Qantara Startseite Englisch - Dialogue with the Islamic world
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Syrians in TurkeyA home for Istanbul's refugees
Based in an inconspicuous room in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district, Addar offers Syrian refugees education, advice and community. But without proper funding, the initiative is struggling to survive.
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The murder of Ben BarkaNew revelations from Israel's archives
The book "L'Affaire Ben Barka" reveals new details about the assassination of Moroccan opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka. Long-secret Israeli documents show the role of Mossad in one of the 20th century's most mysterious murders.
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Jafar Panahi's film "It Was Just an Accident"Humanism and humour
In the Iranian director's most critical film yet, Jafar Panahi presents a cross-section of society, takes aim at the practice of torture and shows fearless women claiming space. But there's still room for comedy.
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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.
Politics
More about Politics-
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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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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Hungary and IslamDefending Christendom
Although Hungary is just a transit nation for many refugees on their way to Western Europe, the country's government – led by right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban – has been conducting a campaign of xenophobia for months. Background by Stefan Buchen
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After the Taliban attack on KunduzLacking political vision
The blood-letting goes on in Afghanistan, and as usual, it is the civilians who are suffering most. Forced to shoulder the political burden, coalition troops in the country were unable to create the right conditions for peace. Commentary by Sandra Petersmann in Kabul
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Combatting Islamic StateForeign fighters ″crusade″ against IS
IS may have proved adept at attracting foreign nationals to its cause, but many have also joined up to fight the pseudo caliphate. And there′s no lack of religious fervour among the ranks either – some see it as their Christian duty. By Manar Ammar
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Al-Sisi′s EgyptHopes for a free press fading
Introducing swingeing new fines, the Egyptian government is coming down increasingly hard on journalists and publications determined to assert their right to freedom of expression. Tow the line or leave the country is the impression formed by many. By Ingy Salama
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Arab protest movementsThe brief Jordanian spring
Tunisia, Egypt, Syria: in 2010/2011 the Arab World was in uproar. Young people took to the streets; the demonstrations led to regime change, but also to civil war. In Jordan, however, the protests lasted only briefly – and generated few results. The Jordanian journalist Tamer Khorma took part in the protests at that time. He explains why things came to a head and talks about the current situation in the country
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Kristin Helberg goes on record about the Syrian conflict″We need an alternative to Assad″
At the recent EU summit on refugees, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she was willing to take part in talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In an interview with Wolfgang Dick, Middle East expert Kristin Helberg warns against misinterpretation
Society
More about Society-
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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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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Egyptian football star Mohammed AboutreikaBridging a deep divide
Few are able to bridge Egypt's deeply polarising divide between supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood following the 2013 military coup that toppled President Mohammed Morsi. Mohammed Aboutreika, Egypt's most celebrated and storied soccer player, is proving to be either the exception that proves the rule or an indication of shifting attitudes. By James M. Dorsey
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The Christian minority in PakistanUnder increased threat of persecution
Weeks after the twin bombings on churches in Lahore, discrimination against the Christian minority in Pakistan seems to have taken a turn for worse. By Roma Rajpal Weiß
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Freedom of the press in SyriaThe truth can cost lives
Four years into Syria's civil war, neither the regime nor the jihadists are interested in free and fair reporting. As Samar Yazbek explains, it takes great courage to stand up and tell the truth under such circumstances
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Media reports on the Yemen conflictA skewed view of Yemen's plight
In this opinion piece, Charlotte Wiedemann criticises the fact that many media reports about the current Yemen conflict are ill-informed, tendentious and overlook the West's responsibility for the escalation of the conflict
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Book review: Mohamedou Ould Slahi's "Guantanamo diary"Diary entries from the darkness
Mohamedou Ould Slahi wrote "Guantanamo diary" entirely by hand in his cell in Guantanamo Bay. Although heavily redacted by the censors, the book is still a harrowing and moving account of what one inmate of this notorious detention camp has been suffering for almost 13 years. By Emran Feroz
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Interview with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University"What the Islamist armed movements are doing is wrong"
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb is grand imam of al-Azhar University in Cairo, one of the highest religious instances in Sunni Islam. In an interview with Khalid El Kaoutit, he explains how the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) are abusing Islamic doctrine for their own purposes
Culture
More about Culture-
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.
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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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Writers in IranFighting a Losing Battle
Decades of repression and the establishment of a conformist state culture are beginning to take their toll on independent writers. In an all-enveloping climate of fear, Iran's young writers are coming under increasing pressure to sacrifice their independence and exercise self-censorship. For their part, the all-powerful state censorship authorities are becoming ever more professional – and restrictive – in their methods. By Faraj Sarkohi
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Comics Artists in the Arab WorldSwimming against the Tide
Many of the Arab comics and graphic novels produced before and during the Arab Spring are both critical of society and politically provocative. Despite the uprisings in the region, difficult working conditions and the strict constraints of media censorship still pose a big problem for the rebellious artists. A report by Charlotte Bank
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Interview with the Lebanese Composer and Oud Player Mahmoud Turkmani''I'm Way Beyond Any Categorization''
The 47-year-old musician and composer Mahmoud Turkmani was a highly accomplished oud player as a boy. As a young man, he rebelled against his upbringing and became a Communist. He left Beirut during the civil war and studied classical guitar at the Moscow Conservatory. From his adoptive home in Switzerland, he now enriches both Western and Eastern music with unorthodox works that fuse traditional and experimental elements and defy all categorization. Stefan Franzen met the artist
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Interview with Atiq RahimiUnable to Move Forward
In an interview with Shikiba Babori, the exiled Afghan author Atiq Rahimi criticizes the West's donor mentality in reconstructing Afghanistan and the indolence of the Afghan people, who he says have grown too accustomed to depending on foreign aid
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Abdellah Taïa's Novel ''The Day of the King''The Bitter Taste of Injustice
In his most recent novel, Le jour du Roi (The Day of the King), which has just been published in German translation, the Moroccan author Abdellah Taïa once again takes the reader back to the "leaden years", Morocco's dark days under the former ruler Hassan II. Claudia Kramatschek sends us this review
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Interview with Etel Adnan''I React to What is Happening in the World''
Etel Adnan, the grand dame of Middle Eastern literature, is the epitome of cosmopolitanism: throughout her life, she has oscillated between one country, one language, and one genre and another. dOCUMENTA (13) dedicated an entire retrospective to this exceptional poet, writer, and painter. Vera Kern travelled to Kassel to meet the 87-year-old
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
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