Society

Non-fiction: Omid Nouripour's "What to Do about Jihadists?"

Every day counts

What attracts young people to IS? What can politicians do beyond calling for ever "tougher measures"? In "What to Do about Jihadists? A Policy Approach to the War on Terror", Omid Nouripour delivers an in-depth analysis of the current terrorist threat – and various potential solutions. Claudia Kramatschek read the book
By Claudia Kramatschek
Christianity and Islam in dialogue

Forget ″them and us″!

Interfaith dialogue can only succeed if its actors stop fomenting value judgements from history. Essay by Alexander Goerlach
By Alexander Görlach
Preventing Islamism in Belgium

Shaking the terrorist image

Belgium has been fighting religious radicalisation since it became painfully obvious that Islamists were operating in the country. Art and humour have become tools in the battle of prevention. But how is this being received by the general public? Doris Pundy reports from Brussels
By Doris Pundy
Guardians of Thrones

When women ruled the Muslim world

Were it not for the timely intervention of women down the centuries, many an Islamic dynasty would have torn itself apart. By Mohamed Yosri
By Mohamed Yosri
Non-fiction: ″Religious criticism around 1900″

Middle Eastern philosophy's take on Islam

How is the relationship between science, philosophy and religion discussed in the Muslim world, beyond the well-known dictum that Islam rules its states and societies and therefore also determines its morality and aesthetics? A new series by Berlin-based publishers Klaus Schwarz addresses this question. By Sonja Hegasy
By Sonja Hegasy
Obituary: dissident Ebrahim Yazdi

An emblematic figure of Iranian politics bows out

The image of Ebrahim Yazdi, who passed away on 27 August aged 86, fittingly portrays the paradoxes of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those involved in Tehran′s political scene of the last twenty years knew him as the opposition, an ′Islamic liberal′ and supporter of democratic reforms. By Marina Forti
By Marina Forti
Judaism in Iran

The minority perspective: ″Jews and Muslims respect each other″

Iran is frequently at odds with Israel, despite having the second biggest Jewish community in the Middle East. For the director of Tehran's Jewish Committee, Siamek Morsadegh, that′s not necessarily a contradiction. Interview by Theresa Tropper
By Theresa Tropper
Atheism in the Arab World

The dictators' scourge: Of 'heresy' and humanists

Posing as guardians of the faith, many Arabic regimes abuse their religious power in order to compensate for their states′ lack of democratic legitimacy. Hardly surprising, then, that they regard as atheism as an existential danger. Essay by Brian Whitaker
By Brian Whitaker
Interview with religious scholar Michael Blume

Turning away from Islam: Muslims beat a silent retreat

Is Germany home to a self-assured Islam and Muslims confident in their faith? It doesn't seem that way, says the religious scholar Michael Blume in interview with Christoph Hasselbach. Instead, Islam is in serious crisis
By Christoph Hasselbach
Women's rights in Iran

Farewell compulsory veiling? Time to go with the flow

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the Islamic regime began to force women to adopt Islamic dress. Resistance to the rule has never ceased, though it has changed. And suddenly compulsory veiling in the theocracy no longer seems to be on solid ground. An abridged version of the original article by Nasrin Bassiri
By Nasrin Bassiri
Islam in India

Triple talaq: Goodbye and good riddance

India′s Supreme Court recently declared the Islamic practice of "instant divorce" to be anti-constitutional. The judges argued that since ″triple talaq″ is not an integral part of the Muslim faith, it is not subject to protection under the principle of religious freedom. Ronald Meinardus reports from New Delhi
By Ronald Meinardus
Gaza and the West Bank

Press freedom in Palestine: Condemned to self-censor

In the Palestinian Autonomous Territories, Palestinian journalists are being used as bargaining chips in the power struggle between Hamas and Fatah. The scope for free and independent reporting is becoming noticeably smaller. By Inge Gunther
By Inge Günther