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Controversial manifesto against "new anti-Semitism" in France
Cutting Suras to suit
In France, the publication of a manifesto that calls among other things for the removal of certain verses from the Koran and seeks to pave the way for state intervention in religious matters has triggered heated debate. Farid Hafez has the details
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Germany’s anti-Semitism problem
Jew, Israeli, Zionist
The political scientist David Ranan doubts that anti-Semitism is more pervasive among Muslims than non-Muslims. Currently, however, this thesis is being perverted and used to serve questionable political ends. By Sonja Zekri
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Hedwig Klein and "Mein Kampf"
The unknown Arabist
During the Nazi period, Hedwig Klein worked on a dictionary intended to help with the translation of Hitler's diatribe "Mein Kampf" into Arabic. But it didn't help the Arabist: she was murdered in Auschwitz in 1942. The dictionary, however, remains a bestseller – with no mention of Klein’s fate. By Stefan Buchen
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Germany appoints an anti-Semitism commissioner
Moving in the right direction
The German Bundestag has voted to appoint a commissioner charged with combatting anti-Semitism in the hopes of quelling anti-Jewish sentiment and hate crimes in the country. But what is really needed, say critics, is a commissioner to combat racism in general. Ulrike Hummel has the details
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Exhibition: "Jews, Christians and Muslims" in Berlin
Dispelling myths
The Berlin exhibition "Jews, Christians and Muslims: Scientific Discourse in the Middle Ages 500–1500" shows the circuitous routes by which knowledge made its way around the medieval world while dismantling the theory of a Judeo-Christian Europe. By Gustav Seibt
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Muslim anti-Semitism
Pointing the finger
In the wake of Donald Trump's declaration that he would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, enraged Muslims took to the streets in Germany, some of them chanting anti-Semitic slogans. German politicians swiftly responded, outdoing each other with each condemnation. In this essay, Stefan Buchen explains why this should not be let pass without comment
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Book review: Ronen Steinke′s ″Der Muslim und die Judin″
Mohammed Helmy, ′Righteous among the Nations′
In "Der Muslim und die Judin" (The Muslim and the Jew), Ronen Steinke tracks down the story of the Egyptian doctor Mohammed Helmy, who saved the Jewish woman Anna Boros from deportation. The author recounts a daring rescue in the midst of Nazi Germany and examines the often ambivalent relations between Jews and Muslims. Ozan Zakariya Keskinkilic read the book
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Judaism in Iran
The minority perspective: ″Jews and Muslims respect each other″
Iran is frequently at odds with Israel, despite having the second biggest Jewish community in the Middle East. For the director of Tehran's Jewish Committee, Siamek Morsadegh, that′s not necessarily a contradiction. Interview by Theresa Tropper
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Berlin′s Jewish Museum: ″Cherchez la femme″
Why do women hide their hair?
Muslims, Jews, Christians: women all over the world cover their heads out of religious piety. An exhibition at Berlin's Jewish Museum asks what motivates them – and how others respond. By Nadine Wojcik
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On the death of philosopher and essayist Tzvetan Todorov
We are all barbarians
Tzvetan Todorov was not a typical French TV philosopher, bending the president's ear with ideas on the politics of the day. He definitely would not have called for "Libya to be bombed", as did Bernard-Henri Levy in 2011. Todorov kept a low profile. He passed away early this year. Stefan Buch explains why he was – and will remain – one of the voices of our time
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Trump's Islamophobia
Lighting the touch paper
By antagonising and humiliating the world′s Muslim population, the new US administration is playing into the hands of the terrorists. In his essay Ian Buruma examines the likely impact of ′a global war on Islam′ on the powder keg that is the Middle East and Africa
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Trump′s plans for the USA
Beware Muslim registration!
Donald Trump′s unashamedly populist election campaign made a point of targeting minorities – among them foreigners, women, the disabled and Muslims. His commitment to the idea of Muslim registration is a sinister echo of 1930s Germany and should put us all on our guard. Commentary by author Fred Amram