Islam in European Classical Music
We cannot say precisely when the musical penetration of East and West began, but one thing is certain: composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and others could not resist the fascination of the Orient. Thus elements of Turkish music, Persian poetry and Arabic storytelling found their way straight to the heart of European culture. By Nadja Kayali More »
Interview with Syrian Writer Nihad Sirees
Syrian author Nihad Sirees has written seven novels and several plays and TV dramas. After increasing pressure from the Syrian government, Sirees left Aleppo in early 2012. Marcia Lynx Qualey met him at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, just as he was leaving his exile in the US and moving to Egypt More »
Film on the Case of Murat Kurnaz
"Five Years" examines the fate of the German Guantanamo prisoner Murat Kurnaz. Director Stefan Schaller's film exposes viewers to the horrific abuse of human rights endured by camp detainees. Jochen Kürten reports More »
Lebanese Victims of Torture
They were abducted and tortured. Now they have taken to the stage: In "The German Chair", Lebanese survivors of Syrian jails recreate the horrors of the civil war in a play. By Jannis Hagmann More »
Interview with the Tunisian Theatre Director Meriam Bousselmi
The young Tunisian lawyer, dramatist and director, Meriam Bousselmi, was born in Tunis, where she still lives, in 1983. She's currently making a name for herself with sharp, critical works for the theatre, such as her latest production, "Sabra". She spoke to Suleman Taufiq More »
Salah Saouli: The Days of the Blue Bat
The work of German-Lebanese artist Salah Saouli repeatedly draws on strands of recent Lebanese history and examines how these are perceived in the individual and collective consciousness. By Charlotte Bank More »
Interview with the Saudi Filmmaker Ahd Kamel
The film Sanctity tells the story of Areej, a young, pregnant Saudi widow, who will do anything to protect her unborn child. Kamel not only wrote and directed the film, she also played the leading role. It was shot on location in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and is her second film. Igal Avidan met her in Berlin and asked her about women's rights and film-making in a country that has no cinemas. More »
Afghan Comedian Asif Jalali
According to Afghan comedian and TV star Asif Jalali, it is much easier to make people in Afghanistan cry than it is to make them laugh. In his TV show he sets out to do the latter, with great success. By Tobias Matern More »
Muslim Art
Does art have to be consonant with the religious dictates of Islam? In Egypt, orthodox and secular Muslims cannot agree on whether and what extent art should serve a moral purpose. By Joseph Croitoru More »
Turkish Pianist Fazil Say Sentenced for Insulting Islam
World-renowned concert pianist Fazil Say was given a suspended jail sentence in Turkey for insulting religious values on Twitter, a case which has become a cause celebre for Turks alarmed about creeping Islamic conservatism. By Tim Neshitov More »
