Society

Social media and the Arabellion

The myth of the Facebook revolution

Today, six years after the so-called Facebook revolutions of the Arab Spring, the hopes once placed in the social media have largely vanished. Authoritarian regimes in the region have long since succeeded in taking control of these channels and using them for their own ends. By Niklas Kossow and Ilyas Saliba
By Niklas Kossow, Ilyas Saliba
Churches in Syria after the fall of East Aleppo

Time for a new beginning

Christian Churches in Aleppo have welcomed the government troops' victory. But after five years of war, it is important that they abandon the paradigm that the Assad regime is the protector of religious minorities and work tirelessly to overcome the religious divide. By Claudia Mende
By Claudia Mende
Iran's economy after the nuclear agreement

State firms win most foreign deals

When world powers agreed in 2015 to lift sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, the deal's supporters in the United States, Europe and Tehran hoped renewed trade and investment could boost Iran's private sector and weaken the state's hold on the economy. But a Reuters review of business accords reached since then shows that the Iranian winners so far are mostly companies owned or controlled by the state, including Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. By Yeganeh Torbati, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Babak Dehghanpisheh
Social media against Islamic extremism

An invisible battle

If we are to counteract the scourge of Islamic misinterpretation and defend what is intrinsically a religion of peace, argues Abdalhadi Alijla, we need educational, civil society and means-tested programmes coupled with a stronger political will
By Abdalhadi Alijla
Egypt′s Coptic Church

The cost of a cornerstone

Despite a new law aimed at facilitating the construction of Christian houses of worship, the situation on the ground looks somewhat different. By Flemming Weiss-Andersen, Eva Plesner and Elisabeth Lehmann
By Elisabeth Lehmann
Satirical news website Noktara

A laughing matter

A satirical website by and for German Muslims! Seriously? Well, yes and no. The people behind the German satirical news website Noktara are out to make people laugh and dispel a few cliches. To find out more, Dunja Ramadan spoke to Soufian El Khayari and Derya Sami Saydjari
By Dunja Ramadan
Trump′s plans for the USA

Beware Muslim registration!

Donald Trump′s unashamedly populist election campaign made a point of targeting minorities – among them foreigners, women, the disabled and Muslims. His commitment to the idea of Muslim registration is a sinister echo of 1930s Germany and should put us all on our guard. Commentary by author Fred Amram
By Fred Amram
Omar Saif Ghobash′s ″Letters to a young Muslim″

Seeking the Muslim individual

In a series of essays Omar Saif Ghobash offers a guide for young Muslims to navigate the complex 21st century. Although the book is written in the form of letters to his 15 year-old son Saif, the advice and counsel he offers is appropriate for Muslims of all ages. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi read the book
By Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi
′Nafri′ debate after New Year's Eve in Cologne

In the white bubble

Criticising racist police checks should be a civic duty in Germany. Instead, the critics are now being vilified. A commentary by Daniel Bax.
By Daniel Bax
Moroccan migration expert Hicham Aroud

″Cologne 2015 was a watershed″

Measures introduced since the 2015 New Year's Eve sex attacks in the German city of Cologne have led to greater repression, higher walls and tighter controls. The only ones to benefit are the people traffickers, says Hicham Aroud, an expert for migration and asylum policy based in the Moroccan city of Rabat. Interview by Martina Sabra
By Martina Sabra
The New German Media Makers

″Give everyone a voice″

″Bring more diversity into the media″ is the motto of the New German Media Makers. In interview with Monika Stefanek, their deputy chairman, Chadi Bahouth, explains why the perspective of immigrants gets the short end of the stick in media coverage and how the association aims to change this
By Monika Stefanek
The influence of Iran′s religious foundations

Faith and profit enshrined

Millions of pilgrims visit the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad to be near to the holy man. The tomb is an important economic factor for the city, but at the same time it is the centre of an extensive business em-pire wielding huge influence in Iranian politics. On the political economy of the holy man, by Ulrich von Schwerin
By Ulrich von Schwerin