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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Lebanon's "You Stink" protest movementRubbish knows no religion
Triggered by a waste disposal crisis, a new movement has formed in Lebanon. Yet the "You Stink" campaign is more than an initiative against unsolved rubbish problems; it is also a rebellion against Lebanon's family clans and confessionalism, a system that divides up political power among the country's religious communities in proportion to their percentage of the population. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Politics and religionThe instrumentalisation of religion
Since time immemorial, religion has not only been used as an inspiration and a guide for life, but also as a way of furthering interests and achieving specific political ends. This instrumentalisation can be either intentional or unintentional. In this essay, Hakim Khatib looks at a number of countries where Islam has been instrumentalised in the recent past and examines the various different forms this instrumentalisation can take
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Islamism in eastern AfricaNot immune to terror
Somalia, Kenya and their neighbouring countries are increasingly being haunted by extremist violence. This essay assesses why this region has become a hotbed of Islamism and why one-dimensional military interventions by external forces have not delivered the desired results. By Emmanuel Kisiangani
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Interview with a survivor of the Suruc attack"All we want is freedom"
The faces of the 31 members of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) killed in the attack on 20 July still gaze down from banners strung around the courtyard of the Amara Culture Centre where the bomb was detonated. Inside, surrounded by broken windows, sits Adnan, a 25-year-old Kurd, who describes the IS terrorism that drove him out of Kobani, only to catch up with him across the border in Suruc. Fabian Kohler spoke to him about the attack
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State and religion in Iran"Shias tend to support the underdogs"
The Shia faith has always been a defining aspect of Iranian nationhood. In the twentieth century, the pro-Western regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi silenced critics and was eventually toppled by a popular revolution with strong religious dimensions in 1979. Tehran's stance has since been basically anti-Western, but that may now be changing. Maysam Behravesh, a political analyst with Tehran Bureau, assessed the nature of the Shia regime in an interview with Hans Dembowski
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Interview with Wilfried Buchta on the rise of IS and the fall of Iraq"Iraq is irreversibly split"
In his new book, "Terror vor Europas Toren" (Terror at the Gates of Europe), Wilfried Buchta analyses the reasons for the rise of the jihadist militia of the self-styled "Islamic State" and the disintegration of the Iraqi state. Ulrich von Schwerin spoke to Buchta, a scholar of Islam, who worked as a UN analyst in Baghdad for many years about the future of the nation
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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The Taybeh Vinfest, West BankTurning water into wine
Taybeh, the last Christian village in the West Bank, is well-known for its brewery and annual Oktoberfest. Late last year, the family that owns the brewery launched a winery. The first Taybeh wine festival (the Taybeh Vinfest) was held at the end of February. The Khoury family has always claimed that developing the local economy is their way of putting up peaceful resistance and encouraging Palestinians to stay in – or return to – their native home instead of going abroad in search of better opportunities. By Ylenia Gostoli
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Conversion of Christians and Muslims in IndiaHomecoming or forced conversion?
A heated controversy has been triggered in India over a Hindu nationalist campaign to bring Christians and Muslims "back into the Hindu fold". While the Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains silent over the issue, organisations allied to his party continue to pursue the campaign. By Ulrich von Schwerin
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Turkey's mosque-building programmeDoes Turkey aspire to the leadership of the Islamic world?
An ambitious international mosque-building programme is seen as the latest step in the Turkish president's ambitious bid to put Turkey at the centre of Muslim world. During his visit to Cuba in February, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan requested that his country be allowed to build a mosque in Havana. At present, 18 major mosques are being built by the Turkish state across the globe from Somalia to Kazakhstan. By Dorian Jones
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Raising awareness about Salafism in German schoolsSymbolic acts alone are not enough
What is the appropriate way to inform young Muslims in schools about the dangers of Salafism? In co-operation with the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, the association ufuq.de provides teaching materials on Islam, Islamophobia, Islamism and democracy. Gotz Nordbruch provides a personal account of preventive work in this field
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Interview with Turkish women's rights activist Selime BuyukgozeA history of resistance
The attempted rape and subsequent murder of the student Ozgecan Aslan alerted the world to violence against women in Turkey. Ceyda Nurtsch spoke with Selime Buyukgoze from the women's rights organisation Mor Cati about women's struggle for self-determination
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Book review: Victoria Schneider's "Are you Charlie?"A deeply divided country
A very topical and important e-book entitled "Are you Charlie?" was published on 25 February. Its author, Victoria Schneider, offers her impressions of France after the "Charlie Hebdo" attack and paints a picture of a divided society. Claudia Kramatschek read the book
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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Supposed Fatwa against Iranian Rapper Shahin Najafi''We Will Continue with Our Work''
Iran's grand ayatollah has issued what many have interpreted to be a fatwa against the rapper Shahin Najafi, who has lived in Germany for the past seven years. In this interview with Shahram Ahadi, Najafi gives his take on the situation
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Interview with Orhan Pamuk''The Museum of Innocence'' – A Declaration of Love to the City of Istanbul
Orhan Pamuk is Turkey's most famous writer. In 2006 he also became the first ever Turkish writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize. He recently presented a very special museum to his home city of Istanbul. An interview by Aygül Cizmecioglu
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The 100th Anniversary of Karl May's DeathLiterary Genius or Man of Legendary Hubris?
Karl May is the most widely read of all German writers. This year, which marks the 100th anniversary of his death, a number of new biographies seek to reconsider Karl May's place in German literary history. Andreas Pflitsch read two of them
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Sexuality in Contemporary Arab Women's LiteratureOf Personal Experience and Artistic Freedom
When Arab women write about sexual encounters, are they recounting their own personal experiences or are their descriptions born of their literary fantasy? And whatever the answer is, should one measure literature using a moral yardstick or should criticism focus on the content of the work alone? Rim Najmi asked a number of female Arab writers to share their thoughts on this matter
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Arabic-to-English Literary TranslationRaising the Profile
The landscape of Arabic literary translation seen in the 21st century has changed dramatically. Political events including 9/11 and the Arab Spring are one reason for the increasing interested in translated Arab fiction – as are substantial sponsorship from the Gulf countries. Susannah Tarbush reports
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Elias Khoury's Novel ''Yalo''The Word and the War
More than twenty years after the end of Lebanon's civil war, the conflicting parties can still not agree on a single narrative of events. With "Yalo", Elias Khoury has written a magnificent novel on the Lebanese struggles for history. By Sonja Hegasy
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
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