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Israeli activist Yuli Novak"The system is based on violence"
In this interview, the head of Israeli NGO B’Tselem discusses the increasingly boundless violence in the region and argues that defending Palestinian rights is defending human rights worldwide. She urges Germany to lead in upholding international law.
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Jewish community in Syria"One day we’ll drive from Damascus to Jerusalem"
The fall of Assad has prompted the return of millions of Syrians, including a small Jewish minority. Under Henry Hamra, son of the country’s last chief rabbi, they are asking whether a lasting return is possible.
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Opposition figure Behrouz Farahani"The war has frozen Iran’s protest movements"
The Iran war stems from two reactionary forces, the hegemonic ambitions of Iran’s Shia establishment and the Israeli vision of reshaping the Middle East, says Behrouz Farahani. A ceasefire is urgent, he argues, and real change must come from within.
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Syed Muhammad Naquib al-AttasA life rethinking the foundations of knowledge
Malaysian philosopher and polymath Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas has died aged 94. A lifelong critic of Western intellectual dominance, his work has shaped debates on modernity and education across the Muslim world.
Politics
More about Politics-
Iran WarWill the Gulf states stand together?
Hard hit by Iranian attacks, the business model of the Gulf states is under attack. Yet they are far from defenceless: with coordination—and unity—they could establish themselves as powerful agents of change.
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Attacks on IranDid the Saudis want this war?
Saudi Arabia's calculations in the Iran war may be different from what many assume. Rockets and drones are flying towards Doha, Dubai and even Riyadh—yet the kingdom could still see opportunities in the conflict.
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Sectarian strife in PakistanSyria's proxy war widens gulf between Sunnis and Shias
After a period of relative calm, the conflict in Syria is reigniting the tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Pakistan: groups from both sects are involved in the clashes in Syria. The authorities fear a new wave of sectarian violence. Background by Mohammad Luqman
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Podcast on the Hanau terrorist attack one year on"From 1990 to 2020 Germany's far right killed about 200 people"
On 19 February 2020, a right-wing terrorist murdered nine people in the German city of Hanau: Gokhan Gultekin, Sedat Gurbuz, Said Nesar Hashemi, Mercedes Kierpacz, Hamza Kurtovic, Vili Viorel Paun, Fatih Saracoglu, Ferhat Unvar und Kaloyan Velkov. Journalists Sham Jaff and Aline Jabarine talk to Schayan Riaz about the ongoing search for answers
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Turkey’s failing economy, COVID vaccines and the Uighur issueCoronavirus less dangerous than Erdogan's politics
Turkey launched its nationwide vaccination campaign with a Chinese vaccine in January. But the public focus is more on the desolate economic situation. Turkish politicians have failed to create real awareness of the dangers posed by coronavirus, writes Marion Sendker in her report from Istanbul
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Arabellion and the advent of Joe BidenYemen 10 years after the Arab Spring – never lose hope
Yemen's Arab Spring uprisings led to a raging civil war that has inflicted immense suffering on the population for the past seven years. Will the United States' halt on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and a new envoy help bring peace? By Jennifer Holleis
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Iranian Faezeh Hashemi, Rafsanjani's daughter, speaks outWill the Islamic Republic ever get a female president?
Iran's social media was buzzing in January when, Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Iran’s former President Rafsanjani gave a controversial interview, striking a chord with many Iranians. Questioning the merits of Tehran’s regional policy of "resistance" pursued by the late General Soleimani, Hashemi went on to assert that it will take sustained pressure to change the Islamic Republic’s policies. By Ali Fathollah-Nejad
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Lebanon and COVID-19Coronavirus lockdown weighs heavy on a country in crisis
Coronavirus, economic crisis and an unresolved explosion: the situation in Lebanon is tense and a new lockdown is only making things worse for a people already suffering trauma and economic devastation. Diana Hodali reports
Society
More about Society-
Palestinians in EgyptTime to return to Gaza?
In Egypt, Palestinians displaced by war in Gaza face a painful dilemma: return to their families and a devastated homeland or remain in limbo without residency. Medical needs, financial hardship and border fears make the decision fraught.
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Culture in GermanyThe politics of neutrality
This year’s Berlinale highlighted the tensions between art and supposedly neutral institutions. But state-funded cultural bodies don't operate outside politics; they set the terms of debate. Greater transparency about how boundaries are drawn could strengthen trust.
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Islamisation, a racist conspiracy theoryThe hatred of Hanau and its enablers
The Hanau terror attack showed just how dangerous racist conspiracy theories can be. And yet it is a threat that continues to be underestimated. Commentary by Daniel Bax
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Preparing for Pope Francis' visitThe scant remains of Iraq's ancient Christian community
Some fled after the U.S.-led invasion, others during sectarian bloodshed and more following jihadist attacks. Iraq's last two violent decades have hollowed out its Christian community which dates back two millennia.
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UAE and Sheikh Maktoum under pressureDubai's double standards – where is Princess Latifa?
The United Arab Emirates' carefully administered public image is taking a different turn. Growing calls for evidence that Princess Latifa is alive reflect the Emirate's double standards on human rights. Jennifer Holleis reports
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Interview with Yemen expert Marie-Christine Heinze"Now is the time to start preparing for reconstruction"
Islam scholar and social anthropologist Marie-Christine Heinze is head of an academic exchange project with the University of Sanaa on "Post-conflict Reconstruction in Yemen". In conversation with Elisa Rheinheimer-Chabbi, she talks about weapons from Germany, crucial reforms and why Yemeni women are the ones healing social rifts
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Hate speech "inferno" on Germany's social mediaMuslim students face Islamophobia after meeting CDU deputy
German Muslim students became the target of a vicious online campaign following a digital meeting at the beginning of February with federal politician and high-ranking Christian Democrat Norbert Rottgen. By Peter Hille
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Spotlight on bridge builders: Farhad DilmaghaniWorking towards a society without discrimination
Farhad Dilmaghani is co-founder and chairman of the association "Deutsch Plus: Initiative für eine plurale Republik". He works to ensure that institutions, public authorities and businesses reflect the diversity in society. Ceyda Nurtsch introduces him for Qantara.de
Culture
More about Culture-
Ramadan TV specialsSyrian drama after Assad
Television dramas are a Ramadan staple in Syria. This year, for the first time, viewers watched series written in a post-Assad era, some confronting past trauma, others offering satirical critique, sparking fierce debate over how the country's stories should be told.
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Author Taleb AlrefaiA window into the Kuwaiti soul
Does the German literary scene have a blind spot when it comes to Arabic literature? Abdulrahman Afif makes the case for the works of Kuwaiti writer Taleb Alrefai, whose socially critical literature deftly side-steps orientalist expectations.
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Interview with playwright and novelist Sasha Marianna SalzmannThe trap of the century
Shortlisted for the 2017 German Book Prize with her debut novel "Ausser Sich", playwright and novelist Sasha-Marianna Salzmann discusses the sense of flux – in language, gender and in nations – that dominates contemporary existence and how the past continues to live on. Interview by Noha Abdelrassoul
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Social media fosters creative writing in the MaghrebPublished by Facebook
Social media has democratised literary publishing, paving the way for young Moroccan writers to publish works which previously would not have enjoyed publication through traditional outlets. By Ismail Azzam
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Inauguration of the AUC Tahrir Cultural CenterManifesting the unseen
New work by Huda Lufti and Sherin Guirguis explores the poetics of revolution and repression at a pair of exhibitions marking the inauguration of the Tahrir Cultural Center at the downtown campus of the American University in Cairo.
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Berlinale 2019: Hassan Faziliʹs "Midnight Traveler"That our voices wonʹt be silenced
Threatened with death by the Taliban, director Hassan Fazili fled to Europe with his family, filming their odyssey on his mobile phone. Itʹs not the first time that the refugee trek to Europe has been documented, yet the result is a film that not only serves as a political chronicle of our time, but is also a work of art. By Rene Wildangel
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Berlinale 2019: Marwa Zein's "Khartoum Offside"Football, film and freedom in Sudan
Marwa Zein has made an impressive documentary about the Sudanese women's football team, if only the national football association would recognise it as such. The players are neither allowed to represent their country at international level nor set up a domestic women's football league. By Rene Wildangel
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Berlinale 2019: "Born in Evin"Confronting a very personal trauma
When Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in Iran in 1979, he persecuted his opponents with severity. Maryam Zaree was born in a prison for political prisoners. With her film "Born in Evin" she breaks her silence. By Laura Doing
750th anniversary of Rumi's death
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