Europe
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Spotlight on bridge builders: Comedian Idil Baydar
Counting up the cliches, Jilet Ayse tells it like it is
Comedian Idil Baydar may have received numerous awards, but she has also been the recipient of death threats from right-wing extremists. Her comic characters Gerda Grischke and Jilet Ayse hold a mirror up to German society and encourage audiences to take a closer look. Ceyda Nurtsch introduces her for Qantara.de
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Exhibition: "Be/coming/home – Berlin, capital of exiles?"
Monument to diversity in the "Capital of Exiles"
"Be/coming/home" by the Berlin dis:orient collective – which runs until 22 December – showcases work by six artists in exile in the capital. The multimedia presentation, in the form of a COVID-secure urban walk through Kreuzburg and Neukolln, shows how they experience and influence Berlin as a city of exile. Hannah El-Hitami went to see the exhibition for Qantara.de.
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Religious freedom in Europe
ECJ ruling on kosher and halal slaughter ban disastrous
The European Union's top court has deemed kosher and halal slaughter incompatible with animal welfare. This is a grim day for religious freedom in Europe, writes Christoph Strack
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Egypt – Dollars to despots
Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's international patrons
Egypt's economic strategy of heavy borrowing implicates international actors in regime repression and increased social deprivation of the lower and middle classes, effectively fuelling instability and violent extremism – not only at home, but also potentially across the Middle East. An analysis by Maged Mandour
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Authoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world
Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy alliance
U.S. political scientist Ahmet T. Kuru from San Diego State University traces historical developments in the region and seeks the causes behind today's problems. Kuru received the American Political Science Association Award for his book in 2020. Musa Bagrac read it for Qantara.de
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A Christmas meditation: What Muslims and Christians share
As historian Wiiliam Dalrymple writes in his essay, scholars are only now beginning to realise the extent to which the Mughal emperors adopted what most would assume to be outrightly Christian devotions.
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U.S.-Turkey relations in 2021
Biden and Erdogan – how much carrot, how much stick?
Initial statements by the Biden administration indicate it will follow a carrot and stick policy towards Turkey. Ankara believes its role in negotiations on various issues could strengthen its hand when it comes to ties with the new man in the White House. Ayse Karabat reports from Istanbul
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Exclusive – Germany's universal jurisdiction
The chances of indicting Syria's Assad for war crimes
Investigations by German federal prosecutors into the evidence of chemical warfare in Syria are ongoing. Deutsche Welle and Der Spiegel gained exclusive access to witnesses and documents that form part of the landmark inquiry. By Lewis Sanders IV, Birgitta Schulke-Gill & Julia Bayer
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DW documentary on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Seeking answers to a heinous crime
Did the Saudi state plan the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi? Was Khashoggi so much of a threat to the Saudi regime that it was prepared to commit a terrible crime to get rid of him?
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Spotlight on bridge-builders: Omid Nouripour
Taking a stand against the "overemphasis of difference"
Omid Nouripour fled Iran for Germany with his family at the age of 13. Today, he is foreign policy spokesman for Germany’s Green Party. He argues that societal differences should be seen as potential and vehicles for peace in foreign policymaking. Profile by Ceyda Nurtsch for Qantara.de
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Human rights repression under Sisi
Egypt activists' meeting with diplomats oversteps the mark
Last week Egypt's police stepped up an "unprecedented escalation" on activists by arresting a leading rights group director. Advocates on the Nile have long weathered a crackdown – what's new is detaining them for meeting foreign diplomats. Tom Allinson reports
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De-radicalising young people
Is there a way to stop jihadists in Europe?
What drives young men into the arms of Islamist extremists – and how can they be re-integrated into society? Five years after the deadly attacks in Paris, urgent questions remain. By Matthias von Hein