Lifestyle
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Politics, Qatar and FIFA
Is criticism of Qatar's World Cup racist?
Locals in the Middle East have said European critics are showing bias and hypocrisy when they condemn Qatar. Observers agree that Qatar has had to deal with more criticism than usual for a World Cup host. Cathrin Schaer and Emad Hassan ask why
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Qatar and FIFA World Cup 2022
The limits of liberalisation
Qatar’s hosting gig may have propelled the country into the international spotlight and impacted the domestic debate on social reform, but has there been any lasting progress? By Alainna Liloia
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Rabih Alameddine’s "The Wrong End of the Telescope"
We are all in search of a home
In “The Wrong End of the Telescope”, Rabih Alameddine draws us away from the headlines and into the personal story of one individual. Mina is complex, compelling and very real. By pulling us into her life and allowing us to see Lesbos through her eyes, the reality of the refugee camp comes alive. Richard Marcus read the book
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Qatar World Cup 2022
Fans: "Abolish sexual and gender identity penalties"
Unflattering terms were used at a German Football Association human rights congress aimed at "intensifying the discussion" ahead of the World Cup. One speaker in particular made waves with an impassioned personal plea. James Thorogood reports
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Muslims and Jews in the Maghreb
A whispered history
The history of Jews and Muslims is far more entangled than you might imagine – but you have to listen out for it. In "Recording History", Christopher Silver takes us on a sonic journey into twentieth-century North Africa, to a forgotten world of records and recording artists – and the music that defined an era. Interview by Tugrul von Mende
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Islam and tolerance
Albania's Bektashi Muslims
In Albania, where most Muslims live a pretty secular life, it would seem that praying and drinking go hand-in-hand. Nevertheless, over a hundred Albanians still went to fight for Islamic State. By Karin A. Wenger with photos by Philipp Breu
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Album review: Imarhan's "Aboogi"
Looking beyond the horizon
"Aboogi", on the City Slang label, is the latest release from Imarhan. Hailing from southern Algeria, Imarhan are one of the many bands that have emerged from the Tameshek diaspora. They see their music as a chance to preserve the culture and history of their people. By Richard Marcus
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Islamic mysticism
Understanding the Sufis
To understand Islamic mysticism, we must first clear up a number of misconceptions, as Marian Brehmer writes in his essay – part 1 of a new series on Sufism
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Laury Silvers' "Sufi Mysteries Quartet"
Sleuths on a Sufi path
Rarely has the world of crime-writing taken such an interesting turn. Richard Marcus spoke to American Muslim historian and novelist Laury Silvers about her four detective novels set in Baghdad under the Abbasid caliphate and the advantages of self-publishing
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LGBTQ+ Pride
Being queer and Arab
As Pride Month draws to a close, Richard Marcus delves into Saqi Books’ latest publication, "This Arab is Queer". Edited by Elias Jahshan, this anthology of essays is remarkable for its honesty in addressing what is still a dangerous and controversial subject in many of the writers’ countries of origin
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Islam in the modern world
The rise and rise of Muslim influencers
In recent decades, Muslim piety has gone through a number of qualitative transformations, the most prominent of which is the emerging phenomenon of "Islamic influencers", which represents a new type of Islamic religiousness that combines globalisation and the values of Western modernity and is easy and effortless. By Ahmad Saif al-Nasr
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Hajj pilgrimage
Egypt family keeps alive kiswah tradition
Under the steady hum of a ceiling fan, Ahmed Othman weaves golden threads through black fabric, creating Koranic verses, a century after his grandfather's work adorned the Kaaba in Mecca's Grand Mosque. A ceremonial hanging of the kiswah over the cubic structure symbolises the launch of the hajj annual pilgrimage