Politics

Moncef Marzouki (photo: Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images) Interview with Moncef Marzouki

''We Don't Have a Magic Wand''

Ahead of his visit to Germany, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki told Sarah Mersch that his country could take a leaf out of Europe's book as it struggles with the transition to democracy and that Tunisia would welcome help from Germany in a number of areas More »


Young Islamists take part in a demonstration led by the controversial preacher Pierre Vogel in Frankfurt on Main (photo: dapd) Interview with Matenia Sirseloudi

What Drives Young People to Jihad?

What is behind the Islamicisation and radicalisation of young people in Europe? To what extent do European foreign policies and military interventions abroad play a role in this? Albrecht Metzger spoke to sociologist Dr Matenia Sirseloudi about politically motivated violence and radicalisation processes More »


Salafists pray in a pedestrian zone of a German city (photo: dpa/picture alliance) Extremists in Germany

Right-wing Agitators versus Islamist Fanatics

They agitate, they incite, they are relentlessly intolerant: Salafists and those hostile to Islam continually whip each other into a frenzy with their mutual hatred. But no matter how much cold calculation the rightist rabble-rousers bring to their provocations, the law must protect them from persecution. A commentary by Hans Leyendecker More »


Palestinian activists from the tent city Bab al-Shams in the West Bank (photo: dpa/picture-alliance) Non-Violent Resistance in Palestine

Hitting a Nerve

Palestinian activists are increasingly employing strategies of peaceful resistance: The tent camp they have erected on sites earmarked for settlement construction are symbolic of the battle that has flared up over Areas B and C in the West Bank. Ingrid Ross reports. By Ingrid Ross More »


Protests against court decisions in Port Said (photo: Reuters) Court Rulings in Egypt's Soccer Stadium Riots

The Underhand Role of the Police

A year after the bloody clashes at Port Said's soccer stadium, people in the harbour town are horrified at the Draconian punishments that have been handed down to individuals who continue to deny any involvement in the riots. Karim El-Gawhary reports from Port Said More »


Tunisian protesters hold slogans during a demonstration to protest over the violence against women in Tunis, Tunisia on September 29, 2012, in support of a woman who was raped by two policemen (photo: picture alliance/abaca) Commentary by Moha Ennaji

Arab Women's Unfinished Revolution

Though women across the Middle East participated actively in the Arab Spring protests that began in late 2010, they remain second-class citizens, even where popular uprisings managed to topple autocratic regimes. A Commentary by Moha Ennaji More »


Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (photo: IRNA) Iran's Economic Crisis

On the Edge of the Abyss

The everyday lives of the Iranian people look set to be dominated by rationing and food coupons. And four months ahead of presidential elections, a bitter power struggle has been raging – one that is turning out to be a veritable struggle for survival for some of those involved. By Ali Sadrzadeh More »


Egyptian military police search the offices of an NGO in Cairo (photo: dapd) Controversial NGO Law in Egypt

Attack on the Heart of Civil Society

The Egyptian government hopes to restrict the work of non-government organisations by means of a new law. Activists are up in arms, while the opposition has been remarkably quiet on the subject. Markus Symank has the information from Cairo More »