Society

Debating secularism and religion in the Islamic world

No threat to faith

Jordanian journalist Mousa Barhouma criticises the recurrent Arab tendency to equate secularism with apostasy and heresy. In his view, Islam does not prescribe any specific form of government
By Mousa Barhouma
Interview with historian David Motadel

Hitler′s Muslim stop-gaps

During the Second World War, tens of thousands of Muslims fought on the side of the National Socialists. In interview with Nastassja Shtrauchler, historian David Motadel examines the attitude of Hitler and the Nazis towards Islam and Muslims. Interview by Nastassja Shtrauchler
By Nastassja Shtrauchler
″Remembered Future″ interfaith project

Using religion to stop religious wars

In Germany, refugees from Syria, Iraq and Yemen may end up living next door to compatriots who were on the other side in the civil war. How can those who have fled their homeland also leave its conflicts behind them? Susanne Kaiser presents the project "Remembered Future"
By Susanne Kaiser
African asylum seekers in Melilla

A loser's game

Most of the refugees arriving in Melilla, a Spanish exclave in Northern Africa, are Syrians, Yemenis and Algerians. Few of them hail from sub-Saharan Africa. Why is that? Santiago Saez reports from Melilla
By Santiago Sáez
Women′s rights in the Arab world

The key to change

Occasionally periods of social regression and progressive developments occur simultaneously. After all, among the many catastrophic reports emerging from the Arab world there are also a few glimmers of hope – for women. Report by Mey Dudin
By Mey Dudin
Reconstructing Aleppo

The hidden power of investors

The reconstruction of Aleppo is turning out to be quite difficult, especially because the authorities in Syria responsible for historic buildings and monument preservation hardly have any influence, while foreign investors seem to hold all the cards. Konstantin Klein discussed the situation with the Syrian historian Mamoun Fansa
By Konstantin Klein
Climate change and the West′s energy policy

Robbing the poor

The unrestricted flow of cheap natural resources from the global south to the rich industrialised north, maintains a profoundly unjust international division of labour, claims Algerian environmental activist Hamza Hamouchene
By Hamza Hamouchene
Enlightenment in the Islamic world

Refuting the 'westernisation' narrative

In his latest work, essayist and seasoned correspondent Christopher de Bellaigue presents the Islamic world in the 19th century in a new light. His main thrust? The Islamic Middle East did indeed experience its own genuine Enlightenment. By Arnold Hottinger
By Arnold Hottinger
Muslims against the Rwandan genocide

No-one has the right to kill!

As genocidal violence broke out against the Tutsis in Rwanda back in 1994, it appeared no-one was safe. But one small religious minority refused to take part: Rwandan Muslims. They mounted peaceful resistance to the horrors, saving many innocent lives in the process. By Markus Weingardt
By Markus Weingardt
Islamic debate about human rights

The erroneous 'cultural distinction'

Syrian writer Morris Ayek is critical of those who claim that when it comes to human rights, Islamic countries are "culturally distinct" from the rest of the world. In his opinion, this discourse directly contradicts the universality of Islamic values
By Morris Ayek
Bill 62 – Quebec′s burka ban

Veiled bigotry

On 18 October the Canadian province of Quebec passed new legislation forbidding a person to be veiled when delivering or receiving a public service. Bill 62, dubbed the "state religious neutrality law″, has been widely condemned by civil rights lawyers, Muslim associations and public service unions. By Richard Marcus
By Richard Marcus
Reformation Day and Islam in Germany

A chorus of convictions

Five hundred years after the posting of Martin Luther's theses, Germany remains a predominantly Christian nation. But Islam is also part of the fabric of Germany – if for no other reason than the three-and-a-half-million Muslims who live here and have the right, thanks to the constitution, to practise their faith freely. By Alexander Goerlach
By Alexander Görlach