Muslims in the West
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Best of Qantara.de 2022
Our readers' favourite articles this year
At the end of every year, the team at Qantara.de gives you a run-down of the ten most-read articles on the site over the past 12 months. Here is a quick overview of the stories that attracted the most attention in 2022. Happy New Year to all our readers!
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Our German fairytale
Reality, crueller than fiction
Award-winning poet Dincer Gucyeter’s debut novel is a tour de force through the German reality he experienced as an artist and son of Turkish immigrants, written with an unsparing eye and literary ambition. Gerrit Wustmann read the book
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Integration versus racism
I don't see myself as a victim
Canan Topcu came from Turkey to Germany as a child. In her essay, she describes how bothered she was by the racism she encountered in her country of origin when she travelled there recently. She describes her very personal take on identity, racism and exclusion
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Mourning Mevlude Genc
A universal mother figure
A survivor of a neo-Nazi hate crime, Mevlude Genc's boundless compassion served as an inspiration to an entire generation. Sertan Sanderson explores how her death is a loss for Germany and Turkey
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Confessions of an ex-jihadist
What makes someone a jihadist?
Charting his own descent into extremism, former Moroccan jihadist Adil El Hasani reveals how he was ultimately able to extricate himself from the grasp of those peddling religious illusions. Mohamed Taifouri read the book
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Italy's victorious right
Hide the swastikas!
Much has changed in the European post-fascist firmament since former SS officers, veterans of the collaborationist Vichy government and other dubious figures established the forerunners of today’s far-right parties. Women and young men, usually smartly turned out in tailor-made suits, now set the tone. Commentary by Ian Buruma
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Elizabeth II and the Muslims
"To be there for our fellow human-beings"
When she ascended the throne, millions of Muslims still lived under British rule. Later, Elizabeth II appealed for tolerance in a multi-religious society. She was the first British queen to visit a mosque
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Cem Kaya on Turkish pop culture
As multi-faceted as Asia Minor
Known for his documentary films about Turkish pop culture, German-born director Cem Kaya's latest work "Liebe, D-Mark und Tod" (Love, Deutschmarks and Death) focuses on the musical culture of Turkish migrants in Germany. He talks to Schayan Riaz about his creative processes, German-Turkish relations and of course, about the music
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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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Matchmaking among Indians
Why do Indian expats in Europe still seek an arranged marriage?
Arranged marriages have been the norm in India for centuries. Now online dating sites, the "marriage market" and changing social norms have seen matchmaking services evolve – especially for Indian expats in Europe. By Shabnam Surita
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France and Islam
French mayor reignites burkini row
Burkinis have been a long-standing catalyst for dispute in France, calling societal attitudes towards Islam and feminism into question. Rule changes in Grenoble suggest opposition to the garment could be receding, writes Joanna York
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Europe, Ukraine and refugees
Compassion, a sliding scale?
Ideally, those Europeans currently welcoming Ukrainian refugees would show the same sympathy to Syrians, Afghans and others fleeing war beyond the continent. But, argues Ian Buruma, human compassion is a rare enough commodity that we should be grateful whenever it appears