Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

Rebetiko is a musical genre that describes the emotionally charged songs of Greeks who were expelled from Turkey in the wake of the population exchange of 1923. Cigdem Aslan, a young Kurd from London, lends her powerful voice to the stories behind these songs. By Marian BrehmerMore

The young author Emrah Serbes is regarded as the "enfant terrible" of Turkish literature. Not only is he one of the most popular authors in Turkey: since the protests in Gezi Park last summer and his active participation in the resistance, many now seen him as the "writer and voice of the people". Ceyda Nurtsch met him at a reading in BerlinMore

The Lebanese artist Zeina Abirached grew up during the country’s 15-year civil war. In her comic books, she describes how her family experienced the horror of this brutal conflict. Juliane Metzker talked to herMore

The works of Sabahattin Ali are widely read classics in Turkey. The author suffered throughout his life from censorship and repression, yet his novels, with their modern multi-perspective narrative style and skilled social criticism, still hold up a mirror to the powers that be. Now, his novel "Yusuf" has been translated into German and published. By Volker KaminskiMore

The Lebanese journalist and writer Joumana Haddad is considered one of the most courageous women's rights activists in the Arab world. In this interview with Ceyda Nurtsch, she talks about the erotic magazine "Jasad", feminist stereotypes and why the "Arab Spring" was just another winterMore

Civil war has ravaged Syria and many of its ancient cultural treasures. Syrian artist Diala Brisly, who left Syria about a year ago and now lives and works in Istanbul, says that although very few artists are still working in Syria, the country's art scene is flourishing abroad. Interview by Susanne DicklMore

Max von Oppenheim was an astute observer of the Near East. He was also captivated by its history, culture and way of life. In fact, Oppenheim's entire adult life is an illustration of how difficult it is to reconcile the captivating dream of the Orient with the sober political reality of the region – a difficulty that remains to this day. By Kersten KnippMore

Relatively few people will have been familiar with the music, culture and history of the Sahrawi people of north-western Africa before Aziza Brahim arrived on the music scene. Brahim has not only won an award for her original soundtrack to the film "Wilaya", she has also released three albums. Her latest album, "Soutak", spent three months at the top of the World Music Charts Europe in 2014. A review by Richard MarcusMore

In 2011 and 2013, two major cities in the Islamic world were rocked by popular unrest. The extended demonstrations seemed to usher in a new culture of protest. In this two-part report, Amin Farzanefar looks at how the art and music scenes changed in Cairo and Istanbul as a result of these protestsMore