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Landmines in SyriaThe war hiding underground
"One victim every six hours": landmines and unexploded ordnance claim lives and cause injuries across Syria, preventing people from returning to their homes. Specialised teams are clearing mined areas, but awareness of the threat remains dangerously low.
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Arab party Ra'am ahead of Israel's election"We want to be a party for all citizens"
Mansour Abbas wants his Arab-Islamic party Ra'am to help topple Netanyahu. In this interview, he discusses cooperation with Jewish Israelis, rising crime in Arab communities and why his party wants to govern rather than stay in opposition.
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Israeli election 2026Damage control
Israel votes on 27 October, with Netanyahu's far-right coalition facing an opposition bloc. Jonathan Shamir argues the opposition offers continuity, not change: it seeks to repair Israel's image, not end the violence or confront Palestinian suffering.
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War in the Persian GulfWhen data centres become targets
Backed by the US, Gulf states have invested heavily in AI infrastructure, giving Iran a strategic target: a single strike could disrupt banking, healthcare and public services. But there are ways to protect civilian computing infrastructure from attack.
Politics
More about Politics-
Palestinian activist Issa Amro on the West Bank"Annexation is already a reality"
The West Bank is being carved into isolated enclaves by Israeli settlement expansion, land seizures and escalating attacks on Palestinians. From Hebron, activist Issa Amro discusses the consequences for Palestinian life and the prospects for a Palestinian state.
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Withdrawal of the anti-ISIS coalitionWhat next for Iraq after U.S. forces leave?
The withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces closes a pivotal chapter in Iraq's recent history. But with regional war now spilling into the country and doubts over the state's ability to assert its authority, the moment's significance is mainly symbolic.
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Dawn of a new eraZero hour in Syria
After more than half a century in power, the Assad regime has fallen. The end of one of recent history's most brutal dictatorships has sparked both joy and deep uncertainty about the country's future. Who are Syria's most powerful factions? And are there any "good guys"?
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Kuwait’s political futureCan semi-democracy survive?
Six months after Kuwait's new emir dissolved parliament, its members have yet to resume their work. Still, there are strong indications that the country’s unique parliamentary system will prevail.
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Syrian-Kurdish politician Elham Ahmed"Syria should be governed federally like Iraq or the UAE"
Elham Ahmed, the foreign representative of northeast Syria, voices concern for minorities in Aleppo following the city’s recent capture. In an interview with Qantara, she outlines her vision of a decentralised Syria and comments on the German debate over the deportation of criminal refugees.
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Support for Palestine in GermanyA nation gripped by moral panic
The Bundestag has passed a new resolution against antisemitism, which critics warn could endanger freedom of expression. Sociologist Donatella della Porta examines recent debates on antisemitism in Germany, arguing that a moral panic has resulted in the construction of an administrative apparatus that suppresses progressive voices.
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German resolution on antisemitism in educationA brazen act of state repression
German lawmakers are considering a new draft resolution that claims to combat antisemitism in educational institutions. Instead, it presents a one-dimensional view of Jewish life and erases crucial space for debate on Israeli politics and Germany's role in Gaza.
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Turkey's Gülen movementThe promise of Islamic moral governance
Though often portrayed as unique, the teachings and tactics of the Gülen movement have generally aligned with those of Turkey's Sunni mainstream. The movement's fraught relationship with the AKP reveals deeper tensions within the country's religious-political landscape. With both camps failing to establish a more ethical, Islam-based politics, a critical reassessment is overdue.
Society
More about Society-
Moroccan feminist Ghizlane Mamouni"Progress stops where equality begins"
Morocco has its first female head of government, and yet reforms on women's rights have stalled and a feminist is in custody because of a T-shirt. Her lawyer, human rights activist Ghizlane Mamouni, talks about the struggle for gender equality.
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Energy in TunisiaA record-breaking summer forces a reckoning
This year saw Tunisia’s hottest-ever summer, putting unprecedented pressure on its electricity grid, exposing the country's vulnerability to climate change and dependence on imports. The crisis has underscored the need for lawmakers to rethink energy policy.
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Syrians in Germany"We have suffered at the hands of this regime, its fall unites us"
Stunned by the sudden collapse of the Assad regime, Syrians take their joy to the streets of Berlin. Some have already started planning their return home.
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Impressions from SyriaThe uncertainty of freedom
An abandoned Assad-regime torture chamber, Kalashnikov-wielding rebels and a fearful archbishop. Karim El-Gawhary reports from the "new Syria"—a snapshot of history.
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Video discussion with Eva Illouz and Michael BrennerComplex thinking in conflictual times
Simplistic, decontextualized narratives must be challenged to truly understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and identify potential paths toward resolution.
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Iranian civil societySilenced under the pretext of war
Iran and Israel are engaged in an unprecedented open military conflict. The regime is using the threat of war as a weapon against its own population. Activists from the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement are branded "soldiers of Israel".
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Palestinian critique of HamasReclaiming the narrative of resistance
Palestinians have the right to defend themselves against Israel's occupation. But that doesn't have to mean following Hamas—a group whose political vision has resulted in Gaza's systematic destruction. It's time to envision a different future.
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Sudanese refugees in ChadAn uncertain future
More than half a million people have fled war in Sudan into neighbouring Chad. Humanitarian workers are scrambling to provide support amid overcrowding, limited funding and widespread trauma.
Culture
More about Culture-
Iranian-American curator Negah Angha"Religious practice can take place anywhere"
Negah Angha's upcoming exhibition "Seen and Unseen – Sufi Life in Frankfurt" is an intimate peek into Sufi practice in Germany. Guided by her interest in encounters across cultural and religious boundaries, Angha brings together experience in art, research and policy.
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Egyptian novel "The Passerby"Gender and society in transition
In Ibrahim Abdel Meguid's novel "The Passerby", the philosophy student Lamia becomes Hamza. His transition runs parallel to another: that of Egypt, caught between the brief freedom of 2011 and the grip of the security state.
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Kuzey Topuz and "Der Freund"The human as board game
In her debut novel, "Der Freund" (The Friend), Kuzey Topuz has created a complex weave of fragments and perspectives. The book is all about power and influence in interpersonal relations and at a societal level. It's a masterstroke
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French-Moroccan band Bab L'BluzMorocco's electrifying abundance
Swaken is the title of the second album from French-Moroccan quartet Bab L'Bluz. The band based around singer Yousra Mansour delves even further into the facets of the music found between the Atlantic coast and the Sahara
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Reports from Turkish women's prisonsA square of sky
In the 1970s and 80s, the author Asiye Müjgan Güvenli recorded the stories of women in Turkish prisons. Now the texts have been published in German and provide an insight into disturbing patriarchal conditions in Turkey at the time.
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Kurdish singer Hani MojtahediMyths re-imagined
Kurdish singer Hani Mojtahedi and German electro legend Andi Toma of Mouse On Mars have collaborated on an album that also pays homage to Mojtahedi’s grandfather, a Sufi master
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Aziza Brahim's "Mawja"The voice of Western Sahara
Aziza Brahim's childhood as a Sahrawi refugee in Algeria naturally shaped her music, but as her latest album, "Mawja" shows, while she has not forgotten where she comes from, she has long since tuned her ears to a world beyond the camp perimeters
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Najat Abed Alsamad's "Kein Wasser stillt ihren Durst"Searching for life
Najat Abed Alsamad's award-winning novel, "La Ma'a Yarwiha", has been published in German translation as "Kein Wasser stillt ihren Durst" (No water quenches her thirst). In it, she tells the story of a young Druze woman who roundly rejects the traditional rules imposed on her by her parents and relatives and begins a long fight for her freedom
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
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Krieg am Persischen Golf
KI-Datenzentren werden zur Schwachstelle
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Arabische Partei bei Israel-Wahl 2026
„Wir verstehen, was auf beiden Seiten vor sich geht“
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Sufismus in Deutschland
„Religiöse Praxis kann überall stattfinden“
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Buch „Die Schönheit des Christentums“
Liebe ohne Zustimmung
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Marokkanische Frauenrechtlerin Ghizlane Mamouni
„Der Fortschritt macht Halt, wo Gleichberechtigung anfängt“
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Neue Fakultät für Islam-Theologie in Münster
„Die Theologie öffnet sich und geht in die Gesellschaft hinein“