Society

Women's Rights in Morocco

New Family Code Faces Many Hurdles

In Morocco many women's rights organizations are pointing to great difficulties in implementing the new family code. Reasons include the vague legal requirements and the government's inadequate information policy. By Beat Stauffer
Intellectual Discourse in Pakistan

Ignoring Social Reality

During his visit to Pakistan, publicist Yoginder Sikand, a Muslim from India, had the impression that education is not withheld from the people due to a lack of means, but instead as a deliberate ploy
Radical Islamic Networks on the Internet

My Enemy's Enemy Is My Friend

Under the pretense of supporting the struggle for liberation in Iraq and the Palestinian territories, "solidarity groups" are spreading radical and inflammatory propaganda. Irmgard Pinn and Aiman Mazyek on the dangers of online extremism
Interview with Hatta Ramli and Farid Shahran

"The Islamic State Model Works"

In recent years, Malaysia has demanded a normative Islamization of society. Relations with the other religions in the multi-faith, multi-ethnic country have thus become a frequent topic of debate. Two Malaysian Islamic activists spoke with Qantara.de about democracy, the Islamization of society and their experiences with Europe
Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim Receives Ibn Rushd Award

A Life Dedicated to Politics

Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim was the first female parliamentarian in Sudan. She dedicated her life to fighting for the rights of women, social justices and freedom of speech. Ibrahim was now honoured with the Ibn Rushd Award for Free Thinking. Jutta Schwengsbier reports
Azhar Conference on Genital Mutilation

Scholars Proscribe Abuse of the Female Body

The German organization TARGET has organized for the first time together with Egypt's Azhar University an international conference on female genital mutilation. No consensus, however, was reached on issuing a legal opinion on banning female circumcision. By Nelly Youssef
Islamic Holdings

Fraud, in the Name of God

In recent years, so-called "Islamic holdings" have cheated investors across Europe out of millions. In Germany alone, it is estimated that 200,000-300,000 mostly Turkish Muslims have fallen victim to investment fraud. Ariana Mirza reports
Study on "Ethnic Economy" in Germany

Immigrants Show More Entrepreneurial Spirit Than Germans

The image of immigrants compounding Germany's jobless misery has been proved wrong by a study that says migrants take the plunge into self-employment more frequently than Germans and employ over a million people. By Manfred Götzke
Turkish Companies in Germany

Wanted: Turkish Immigrant Workers

The Economic Development Corporation is wooing Turkish investors for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia: at a recent conference in Turkey, it was a case of entrepreneurs courting entrepreneurs. Elmar Kok reports from Izmir
"Positive Muslims"

A South African NGO and Its Fight against Aids

Approximately 5.5 million people in South Africa live with the HI virus; every ninth person is infected, among them many Muslims. Almuth Schellpeper paid a visit to "Positive Muslims", an NGO that fights the disease – and the stigma that goes with it
IT Training for Teachers in Egypt

A Small Island in an Ocean of Ministerial Bureaucracy

Against the background of stalled reforms in the Egyptian educational system, private IT companies are increasingly taking the opportunity to train local teachers and hope to gain a long-term foothold in the market for their products. Frederik Richter reports from Cairo
Germany's Centre for Modern Oriental Studies

How Muslims Live in Europe

The Centre for Modern Oriental Studies is the only German research institute devoted to an interdisciplinary and comparative study of the Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia from a historical perspective. Volker Thomas introduces its research project on Muslims in Europe