Anyone who thinks that the Sunnis in Tikrit and Mosul will welcome the opponents of Islamic State with open arms as liberators is mistaken. They fear the Shia militias even more than they do IS. This shows how the inner-Islamic religious war has polarised Iraqi society. By Stefan BuchenMore
In the wake of a protest against Israel's war in Gaza last year, Israel's ambassador to Germany claimed that Jews are being hunted again in Germany "like it's 1938". In this article, William Noah Glucroft, a Jew living in Berlin, considers this statement and what people mean when they talk about anti-SemitismMore
France is still reeling from the events of a turbulent week in which 12 people were shot dead in an attack on the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo", a policewoman was killed and four hostages ...More
This year, roughly 450 English-language articles were published on Qantara.de. These articles covered a huge variety of topics from the civil war in Syria, the rise of IS, and the Gaza conflict to elections in Tunisia, Turkey, India and Egypt. We also took a closer look at Islamophobia in Germany and worldwide, integration in Europe, and women's rights and freedom of speech in the Islamic world, not to mention a fascinating and colourful range of topics from the world of cultureMore
The "A Bird is not a Stone" crowdfunding campaign may not have gotten as much press as British scientists seeking to fund a moon landing through online donations, but it certainly made a ripple among Arabic literary translators. The success of this campaign showed that crowdfunding can be an important tool in bringing Arabic literature into European languages. By Marcia Lynx QualeyMore
Stability and security, rather than revolutionary turbulence and Islamist experiments: the good showing by veteran politician Beji Caid Essebsi in the first round of Tunisia's recent presidential election can be read as a desire for a revival of the Bourguiba era. An analysis by Beat StaufferMore
One in every two people in Germany believes that Islam is not part of German society. Until this attitude changes, the Islam we see in the evening news and not the actual reality of Islam in Germany will remain for many the genuine face of Islam. In this essay, Charlotte Wiedemann takes a closer look at Muslim women in Germany and shows how drastically they differ from the prevailing image of Islam in this countryMore
The simple, unassuming cover of this book belies its explosive content: in his latest photobook, "War Porn", photojournalist Christoph Bangert shows the true, ugly face of conflict in all its horror. He presents the reader with an unfiltered selection of images from his photographic archive, documenting the brutality of war, predominantly in the Arab world. By Felix KoltermannMore
The Vatican is pursuing a new policy of openness towards other faiths and co-operation between religions, a policy that is reflected in a very special exhibition in the Emirate of Sharjah, the neighbouring emirate to Dubai. This exhibition shows the full breadth and reach of Islam. By Werner BlochMore