Muslims in the West
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Islamic scholar Mathias Rohe on the muezzin call
"Traditional religious practice is not political Islam"
Since the German city of Cologne launched a two-year model project to allow Muslim communities to perform the call to prayer, there has been much heated public debate on the issue. Islamic scholar and law professor Mathias Rohe examines the arguments
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Book review: Threa Almontaser's "The Wild Fox of Yemen"
An emotional landscape of subtle complexity
"The Wild Fox of Yemen" by Threa Almontaser is an anthology of poetry that gathers readers up and into itself and immerses them in the poet's world – the world of a first-generation American/Yemeni trying to find her way in a country while her familial roots are far across oceans in Yemen. By Richard Marcus
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Germany: Controversy surrounding journalist with Palestinian roots
The lost honour of Nemi El-Hassan
On 10 September, WDR, the public broadcaster in Germany's most populous western state, introduced the 28-year-old journalist Nemi El-Hassan as the new presenter of its popular and respected science programme "Quarks". Then German tabloid giant "Bild" got involved and everything changed. A commentary by Stefan Buchen
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Sixty years after the Paris Massacre
When will France apologise to the Algerians?
Shot, beaten to death or drowned: a demonstration by tens of thousands of Algerians ended in the "Paris Massacre" on 17 October 1961. Sixty years on, historians and victims' associations are calling for a sign from President Macron. By Andreas Noll
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Canada's Islamic History Month 2021
Fighting "othering" on all fronts
Ever since a 2007 decree by the Canadian parliament, October has been celebrated as the country's Islamic History Month. Four weeks of events across the country highlight the significant role Muslims play in Canadian society and their extraordinary contribution to world culture. By Richard Marcus
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Germany's general election
Not enough migrants in German politics
One in four people in Germany has a migration background, but less than 8% of the members of parliament have foreign roots. Germany is out of touch with reality, says Maissun Melhem
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Arabic inscription on Coimbra Cathedral
"Greatness will remain"
The façade of a twelfth-century cathedral is an unlikely place to find a message in Arabic script carved in stone, but so it is in the Portuguese city of Coimbra. Marta Vidal explores the background to the cathedral and examines how an 800-year Arabic inscription endured on the walls of a Roman Catholic house of worship
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The West and Islam 20 years after 9/11
Paranoia, now
A deluge of books, movies, series and cover stories: ever since the events of 9/11, the West has seemed almost manically preoccupied with Islam. Yet this has rarely led to deeper understanding. Instead, what has been reinforced is the concept of Islam as fate. By Sonja Zekri
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9/11 twenty years on
Muslims in the West – the cultural go-betweens
Twenty years after 9/11, the world is faced with the dual challenge of Islamophobia and anti-Westernism. Ahmet Kuru argues that Muslims in the West, well versed in both Western and Muslim cultures, are key to resolving the mutual antipathy felt by many
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20 years after 9/11
U.S. war on terror is still omnipresent
Twenty years after 9/11, the United States is recalibrating its war policy. However, its assertions that the era of endless wars is over are a myth, writes Maha Hilal
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Migration policy
Europe's migrants are part of the solution
Migrants are often maligned as being responsible for Europe's problems. Yet their integration is in Europe's interest. Michael Thaidigsmann believes that a long-term vision is overdue
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Islamic law in Afghanistan
Sharia – nightmare or ticket to salvation?
The Taliban, Islamic State, al-Qaida – for most Muslims their understanding of sharia is a nightmare. But what is sharia law really? Answers by Mathias Rohe