Society

Migration and the white majority

Racism can make you sick

If you've experienced racial discrimination, you'll know how it feels. Racism can cause high blood pressure, excess weight and mental health problems
By Julia Vergin
Hamas attacks on Israel

Six months of grief and anger

While support for Israel's war in Gaza, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 30,000 Palestinians, remains high among Jewish Israelis, the government is also under pressure to get the remaining hostages back
By Tania Kraemer
Islam in Germany

Muslims in the German military set to get their own chaplaincy

Soldiers of the Islamic faith in Germany's armed forces have long lacked the pastoral care available to their Christian and Jewish counterparts. What was once seen as politically impossible is about to change.
By Christoph Strack
Imams from Germany

"The idea of a German Islam isn't all that strange"

Ender Çetin is one of the first imams to have been trained in Germany. Are these imams the bridge-builders Germany needs right now?
By Teseo La Marca
Climate change in Iraq

When the water buffalo die

Iraq is one of the nations hardest hit by climate change. But the 'land between the two rivers' isn't just drying out, it's also battling groundwater contamination as a result of oil production
By Birgit Svensson
Lebanon's Tripoli

Old wounds and new problems on "Syria Street"

Syria Street in Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city, was a microcosm of the Syrian Civil War for many years. Nowadays, a fragile calm hides the complexities of Lebanon's past and the resilience of its people
By Diana Hodali
Islam's holy month

Why more non-Muslims are taking part in Ramadan

Ramadan's observance is widespread in the Middle East, often involving non-Muslims in the region's celebrations. In Christian-majority countries, participation has been less common, but this trend is starting to shift
By Cathrin Schaer & Mohammed Farhan
The story of a young artist in Gaza

When the pain begins to draw

Drawing on the walls of buildings in the Gaza Strip is a way for 21-year-old artist Menna Hamouda to express the trauma inflicted by five months of pain and destruction
By Karim El-Gawhary
Israeli–Palestinian dialogue

Israelis and Palestinians team up in Germany to help Gazans

In Germany, a unique Israeli–Palestinian initiative is helping to organise urgently needed sanitary facilities and shelter for people in Gaza. Its members say that taking action in this way helps them deal with the anxiety they feel as a result of the conflict. Their group also shows that dialogue is possible even in difficult times
By Sarah Judith Hofmann
Rumi, mystic and poet

Message of love: Qantara series on the 750th anniversary of Rumi's death

Even after seven and a half centuries, Rumi's verses have lost nothing of their depth and transformative power. A series of articles by Qantara.de marking the 750th anniversary of the death of the Persian poet Rumi
Women in Iraq

Breaking down barriers and pushing for independence

After two incredibly tough decades for women since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, it is now cool to be young and female in Iraq. A report from Baghdad
By Birgit Svensson
Afghanistan

In the land of the hopeless

More than two years after the Taliban seized power, Afghans are battling psychological problems in response to the apparent hopelessness of the situation in their country. A report from Kabul
By Emran Feroz