Qantara Startseite Englisch
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Tunisian gender scholar Amel Grami"Arab culture's flexibility distinguishes it from others"
Concepts of gender are shifting across the Arab world. Tunisian writer and academic Amel Grami reflects on emerging approaches to gender analysis in the region and examines how colonial legacies have shaped existing perceptions.
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Israel and PalestineHow to talk about Zionism
Criticism of the ideology underpinning Israel's foundation remains contentious in Germany. In the US, however, a significant shift is taking place. The Zionist consensus within the Jewish community is fracturing and debate is opening up.
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Clan electionsHow families are filling Gaza’s leadership void
Amid a catastrophic institutional vacuum, extended families are assuming an unprecedented role in Gaza. Across the Strip, Palestinian clans are holding elections to ensure they are taken into account by aid organisations. Meanwhile, some have political ambitions.
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Syria after AssadPromises of the revolution remain unfulfilled
Since December 2024, Syria has been oscillating between euphoria and disappointment. The British-Syrian analyst Robin Yassin-Kassab sees optimism as a resource, but the new government’s focus on stability as a potential pitfall.
Politics
More about Politics-
War in LebanonBint Jbeil – portrait of a decimated city
The Israeli army is demolishing entire towns in Lebanon, and with them, the rich history of the Shiite region in the country's south. The beleaguered town of Bint Jbeil offers a primer to the border region’s turbulent past.
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Q&AWhat is happening in Sudan?
Since 2023, a brutal war has raged in Sudan, but the conflict receives little attention in the West. Who is fighting whom in the North African country, and what lies ahead?
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Voicemail from North Gaza26 minutes of misery
An extract from the diary of Palestinian Ibrahim Kharabishi, who lives with his pregnant wife Nasreen and their three children in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City, where Ibrahim also looks after his two elderly parents
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EU-Egypt agreementDubious deal with Cairo
The EU's planned aid for Egypt will primarily serve to prop up authoritarian rule rather than contribute to the country's long-term stability. Additionally, the EU Commission's procedural approach is highly problematic
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Middle East: Is there a solution to the endless conflict?Welcome to Abraham/Ibrahim
Who invented it? The Swiss. Why it might be worth looking to the Swiss Confederation in the search for a solution to the Middle East conflict
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Arabian PeninsulaDawn of a new era in the Gulf
Political scientist Sebastian Sons describes in his new book how societies on the Arabian Peninsula are undergoing multiple changes simultaneously as they search for a new identity
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Anti-Assad protests in Syria's Sweida governateNew wave of violence after protester death?
Locals in southern Syria have been protesting peacefully for months now, despite their government's brutal crackdown. But in late February, for the first time, a demonstrator was killed
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Prospects for peace in the Middle EastThe search for the Middle East formula
Without rights for the Palestinians, there can be neither security for Israelis nor stability in the Middle East. There are four possible future scenarios
Society
More about Society-
Alcohol ban in SyriaWill Damascus soon sober up?
In June, a ban on serving alcohol is due to come into force in Damascus. Bar owners are worried, while the population remains divided. Some consider the ban necessary, others see it as a serious infringement on personal freedoms.
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Discrimination in GermanyWhen racism is hard to name
In Germany, discrimination is often subtle enough to go unchallenged. For many migrants, experiences of exclusion are marked not by open hostility, but by pauses, implication, and casual remarks. Such moments are difficult to prove as racism—yet impossible to forget.
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Palestinian ChristiansBethlehem: Gaza war mars Christmas festivities
Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, the supposed birthplace of Jesus, is usually busy over the Christmas season. This year, however, most festivities were cancelled because of the Gaza conflict.
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No festive season in the West BankChristmas muted in 'grieving' Bethlehem
Outside Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity in the Palestinian West Bank, the throngs of tourists and pilgrims who normally rub shoulders with costumed Santas and marching bands are missing this year
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Destination MoroccoA magnet for migrant women?
Morocco has slowly transformed from a transit country to a destination country for sub-Saharan African migrants – almost half of whom are women
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U.S. universities and anti-SemitismSpotlight on freedom of speech
Since the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war, New York's Columbia University has been gripped by divisions over the conflict and rancour over where free speech ends and hatred begins
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Life in LebanonFighting sectarianism with cheap groceries
Two women in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, have founded a non-profit grocery store that offers goods at affordable prices. But their bigger vision is to break down political and religious segregation
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Cultural boycott of Germany?The German anti-Semitism debate is increasingly off-key
These days, anyone opposing both anti-Semitism and racism faces a difficult choice, as numerous recent cases show. Where must we start in order to change this?
Culture
More about Culture-
"Palestine 36"A film tracing the roots of colonial violence
"Palestine 36" depicts the 1936-1939 revolt against British Mandate rule. It recreates an often-forgotten turning point in Palestinian history in vivid detail.
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Berlin-based rapper Siba"Rage can be very constructive"
With "Dounana", Siba has struck a chord. Rapped in Arabic, the track takes aim at colonialism and imperialism and is spreading rapidly online. A conversation about anger, injustice and empowerment.
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"Iraq's Invisible Beauty"Pictures, not words
"Iraq's Invisible Beauty" is a documentary film depicting the journey of the late Iraqi photographer Latif al-Ani, who gained international acclaim as one of the pioneers of photography in Iraq and the Middle East. By Shady Lewis Botros
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Lebanon explosion 3 years onRebuilding Beirut's cultural life
Three years after a massive explosion devastated Beirut, cultural institutions in the city are still struggling to pick up the pieces. But restored and planned new museums offer hope. Stefan Dege reports
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East JerusalemLibrary restores Palestinian history one manuscript at a time
A library in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem offers a rare glimpse into Palestinian history with its treasure trove of manuscripts dating back hundreds of years before the creation of Israel
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The last SyrianDreaming of freedom
In his debut novel – "Le dernier Syrien" – Syrian journalist and author Omar Youssef Souleimane looks back on the protest movement of 2011, a time when many in Syria hoped for societal change and democratic structures. Volker Kaminski read the German-language version of the book for Qantara.de
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Interlacing culturesMusic of the Nile
The Nile Project was a multinational music collective inspired by a river. It sang songs in a variety of styles and languages about life along and with the Nile. Like many projects in the region, it failed because of politics. By Katharina Wilhelm Otieno
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Berber ritual survives millenniaTuareg flock to Algerian desert oasis for ancient festival
In a riot of colour, music and dance, thousands of Tuareg have flocked to the Sebeiba festival that marks the end of an ancient tribal feud and which once a year transforms an oasis town deep in the Algerian Sahara
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
750th anniversary of Rumi's death - Qantara.de
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Deutschland
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