Society

Interview with Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh

″I oppose the false Muslims″

The Iranian religious scholar Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh has been studying the origins and language of the Koran for decades. Ulrich von Schwerin spoke to him about his efforts to develop a new approach to the Koran, thereby saving the Prophet′s true message from what he perceives to be an erroneous interpretation of Islam
By Ulrich von Schwerin
Syrian refugee Nather Henafe Alali

Part II: ″Why I am here″

″A German artist once asked me why some people leave their country, while others just stay there and die. The question was put in a friendly way, but there was something very bitter about it. As if he was asking why I didn’t dutifully stay in Syria and wait for my death,″ writes Nather Henafe Alali in his second column
By Nather Henafe Alali
US presidential election

Ever the aliens

Donald Trump has sparked a backlash after criticising the parents of a slain Muslim American soldier. It′s another reminder of the challenges faced by Muslims in the US military. By Brandon Conradis
By Brandon Conradis
The Vatican

All things to all people?

A Muslim visits the Vatican and discovers the breadth of attitudes and beliefs represented by the many people who cross its threshold every year. Is the Holy See gradually transcending its Christian roots to become a place of spiritual pilgrimage for all? By Mulham Al Malaika
By Mulham Al-Malaika
Syrian refugee Nather Henafe Alali

″I am the misery of the 21st century″

″I don′t want to be a refugee. And I don′t want to be the subject of a newspaper article that is not about me as a human being. That calls me an historic intercontinental event or a storm of pain sweeping through this miserable world, but doesn′t call me a refugee, ″ writes Nather Henafe Alai in his column
By Nather Henafe Alali
European Islamophobia Report

Wake up to the danger!

Scholars have for the first time published a comprehensive overview of anti-Muslim racism in 25 European countries. Attacks against Muslims and their institutions have increased considerably since 2015. Politics and civil society need to finally take this development more seriously. By Claudia Mende
By Claudia Mende
Interview with the theologian and Islam scholar Felix Koerner

"Clean theology is good for every religious community"

At the start of the millennium, the Jesuit priest Felix Koerner conducted research in Ankara and engaged with theologians who were streets ahead of their Arab colleagues when it came to libertarian and progressive thought. But the role of religion on the Bosphorus has changed dramatically since then. In an interview with Carolin Kubo, Koerner talks about the interdependence of religion and the state in Turkey and why interfaith dialogue is at a more advanced stage in Germany
By Carolin Kubo
A Muslim woman speaks out on exclusion

"Returning to the Dark Ages"

She is devoted to the struggle against anti-Muslim racism. Hatice Durmaz speaks out on hatred that has become socially acceptable, right-wing populists and hostility in German universities
By Daniel Bax
55 years of German-Turkish labour recruitment

Integration is a crossroads

In October it will be fifty-five years since Germany and Turkey signed the labour recruitment agreement. And yet many people of Turkish origin still feel like outsiders in Germany. What does that tell us about the course of integration and what role does past experience play in the current situation? By Melanie Christina Mohr
By Melanie Christina Mohr
Islam and violence

Self-proclaimed jihadists

Does Islam have a violence problem? With their terror in the name of Islam, the jihadists have plunged an entire world religion into a crisis of legitimacy. Although Islamic scholarship has mechanisms at its disposal to limit the violence, these are no longer effective in this current era of globalisation. By Claudia Mende
By Claudia Mende
Peace and justice in Islam

Are we missing something?

Associating progressive social policies with Islam may unsettle some, yet the parallels are there and offer many possibilities. A contribution to the debate on religion and human rights by Hakan Altinay
By Hakan Altinay
Salafism or philology

What can an Islamic scholar tell us?

The Islamic scholar Angelika Neuwirth has had a greater impact on Koranic research in Germany than anyone else in recent decades. What she has to say is revolutionary – not only for Muslims, but also for Europe. Salafists, in particular, could learn a great deal from her. By Navid Kermani
By Navid Kermani