Interview with Mohammed Hanif
Mohammed Hanif's first novel, A case of exploding mangoes, was a critically acclaimed success. Claudia Kramatschek met the author and spoke to him about Pakistan, minorities and his most recent novel, Our Lady of Alice Bhatti More »
Supposed Fatwa against Iranian Rapper Shahin Najafi
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 More »
Interview with Orhan Pamuk
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 More »
Heavy Metal Unites Jews and Muslims across the Middle East
Despite the fact that Israel's relations with the Arab and Muslim world have nosedived in recent years, one Israeli heavy metal band has been bringing thousands of Jews and Muslims together. Roi Ben-Yehuda sends us this portrait of a group of unconventional peace-makers More »
The 100th Anniversary of Karl May's Death
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 More »
Sexuality in Contemporary Arab Women's Literature
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 More »
Arabic-to-English Literary Translation
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 More »
Elias Khoury's Novel ''Yalo''
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 More »
The Multinational Project ''Music for the One God''
Under the direction of the Turkish composter and oud player Mehmet Yeşilçay, the multinational project "Music for the One God" unites the sounds of Islamic, Sephardic-Jewiosh and Christian music. Stefan Franzen reports More »
First Congress of Arab Music in 1932
The first International Congress of Arab Music took place in Cairo 80 years ago. Intended as a means of preserving the Arab musical heritage, it actually led to a regeneration of classical Arab music. By Suleman Taufiq More »
