Society

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Football fans see double standard in stadium politics ban

When is it and when is it not acceptable to display a political banner at the World Cup in Qatar? The answer seems to depend largely on the political message, with fans criticising what they see as inconsistent enforcement of FIFA rules by the host country.
Afghanistan under the Taliban

"Girls continue to attend our schools"

Education for girls and women is still possible in Afghanistan, says Reinhard Eroes of the Kinderhilfe Afghanistan initiative. In interview with Elisa Rheinheimer, he talks about skewed media portrayals, the great hunger gripping the country and why aid organisations should return
By Elisa Rheinheimer
Hasan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood

Who was the architect of Islamism?

Renowned scholar of Islamic Studies Gudrun Kramer has just published the first well-founded biography of Hasan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Joseph Croitoru read the book
By Joseph Croitoru
Protests in Iran

Islamic Republic facing a religious watershed

Iranians do not want an Islam that interferes. They are fed up with a system that manipulates people with simple promises of salvation and anti-Western propaganda. Islamic theologian Hamideh Mohagheghi sees Iran at a religious crossroads
Qatar 2022

Migrant workers enjoy FIFA World Cup on the cheap

Shafeeq Saqafi paid $3 for the Argentina shirt he proudly wore when he sat with 15,000 other migrant workers in a hidden corner of Doha to watch Lionel Messi's side salvage their World Cup
Integration versus racism

I don't see myself as a victim

Canan Topcu came from Turkey to Germany as a child. In her essay, she describes how bothered she was by the racism she encountered in her country of origin when she travelled there recently. She describes her very personal take on identity, racism and exclusion
By Canan Topçu
Turkey’s new media law

Censorship by any other name

According to Turkey’s revised media legislation, spreading "fake news" now carries a prison sentence. The definition of what this entails has been kept intentionally vague. Opposition leaders, journalists and human rights observers call foul. Leyla Egeli reports
By Leyla Egeli
FIFA Qatar 2022

Children in Syria's Idlib hold their own World Cup

More than 300 children in rebel-held northwest Syria kicked off their own football World Cup on Saturday, with organisers hoping to shine a light on communities battered by 11 years of war
Lamya Kaddor on the Qatar World Cup

"Address problems, but acknowledge progress"

Lamya Kaddor, MP for Germany’s Green Party, visited Qatar with a group of parliamentarians. In interview with Claudia Mende, she advocates a differentiated picture and urges that progress in human rights also be recognised
By Claudia Mende
Football in the Middle East

Freedom vs. oppression

"Rebel Game: The Power of Football in the Middle East and the Qatar World Cup", an anthology published by Middle East researchers Jan Busse and Rene Wildangel, takes the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar as its basis for grappling with the socio-political and historical relevance of football in the Middle East. By Mirjam Schmidt
By Mirjam Schmidt
Let's talk about sex, habibi!

Love and desire from Cairo to Casablanca

Berlin journalist Mohamed Amjahid writes humorously and very intimately about how people experience love and desire across North Africa. Melanie Christina Mohr read the book
By Melanie Christina Mohr
COP27 and the Middle East

Sinking Alexandria faces up to coming catastrophe

Alexandria, Egypt's fabled second city and its biggest port, is in danger of disappearing below the waves within decades.