yasir
Aid to Refugees in Sicily

God's Squatters

Biagio Conte, Franciscan monk and son of a Sicilian building contractor, is creating a furor with his spectacular, altruistic actions for illegal immigrants in Sicily. Arian Fariborz visits him in his mission
Integration of Muslims in the US

Familiarity with Difference

North American Muslims are better integrated into their societies than are their European counterparts. What allows them to participate without assimilation is the "pluralistic" public sphere, says Marcia Pally
Interview with Abdelwahab Meddeb

In Search of the "Greek" Dimension of Islam

Abdelwahab Meddeb is one of North Africa's most important contemporary thinkers. Meddeb talked to Beat Stauffer in Tunis about the maladies of Islam and his own confession to an open, humanist Islam
Illegal Migration to Sardinia

The El Dorado for Algeria's "Harragas"

In the Maghreb, people who cross international borders without valid tickets and visas are known as harragas. Although the phenomenon of illegal migration from North Africa is nothing new, the destination of these migrants certainly is, writes Hamid Skif
Nahr al-Bared Refugee Camp in Lebanon

Children Flee the Fighting

Families with children have been caught in the crossfire between the radical Islamist Fatah al-Islam and the Lebanese army at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. Christina Förch reports on the efforts of local and German NGOs to cope with the humanitarian crisis
Women in Oman

"We Are Better!"

In 1970, when Sultan Qaboos came to power, Oman had only two schools, not one of them for girls. Today, the country's public university protects itself from the female onslaught with a men's quota. Charlotte Wiedemann reports
Reform of Morocco's Nationality Law

A New Achievement for Women

A new nationality law ends the discrimination that has long affected the Moroccan woman giving her the right to pass her citizenship of origin to her children. A report by Muhammad Massad
Mosque Controversy in Germany

The Freedom to Practice One's Religion Is a Constitutional Right

Controversy reigns in debate over the building of Cologne's new mosque. If the majority population stands in the way of religious freedom, it must bear responsibility, too, for the failure of integration, says Peter Philipp