Qantara Startseite Englisch - Dialogue with the Islamic world
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Comic book author Joe Sacco"Gaza was where the West went to die"
Trailblazing cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco reflects on Western coverage of the war on Gaza, oral histories, and comics as a medium for critical journalism.
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Post-Assad Syria"Let freedom of the press be enshrined as sacrosanct"
The collapse of the Assad regime must not only mark the end of an era steeped in fear and oppression, but it must also serve as the dawn of a new chapter in the country’s history. Syrian independent media outlets publish their demands to the new government.
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ICC arrest warrantsWhat the Netanyahu warrant can teach us about international law
Arrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders are putting international law to the test. Do Western states only support UN courts when it serves their interests? Can the "principle of universal jurisdiction" save international criminal justice?
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Israel in new Merkel memoir "Freedom"Merkel's reason of state
When Angela Merkel used the word "Staatsräson" in a 2008 speech to the Israeli Knesset, she may not have expected the enduring intensity of the debate it would ignite. In the new memoir "Freedom", the former chancellor reveals her idealised view of Israel, and her reluctance to acknowledge Palestinian perspectives.
Politics
More about Politics-
Trump and the Gulf StatesSkeptical optimism in the Gulf
Saudi Arabia and the Emirates hope to reap economic benefits from the Trump presidency. But the Gulf has learned that Washington cannot be relied upon. Meanwhile, the Saudis could push Trump to take a tougher stance towards Israel.
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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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France and the Middle EastWhat chance ″la grande paix″?
Since the beginning of the year, the French government has been building support for an international conference to restart the Israel-Palestine peace process. France deserves applause for its brave effort to revive a process that has been going nowhere for the best part of a decade. But success will require more than courage. By Daoud Kuttab
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Football fan protests in Turkey and EgyptClosed ranks
Battles for control of stadiums and other public spaces in Turkey and Egypt have pitched militant football fans against authoritarian leaders. By James Dorsey
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The Taliban′s spring offensiveOver one million displaced Afghans
The most recent suicide attack on the outskirts of Kabul shows once again that in Afghanistan, battles are not only being fought between the army and the rebels. Anyone can find themselves targeted and civilians are the ones suffering the most. By Matthias Lauer
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Interview with the Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany″I write to defend democracy″
Best-selling novelist Alaa Al Aswany was one of the main protagonists in the 2011 Egyptian uprising and remains a high-profile government critic. Interview by Sabine Peschel
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Western Sahara – the last colony in Africa″Armed resistance is their only choice″
With Rabat′s latest Dakhla proposal promising even deeper economic penetration of Western Sahara, many Sahrawis are left wondering if a referendum favouring independence can ever undo Morocco′s presence in the territory. Report from Dakhla by Matthew Greene
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Rafik Schami on integration″To the haters, they′re all faceless Muslims″
In this article, the Syrian-German writer Rafik Schami outlines his idea of integration and hospitality.
Society
More about Society-
Podcast with Qantara author Emran Feroz"The question is: which human rights do the Taliban not violate?"
In August 2021, the USA and its allies withdrew from Afghanistan. Emran Feroz joins the "Deep Dive" podcast to shed light on the human rights situation in the country after three years of Taliban rule.
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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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Cologne: New Year's Eve mobThinly veiled racism
Our outrage over the sexist Muslim male reveals a need to feel superior. It expresses a brand of cultural chauvinism that co-opts feminism as a means of diverting attention from its own sexist and racist shortcomings. A contribution by Khola Maryam Hübsch
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Afghan refugees in IranOn the fringes of society
Many refugees currently knocking on Europe′s doors come from Afghanistan. Most of them, however, no longer know their homeland because they are second generation refugees who have grown up in neighbouring Iran. Ghasem Toulany on the situation of Afghan refugees in the Islamic Republic
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New Year′s Eve assaults on womenThe Cologne outcry
The perpetrators involved in the attacks in Cologne, Dusseldorf and Hamburg must be brought to book, regardless of their origins. Those using the suffering of the New Year′s Eve victims to foment popular prejudice against individuals who have fled inhumane suffering, however, compromise their own humanity. An essay by Raphael Sartorius
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Sexual assaults at Cologne′s main station#KoelnHbf – An attack on my freedom
The sex attacks at Cologne's main railway terminal are intolerable, regardless of where the perpetrators come from. An outcry is essential (#aufschrei). It is not acceptable that women in Germany become a target. Commentary by Sarah Judith Hofmann
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Cologne: sexual assaults and the press codeOutrage reaches new heights
Reports on the sexual attacks on New Year's Eve in Cologne have intentionally emphasised the ethnic origins of the offenders. With what reason? A commentary by Daniel Bax
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Human rights violations in MoroccoCity of roses, city of torture
The case of the Belgian-Moroccan national Ali Aarrass shines a spotlight on persistent human rights violations and the existence of torture prisons in Morocco. While the monarchy remains silent, the public deliberately looks the other way. By Susanne Kaiser
Culture
More about Culture-
Tunisia's Carthage Film FestivalDecolonial cinema
The Carthage Film Festival in Tunis aims to counter the Global North's dominance in the world of film. Until Sunday, a diverse range of films from Africa and West Asia will be screened. But can the festival truly fulfil its own ambitions?
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Palestinian director Dima Hamdan"There is no pride when gay men are blackmailed"
Winner of the prestigious Iris Film Prize, Dima Hamdan's short film "Blood like Water" addresses how Israel uses the social stigma of homosexuality in Palestinian society to blackmail gay men.
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Interview with the Syrian Writer Rosa Yassin HassanTouched by Magic
Until a few months ago, Rosa Yassin Hassan was filing daily reports on the war in Syria in her blog, "Diary of the Syrian Revolution". Her accounts detailed both the suffering of civilians and the brutal acts committed by both the regime and the opposition. Persecuted by the regime, she fled to Germany in the autumn of 2012. Laura Overmeyer spoke to her
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Mohammed Rasoulof's ''Manuscripts Don't Burn''Iranian Agents as Killers
The Islamic Republic's intelligence service is unmasked for the first time in a film based on a series of murders of Iranian writers and intellectuals in the late 1990s. Stefan Buchen introduces the new movie by director Mohammed Rasoulof
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Islam in European Classical MusicAs-salam alaykum Resounding from the Minaret
We cannot say precisely when the musical penetration of East and West began, but one thing is certain: composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and others could not resist the fascination of the Orient. Thus elements of Turkish music, Persian poetry and Arabic storytelling found their way straight to the heart of European culture. By Nadja Kayali
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Interview with Syrian Writer Nihad SireesOn Literature's Honest Surrender
Syrian author Nihad Sirees has written seven novels and several plays and TV dramas. After increasing pressure from the Syrian government, Sirees left Aleppo in early 2012. Marcia Lynx Qualey met him at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, just as he was leaving his exile in the US and moving to Egypt
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Film on the Case of Murat Kurnaz''A Scandal of Democracy''
"Five Years" examines the fate of the German Guantanamo prisoner Murat Kurnaz. Director Stefan Schaller's film exposes viewers to the horrific abuse of human rights endured by camp detainees. Jochen Kürten reports
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Lebanese Victims of TortureRemembering Palmyra
They were abducted and tortured. Now they have taken to the stage: In "The German Chair", Lebanese survivors of Syrian jails recreate the horrors of the civil war in a play. By Jannis Hagmann
From the Syria archive: Assad's regime of terror
From our archive: Christmas in Islam
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
Most read articles
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Interview mit dem Historiker Jürgen Zimmerer
"Es braucht einen Aufstand der Anständigen!“
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Sex-Tourismus in Ägypten
Braut für einen Sommer
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Sexuelle Aufklärung
Der größte Erfolg des Arabischen Frühlings?
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Cannabis und Islam
Eine vielschichtige Beziehung
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"Let’s Talk About Sex, Habibi" von Mohamed Amjahid
Liebe zwischen Kairo und Casablanca
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Comic-Autor Joe Sacco
„Der Westen starb in Gaza“