Society
Topics
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Pakistan and IndiaPunjabi kids kick for tolerance
Never one to miss an opportunity for a kickaround, Clifton Grover, "Kick for Tolerance" founder, always has his gym bag with him. For him football isn't just football. Since 2016, he has been helping Punjab communities on either side of the Pakistani-Indian border to promote peace among the younger generation. Interview by Siri Gögelmann
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Cox's Bazar, BangladeshFatima, the Rohingya, tells her story
Fatima was gang-raped during attacks on Rohingya Muslims as part of Myanmar's ethnic cleansing campaign. Now, she and her family live in a camp in Bangladesh with few prospects, Ines Pohl reports
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Higher education in the Middle EastLow standards, wrong content
Young people in the MENA region today are better educated than their parents' generation. But higher educational attainment does not open doors to better jobs. Many youngsters go from university straight into unemployment. By Nassir Djafari
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NGO with an Identitarian agendaPreying on Syrian war widows
When members of a German Alt-Right NGO visited a Syrian refugee camp in Lebanon recently, it was ostensibly to offer aid to the destitute. But the visit served another purpose: playing out the Identitarian agenda of Fortress Europe to the home crowd. Anchal Vohra reports from the Bekaa Valley
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Egyptian societyMigrants – ever the foreigners?
People have come to Egypt over the centuries for many reasons. Fleeing war, injustice, or simply in search of a better life. You would think Egyptʹs acceptance and ability to integrate would have been strengthened as a result. But the reality is different. By Aya Nabil
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Organ traffickingProfiting from Pakistanʹs poor
Many people in Pakistan regard selling their organs as their only way of escaping poverty. Muhammad Iqbal was one of them. He sold one of his kidneys. Today the father of eight is a broken man. Sattar Khan reports from Lahore
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Moroccoʹs Jewish legacyThe Rabbi of Essaouira
The presence of Jewish tradesmen helped shape the character of Essaouira in Morocco. Traces of the portʹs Jewish heritage are evident to this very day. Every year Jews from all over the world make a pilgrimage to Essaouira, keeping memories of the city’s Jewish character alive. By Claudia Mende
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Interview with Islamic scholar and philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush"The Sufis were prophets of pluralism"
Islamic scholar and philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush explains how he draws on the work of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi for guidance in his search for a comprehensive approach to religion that doesn't rely solely on rationality and logic, but also on a sense of the other dimension. Interview by Dara Alani
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Egyptian athlete Manal RostomNike's 'hijab survivor'
Egyptian athlete Manal Rostom made waves in 2015, appearing in a Nike advert wearing a hijab. Having run the Berlin Marathon in September she reveals what inspired her to insist that Nike feature Muslim women in its campaigns. By Elizabeth Shoo and Keith Walker
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Higher education under AssadStudents leave Syria to prove their mettle
The impact of the war on under-funded Syrian universities has been manifold. Yet German education authorities remain unperturbed by the current proliferation of forged Syrian certificates. By Joseph Croitoru
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Germanyʹs Ahmadiyya community"Integration is the least of our problems"
Recently some 45,000 Muslims of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat met for their annual peace conference, the so-called "Jalsa Salana". Nermin Ismail attended the meeting of the Islamic reform movement in Karlsruhe
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Youth unemployment in the Arab worldMENA's generation jobless
A lack of jobs and bleak social prospects for young people in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are undermining the political stability of what is already a deeply troubled region. The problem cannot be solved by simply modernising education and labour markets. By Nassir Djafari
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