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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Four years of war in SyriaWhere the uprising began and still lives on
The southern Syrian city of Daraa is the "cradle of the revolution" and the last bastion of the uprising against the Assad regime. Kristin Helberg on the special significance the provincial city has held since the start of the Syrian rebellion four years ago
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General election in IsraelDisillusionment and hope
Despite opinion poll and exit poll indications to the contrary, Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud won a clear victory in Tuesday's election. As the dust settles, Ylenia Gostoli reports on what the outcome might mean for Palestinians. Although disillusionment is widespread in the Palestinian Territories, the historic result for the Joint Arab List is seen as a positive development
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Relations between Saudi Arabia and EgyptConditional support
Relations between the Gulf States and Egypt are undergoing readjustment. Saudi Arabia will continue to support Egypt, but the conditions for this support have changed. By Matthias Sailer
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Sunni-Shia conflictThe enemy of my enemy
Anyone who thinks that the Sunnis in Tikrit and Mosul will welcome the opponents of Islamic State with open arms as liberators is mistaken. They fear the Shia militias even more than they do IS. This shows how the inner-Islamic religious war has polarised Iraqi society. By Stefan Buchen
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India and "Islamic State"Indian Muslims not heeding the siren call of IS
IS's recruitment of fighters for the "holy war" in Syria and Iraq has long been an international problem. In India, home to the world's second largest Muslim population, the security forces are also alert to the issue. By Ronald Meinardus in New Delhi
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Military offensive against IS in IraqStrike and counter-strike
The Iraqi army hopes that taking back Tikrit will come to mean to it what Kobani means to the Kurds: a turning point and a motivational push in one. By Birgit Svensson in Baghdad
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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Contrasting images of IslamThe last gasp of archaic masculinity?
One in every two people in Germany believes that Islam is not part of German society. Until this attitude changes, the Islam we see in the evening news and not the actual reality of Islam in Germany will remain for many the genuine face of Islam. In this essay, Charlotte Wiedemann takes a closer look at Muslim women in Germany and shows how drastically they differ from the prevailing image of Islam in this country
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After the release of Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel-FattahFreedom of expression at an all-time low
The well-known Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah has been released on bail. Is it a sign that the powers that be in Cairo are ready to allow increased freedom of expression? Egyptian filmmaker and activist Omar Hamilton says it's not. Interview by Sella Oneko
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Samaritans in NablusThe other "People of Israel"
They hold dual citizenship and speak both Arabic and Hebrew fluently. The small Samaritan community in Nablus sees itself as the custodian of the "true religion of the Israelites". Its members support a two-state solution, yet deliberately distance themselves from the Middle East conflict. Laura Overmeyer paid them a visit
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Interview with Farid Esack"Pluralist societies are about give and take"
Farid Esack is a Koran scholar and Islamic liberation theologian from South Africa. He is one of the most renowned Islamic thinkers of our time. Claudia Mende spoke to him at the recent international "Horizons of Islamic Theology" conference in Frankfurt
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Portrait: Mohammed Dajani-DaoudiFrom hardliner to peacemaker
Mohammed Dajani-Daoudi is an unorthodox thinker. Despite the current hatred between Arabs and Jews, he continues to work for reconciliation and dialogue, attracting the ire of his fellow Palestinians in the process. By Ulrike Schleicher
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Germans and Ottomans in the First World WarA partnership of privilege
When the First World War began 100 years ago, German advisers in the Ottoman Empire were a common sight. The Ottomans hoped their alliance with the military power Germany would help them reverse their waning military fortunes. In the end, however, they lost their entire empire as a result of the conflict. By Jakob Krais
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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An Interview with the Egyptian Author May TelmissanyFor Secularism and Civil Society
In order not to leave the field open to fundamentalists, numerous Egyptian activists and intellectuals have expressed their commitment to the establishment of a civil and secular state. The author May Telmissany is among them. An interview by Samir Grees
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Modern Arabic GraffitiAncient calligraphy meets politics in modern Arabic graffiti
Arabic artists push the boundaries of graffiti with their calligraphic styles and political messages. A new book published in Germany looks at what makes Arabic street art unique – and just how powerful it can be. Cinnamon Nippard reports
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German Peace Prize for Boualem SansalA Good, Cowardly Choice
Awarding Boualem Sansal with the German Peace Prize is in fact not as courageous as it seems, writes Stefan Weidner: the Algerian author is one of those critics of Arab-Islamic conditions who make it easy for us to follow him, Weidner says
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Egyptian CinemaEnormous Creative Energy
Egypt's filmmakers were among those who openly protested against Mubarak, thus toppling his regime. Now, they will have to change the language of their country's cinema. Amin Farzanefar on what the Arab Spring means for the Egyptian cinema
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Algerian LiteratureBoualem Sansal Wins Top German Cultural Award
His books have cost him his job and landed him on the index of banned authors in Algeria, but Boualem Sansal remains a resident and activist there. In 2011 he received German Book Trade Peace Prize. By Gabriela Schaaf
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Tariq Ali: ''The Night of the Golden Butterfly''Shimmering Prose against the Clash of Civilisations
Tariq Ali has written a multi-faceted picaresque novel about Pakistan and the West. In "The Night of the Golden Butterfly", the Pakistani-British intellectual lays bare the cynical bigotries of both the western and the Muslim world, writes Claudia Kramatschek
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
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Reform des Familienrechts in Marokko
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Interview mit Abolhassan Banisadr
Aufklärung im Dienste der jüngeren Generation
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Prostitution in der Islamischen Republik Iran
Aufgeschlossen, liebevoll - und verzweifelt