Society

Migrants from Senegal

If You Don't Make It, It's Your Own Fault

There is a strong incentive for many Senegalese to come to Europe illegally. Even if they are only able to keep their heads above water with minimum-wage jobs, migration is still a success story for many of them. Moritz Behrendt explains why
Open Letter to the Pope

"Dialogue of the Heart and Mind"

Thirty-eight leading representatives of Islam offer Christianity a "dialogue of the heart and mind." We should take this offer seriously, says Peter Philipp in his commentary
NGOs in Iran

Raising Educational Standards for Children

It is estimated that there are around ten thousand socially engaged non-governmental organisations working in Iran. One of these is the "Centre for the Cultural Development of Children". Amin Farzanefar takes a closer look
Beginning of the Month of Ramadan

The Saudis and the Elusive Crescent

How exactly does one determine the beginning of Ramadan? Different schools of thought provide different answers, and Saudi Arabia uses a different system than much of the rest of the Islamic world. Chris Luenen provides an overview
Ramadan in Germany

A Time for Spiritual Reflection and Self-Restraint

During Ramadan many worshippers attend special services in Mosques where the Qur'an is read and they also celebrate the so called "Iftar" – when they break their fast at sunset. Arian Fariborz witnessed one Iftar ceremony in the German city of Cologne
Violence in Islamic and Western Societies

Mutual Anxiety

Germany's Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations has brought forward an intercultural study on political violence in the West and the Islamic world, past and present. This study, worked on by one German and two Arab scholars. Mona Naggar read the study
Düzgün TV

Integration via Satellite TV

The topic of integration is ever-present on German television. But Many German Turks are not tuning in to these channels. Many of them receive their television via satellite from Turkey. Now, however, a private television station in North Rhine-Westphalia, wants to change this. By Petra Tabeling
German Jews in Exile in Turkey

"Haymatloz" in Istanbul and Ankara

When the Nazis took power in 1933, hundreds of thousands of German Jews fled the country. Some of them ended up in Turkey, which was a neutral state and safe haven up until the end of World War II. Ursula Trüper recounts their story and that of the Ruben family
"Conference on Islam" in Germany

An Experiment in Direct Dialogue

On September 27, Germany's Minister of the Interior invited representatives of Germany's Muslim community to a conference in order to institutionalise relations between the state and Germany's Muslims. This is a long overdue step, says Ülger Polat
Moses Mendelssohn Prize for Tim Guldimann

Mutual Respect as a Precondition for Dialogue

On 9/11, Tim Guldimann, the Swiss scholar, writer, and former ambassador to Iran, received this year's Moses Mendelssohn Prize for promoting dialogue between the Muslim and the Western worlds. In his article, Kurt Scharf conveys Guldimann's ideas about conflict mediation
Interview with Maha Azzam

"No Religion Welcomes Ill-Informed Criticism of Its Tenets"

The protests of Muslims against the Pope's statement have widely been criticised as disproportionate. According to Maha Azzam, however, Islam and Muslims are being misrepresented. Lewis Gropp interviewed the London-based Islam expert
Benedict XVI's Speech on Faith

Science is the Real Target

A deeper reading of Pope Benedict's Regensburg speech suggests a message that Catholics and Muslims can share: that modern science must make room for theology
By Ehsan Masood