Jews in the Islamic world
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Jewish culture in North AfricaMorocco’s Jews and their legacy
Morocco is aiming to enshrine Judaism as part of its national identity: the "House of Memory" in Essaouira is one step towards realising that goal. The nation’s Jewish legacy has also been added to the national curriculum. Abdessamad Jattioui reports from Essaouira
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Rabbi Elhanan Miller on interfaith dialogue"People of the Book" brings Jews and Muslims together
Conceived by Israeli journalist and rabbi Elhanan Miller, "People of the Book" is a YouTube project designed to provide information on Judaism in Arabic. Disarming prejudice with humour, Miller's cartoons aim to promote mutual understanding between Jews and Arabs. Interview by Claudia Mende
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ARTE documentary on life in Israel's illegal settlementsWho does the Holy Land belong to?
Two German Jews dreaming of living in the Holy Land chose to settle near Bethlehem. Under international law, Israeli settlement activities on Palestinian soil are, however, illegal. What attracted these two Germans, and how do they imagine themselves living with the Palestinians?
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Non-fiction: Mikhal Dekel's "Tehran Children"The Jews who fled Nazi Germany to finally end up in Iran
Mikhal Dekel’s father was part of a contingent of Jewish children who went on an odyssey from Poland to Iran as a result of the Holocaust. Dekel has now written a book exploring the story of the "Tehran Children". By Daniel Walter
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Obituary: Tunisian author Albert MemmiAdieu, Albert!
Albert Memmi, Tunisian author and pioneer of a sociology of de-colonisation, died on 22 May 2020 in Paris. He was nearly 100 years old. He was the last of a generation of Maghreb novelists writing in French. A personal obituary by Regina Keil-Sagawe
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Interview with Iraqi expert Saad SalloumCelebrating religious diversity in Iraq
Dedicated to preserving Iraq's diversity, which he considers the country's real capital, Saad Salloum has launched a new institute to combat hate speech and change the Islamic religious discourse. Interview by Gilgamesh Nabeel
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Abrahamic Teams in the MENAInterfaith dialogue – a painstaking process
The declared goal of the Abrahamic Teams is to improve how Jews, Christians and Muslims interact with and live alongside each other. The project, which originates in Germany, is now being implemented in Israel, Egypt and Morocco too. But, as Claudia Mende found out, interfaith dialogue does not progress quickly
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Iraqi JewsIraqi Judaism lives on in literary form
Interest in the Iraqi-Jewish cultural heritage is growing – both in Israel and Iraq. Novels in which emigrants and their children evoke the lost world of their forefathers are proving especially popular. By Joseph Croitoru
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The Islamic Republicʹs Jewish minorityCelebrating Sabbath in Iran
Iran is home to the largest Jewish community in the Muslim world. Jan Schneider visited the Jewish Musazadeh family in Tehran to share in their Sabbath celebrations
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Book review: Daniel Speck's "Piccola Sicilia"Little Sicily in North Africa
With "Piccola Sicilia", Daniel Speck proves himself to be a great storyteller and intercultural bridge builder. This family saga also spotlights a little-known chapter of Tunisian history: the German occupation of the country in 1942/1943 and the fate of Tunisia's Jews. By Martina Sabra
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Book review: Susannah Heschel on "Jewish Islam"Jewish Orientalism?
In her book Susannah Heschel investigates the role of Islam in the emergence of a Jewish identity and seeks to pay tribute to the academic legacy of Jewish-German scholars of Islam of the 19th and 20th centuries. But the romantic narrative of a somewhat different kind of Orientalism has its pitfalls. By Ozan Keskinkilic
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Iraq post-Islamic StateThe surprising survival of Mosulʹs Jewish quarter
Mosul's Jewish quarter miraculously survived three years of occupation by the Islamic State terror group and the battle to evict it. Judit Neurink and Eddy van Wessel went there to find out how