Qantara Startseite Englisch - Dialogue with the Islamic world
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Historical photographs of SyriaAn obsessive archivist
Ahmed Hasan sold his house to pursue a passion for historical photographs. His collection traces Syria's history through everyday life.
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Education in SyriaReturning pupils face language barrier
Eleven-year-old Ali spent six years in Germany. Now back in Syria, he is struggling with Arabic, his native language, as the new government appears overwhelmed by the task of reintegrating returning schoolchildren.
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Syria's economyAusterity and liberalisation won't rebuild the country
Syria's government is pursuing economic growth through liberalisation, foreign investment and cuts to state spending. These moves benefit the new elite but won't lift the majority out of crisis.
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Literature in YemenThe last bastion of beauty
Yemen's cultural scene has been hard hit by years of war, but not completely silenced. While many writers and intellectuals have left the country, the small literary club Alamaqah remains active, a testament to the resilience of Yemeni culture.
Christmas between Christianity and Islam
To the archive
Politics
More about Politics-
Religion in the armed forcesMilitary imams to be introduced in Germany
From 2026, Germany's Bundeswehr will recruit chaplains for Muslim soldiers, responding to calls from Islamic associations that go back over two decades.
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One year after AssadThe road to a new Syria
A year ago, rebel forces ousted Syria’s Assad regime. How has the country changed since? Leading experts weigh in.
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Parliamentary elections in IranTehran's election fiasco
Regime and society in Iran remain on a collision course with the actual turnout in the second round of Iran's parliamentary election last week estimated to have fallen below 40 per cent.
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Middle East conflictTwo peoples' experience of displacement
The Israel-Palestine conflict is multilayered and very complex. The greatest problem is that both sides have reason to believe the other wants to destroy them
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Get out of GazaExploiting the Palestinians
In view of the catastrophic situation in Gaza, Palestinians all over the world are trying to get relatives out of the sealed-off enclave. Unscrupulous Egyptian businessmen are cashing in on people's desperation. Qantara.de reports from Cairo
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Dangerous Instagram?Iraqi LGBTQ+ community loses safe space
It was always double-edged, but in Iraq, social media was often a comparatively safe place where the local queer community could meet. Recent amendments to Iraqi law are changing all that
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“From the river to the sea”How to interpret a slogan
The notion that the slogan is sweepingly anti-Semitic falls short of the mark. But extremist interpretations need to be condemned – on both the Israeli and the Palestinian side
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The discourse about Islam in German politicsFrom open to latent Islamophobia
Sociologist and Islamic studies expert Imad Mustafa was commissioned by the Group of Independent Experts on Islamophobia (UEM) to conduct the first academic study of the discourse around Islam in Germany's political parties. His findings have recently been published in book form
Society
More about Society-
Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi"Intersectional long before the term was coined"
A seminal feminist text by Nawal El Saadawi has been translated into English and German for the first time, over five decades after it first appeared in Arabic. Publisher and translator Sophie Haesen explains why it should be essential reading worldwide.
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War crimes in SyriaThe starvation of Yarmouk on trial
A new trial of Syrian war crimes suspects has opened in Koblenz, Germany. It's the first since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and the first ever to charge starvation as a war crime.
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750th anniversary of Rumi’s death – Part 7"Light your beacon!"
In Rumi's lifetime, too, people were frightened by war and uncertainty. His poetry has much to teach us about human nature
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Turkey local elections and Internet censorshipErdogan's grand plan
Ahead of the local elections in March 2024, Turkey is facing increased Internet censorship, with the government blocking web pages and VPN services. The move is part of Erdogan's strategy to regain control over major cities
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Indonesia's presidential electionK-Pop not Islam
This year's Valentine's Day saw a presidential election in Indonesia, the world's third-largest democracy. Conservative-Islamic morals and panic-mongering tactics took a back seat on social media channels filled with music, cat videos…and elderly presidential hopefuls dancing
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750th anniversary of Rumi's death – Part 6Academic research and spiritual exploration
No Islamic mystic in the past two centuries has touched literary figures and academics in both East and West as much as Rumi. A look at the history of research into this hugely influential spiritual teacher
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German academia and the war in GazaUniversities must remain places of dialogue
Discussions about the Middle East conflict naturally tend towards polarisation. In Germany, showing empathy for victims of political violence in Israel while drawing attention to the suffering of Gazan and West Bank Palestinians, who bear the brunt of any major confrontation, is a tricky balancing act
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German immigration policyYazidis relive the horror as deportation looms
Recently Germany's "culture of welcome" has given way to a much tougher asylum and immigration policy. Now Yazidi survivors of IS genocide face an uncertain, potentially re-traumatising future
Culture
More about Culture-
Architecture in LibyaReclaiming a vanishing colonial heritage
As Benghazi’s Italian-era architecture slowly disappears, an exhibition brings together architects and artists rethinking the city’s history — reassessing the colonial past without celebrating it.
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Cherien Dabis's "All That's Left of You"Palestinian identity on screen
In "All That's Left of You", Cherien Dabis intertwines a three-generation family saga with the history of Israel and Palestine, placing her within a growing movement of filmmakers negotiating Palestinian identity through cinema.
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Jewish musicBreathing new life into Ladino
Noam "Nani" Vazana's most recent album "Ke Haber" (What's New) is a beautiful dive into the rich cultural history of Sephardic Jews and the Ladino language. But there's a twist to what she does with the language: instead of just singing old songs, she creates and writes new material. By Richard Marcus
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Syrian literatureAcclaimed writer Khaled Khalifa dies aged 59
Award-winning author, poet and screenwriter Khaled Khalifa has died at his home in Damascus. Although one of his country's most celebrated writers, his novels were banned in Syria
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Migrants in the UKThe world of London's others
In "Auf dem Null Meridian", Shady Lewis tells the story of an immigrant in London who works in social services and whose life is turned upside down. With a light touch and black humour, he describes the tragic consequences of racism and Eurocentric thinking. Lisa Neal read the book for Qantara.de
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Eklektik BerlinIstan meets Anatolian folkDJ Ipek's space-time continuum in sound
Eklektik BerlinIstan's DJ Ipek – Ipek Ipekcioglu – is famous far beyond her home city of Berlin. Now the music producer has released her first album as part of the musical project "Karmaturji". Daniel Bax had a listen
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Middle Eastern and North African art in EuropeMENA Art Gallery – haven for Arab art
The MENA Art Gallery in downtown Berlin is the brainchild of Italian researcher Enrico De Angelis and Syrian visual artist Zena El Abdalla. One transliteration of the colloquial Arabic for 'port' is 'mena', reflecting the intention to provide a haven for works by Arab artists, as Rama Jarmakani reports
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Algeria – wasteland for Arabic literatureBig Brother is watching you
In May 2023, Algerian author Said Khatibi won the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Award in the young author category for his historical crime novel "Nihayat al-Sahra'" – in English, 'the End of the Sahara'. Claudia Mende caught up with Khatibi in Abu Dhabi for Qantara.de
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
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