The Netherlands' migrant parties
Representing the new Europeans
Popular uprisings in the Islamic world
Algiers, Khartoum… that trembling moment
Interview with Arundhati Roy
"India is much more dangerous than it was ten years ago"
U.S.A and Iran
Trump – agent provocateur

The Netherlands' migrant parties

Representing the new Europeans

In a decade marked by significant shifts in the political landscape, Sundayʹs European elections could well prove an eye-opener. Massimiliano Sfregola assesses the chances of Dutch "new Europeans" to make an impactRead more

Islam and Europe: Concertgebouw and more couscousDutch immigrants' party challenging the far-right Syrians in Germany: The need to find a voice

Popular uprisings in the Islamic world

Algiers, Khartoum… that trembling moment

In the midst of palpable political fatigue in Europe, it does good to look to Algiers and Khartoum, where for the past several weeks hundreds of thousands of citizens have been fighting on the public stage for self-empowerment. By Charlotte WiedemannRead more

Authoritarian rule in the Arab world: Nurturing the Arabellion phoenix After the ousting of Omar al-Bashir: Sudan holding out for real changeElias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir Square

Interview with Indian novelist Arundhati Roy

"India is much more dangerous than it was ten years ago"

Celebrated Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, best known for works such as "The God of Small Things" and "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness", has also made a name for herself as an essayist and critic of the political situation in India. Dominik Muller spoke to her in New Delhi about changes in India over the last decadeRead more

Interview with novelist and activist Arundhati Roy: "We're up against a fascist regime in India"Interview with identity politics expert Mujibur Rehman: "Muslims feel deeply unsafe in present-day India"Freedom of speech under threat in India: An army of Hindutva trolls

U.S.A and Iran

Trump – agent provocateur

The Iranian regime has worked hard to strengthen its national security within a supportive regional framework and would be no pushover in a conflict with the United States. On the contrary, Iranʹs response to any major military assault could result in an uncontrollable regional inferno. By Amin SaikalRead more

When blackmail becomes policy: For ʹPalestinian peace processʹ read ʹIran war processʹInterview with Middle East expert Volker Perthes: "Iran will not negotiate its own surrender"U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic: Playing poker with Iran

Politics

Denk party logo (source: bewegingdenk.nl)

The Netherlands' migrant parties

Representing the new Europeans

In a decade marked by significant shifts in the political landscape, Sundayʹs European elections could well prove an eye-opener. Massimiliano Sfregola assesses the chances of Dutch "new Europeans" to make an impactMore

Islam and Europe: Concertgebouw and more couscousDutch immigrants' party challenging the far-right Syrians in Germany: The need to find a voice
Anti-government protests in Algiers (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Popular uprisings in the Islamic world

Algiers, Khartoum… that trembling moment

In the midst of palpable political fatigue in Europe, it does good to look to Algiers and Khartoum, where for the past several weeks hundreds of thousands of citizens have been fighting on the public stage for self-empowerment. By Charlotte WiedemannMore

Authoritarian rule in the Arab world: Nurturing the Arabellion phoenix After the ousting of Omar al-Bashir: Sudan holding out for real changeElias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir Square
Arundhati Roy at the World Book Fair in Neu Delhi (photo: Dominik Muller)

Interview with Indian novelist Arundhati Roy

"India is much more dangerous than it was ten years ago"

Celebrated Indian novelist Arundhati Roy, best known for works such as "The God of Small Things" and "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness", has also made a name for herself as an essayist and critic of the political situation in India. Dominik Muller spoke to her in New Delhi about changes in India over the last decadeMore

Interview with novelist and activist Arundhati Roy: "We're up against a fascist regime in India"Interview with identity politics expert Mujibur Rehman: "Muslims feel deeply unsafe in present-day India"Freedom of speech under threat in India: An army of Hindutva trolls
Ballistic missiles on display during a military parade in Tehran attended by President Hassan Rouhaniy in 2017 (photo: IRNA)

U.S.A and Iran

Trump – agent provocateur

The Iranian regime has worked hard to strengthen its national security within a supportive regional framework and would be no pushover in a conflict with the United States. On the contrary, Iranʹs response to any major military assault could result in an uncontrollable regional inferno. By Amin SaikalMore

When blackmail becomes policy: For ʹPalestinian peace processʹ read ʹIran war processʹInterview with Middle East expert Volker Perthes: "Iran will not negotiate its own surrender"U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic: Playing poker with Iran
more Politics »

Society

Arabic calligraphy decorates tiles in Granadaʹs mosque, Spain (photo: picture-alliance)

The demise of Modern Standard Arabic

Tongue-tied Arabs

It is one of the most important Semitic world languages. One of the six official languages of the UN. The language of Ibn Arabis – and of the Koran. And yet Modern Standard Arabic is not very popular with native speakers. Why? Mona Sarkis has some of the answersMore

Arabic in Latin script: Lost in ArabicThe Arabic language: A better understandingInterview with literary translator Hartmut Faehndrich: "What I don't see is an on-going interest in Arabic literature"
Still from Turkish TV series "Yunus Emre" aired on TRT (source: YouTube)

Religion and media in Turkey

Reviving Sufism with Yunus Emre

The TV series "Yunus Emre: The journey of love" was a massive hit in Turkey when it was first aired four years ago. But this popular television spectacle is not the only evidence of a renewed interest in Sufi spirituality in Turkey. Marian Brehmer reports from IstanbulMore

Photo essay: Sufi shrines – the spiritual heart of IstanbulSufism and Bollywood: A glittering antidoteQantara dossier: "Mysticism | Sufism"
Women in Tindouf refugee camp mark the 43rd anniversary of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (photo: Hugo Flotat-Talon)

Western Sahara conflict

The Sahrawis are fed up with waiting

The dispute over Western Sahara has been smouldering for over 40 years. In the refugee camps in Algeria, resignation is spreading among many people who have been hoping for a solution by the United Nations for decades. By Hugo Flotat-TalonMore

Western Sahara conflict: The curse of resources The status of Western Sahara: A forgotten conflictWestern Sahara – the last colony in Africa: ″Armed resistance is their only choice″
Indian writer Rahman Abbas (photo: rahmanabbas.in)

Interview with writer Rahman Abbas

Overcoming Indiaʹs social divide

More and more Indian writers are picking up on the right-wing theme in response to the growing strength of India's Hindu nationalists. Among them, Bombay-based author Rahman Abbas, who writes in Urdu and who scooped India's highest literary accolade in 2018 for his novel "Rohzin". Interview by Dominik MullerMore

Modi, the BJP and social media: Indiaʹs WhatsApp electionsIndia′s new hajj policy: Empowering minorities?Interview with identity politics expert Mujibur Rehman: "Muslims feel deeply unsafe in present-day India"
more Society »

Culture

Iranian author Amir Hassan Cheheltan (photo: DW/A. Amini)

Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltanʹs "Der standhafte Papagei"

History of a revolution

Amir Hassan Cheheltan has spent years publishing articles and novels in German. His latest book "The Steadfast Parrot" has also been published first in German. Though the author himself lives in Tehran, the question remains as to whether it can be released in Iran. By Volker KaminskiMore

Iran and its authors: The perils of writingPortrait of Amir Hassan Cheheltan A love-hate relationship with TehranAmir Hassan Cheheltan's ''Tehran, skyless city'': Reflecting the dark side of Iran's capital
Cover of "Placeless" shows the Vahdat sisters with the members of the Kronos Quartet

Iranian singers Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat and the American Kronos Quartet

Beyond the dividing lines

A meditative case for the boundlessness of music and against political division: “Placeless”, a joint album by the Iranian sisters Mahsa and Marjan Vahdat and the Kronos Quartet. By Stefan FranzenMore

The Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat: "Every place can be my stage"Interview with the Iranian virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor: For the love of improvisationIranian musician Shahram Nazeri: The Persian nightingale and the flowers of hope
Comic strip from "The archive as a battlefront" by Rawand Issa (photo: Rawand Issa)

Lebanese comic artist Rawand Issa and "Not from Mars"

Being illegal is unbearable

The Lebanese comic artist Rawand Issa loves black. Her illustrations are satirical, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and above all introspective. Her graphic novels also raise political questions, however, and combine minor everyday emotions with major social issues. By Julia NeumannMore

Lebanese comic artist Zeina Abirached: Seeing war through the eyes of a childBook review: Mazen Kerbaj′s ″Beirut won′t cry″: ″Bombs pass and we bark″Qantara dossier: "Arab comics"
Musician Adir Jan (photo: Denis Bauer)

Kurdish Art Rock band Adir Jan

Rainbow's hope in hell

The music of Adir Jan, a Kurdish singer-songwriter and saz player born in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin successfully brings together the diverse worlds of queer poetry, Kurdish folk, Sufi mysticism and psychedelic art rock in a music whose hypnotic rhythms bring together many different communities. By David SiebertMore

The Turkish Oriental dub band "Baba Zula": Music from the fringes with a rebellious soulElektro Hafiz: A musical maverickMoroccoʹs ʹaitaʹ folk music and "Cabaret al-Shaikat": Cross-dressers lead a musical revival
more Culture »

In brief

More

Most Recent Photo Essay

According to the Koran, the Prophet Muhammad received the Book's holy words in the month of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims are supposed to practice abstinence. Daily prayer is compulsory – even for travellers. Islamic prayer rooms have been set up in many international airports, like the one here in Amman. In Germany, you can find these rooms in the airports at Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf

Ramadan: Enlightenment and commerce

Muslims all over the world are currently observing Ramadan. The month of fasting is supposed to be all about reflection, meditation and abstention - but Ramadan is becoming increasingly commercialised.

Al Jazeera suspends two journalists over 'Holocaust denying' video

Al Jazeera logo (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Jebreili)

The Qatari broadcaster has come under fire for a controversial video about the Holocaust. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it represented "the worst kind of pernicious evil."More

Harvard Law School's "Words of Justice" include Koran Sura

Included in Harvard Law School's Words of Justice exhibition, Verse 135 of Sura Al Nisa adorns the entrance hall: “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both".More

Torture: India’s instrument of control in Kashmir and Jammu

Cover of "Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir" (source: jkccs.net)

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) have released the first comprehensive report on torture in Jammu and Kashmir. Using 432 case studies, the report charts trends, patterns and impacts of torture since 1947. Since the Indian armed forces enjoy legal impunity, not a single prosecution has ever taken placeMore

Jokha Alharthi: First Arabic-language author to win "Man Booker International" prize

Arabic author Jokha Alharthi (l) and translator Marilyn Booth pose after winning the Man Booker International Prize for the book 'Celestial Bodies' in London on 21 May 2019 (photo: AFP/I. Infantes)

The Man Booker jury has announced that Omani writer Jokha Alharth is to receive the Man Booker International award for her novel "Celestial Bodies". She shares the prize money of 57,000 euros with her translator Marilyn Booth. The International award is awarded to foreign works that have been translated into English.More

UK Ramadan Tent Project returns its Open Iftar

Every year, The Ramadan Tent Project puts on its Open Iftar – a mass meal to be eaten with fellow Muslims at the end of their fast every day during Ramadan.More

The hidden sources of Iranian strength

Lebanon's Hezbollah help out with flood protection measures in Iran (photo: MEHR)

Iran’s ties with its proxies are far deeper than the Trump administration understands. Historically, the connections between Iran, Iraq, and the Levant go back generations. But that's only half the story, writes Narges BajoghliMore

Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group?

Cairo's Tahrir Square at the height of the January revolution in 2011 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

President Trump wants to designate the Muslim Brotherhood, an international Islamist movement, as a terrorist organisation. The designation would impose sanctions on the group and those who do business with it.More

What does it mean to be a Muslim woman?

Mariam Khan, editor of "It's Not About The Burqa", and three of the book's contributors answer questions from 'Which Muslim woman inspires you the most' to 'What is one thing people need to know about being a Muslim woman?'More

Arabic literature and the African other

Poster advertising the second Annual Arabic Novel Conference hosted by La Maison du Roman in Tunisia, its focus "Black-skin issues" (source: La Maison du Roman)

Racist, anti-black stereotypes persist in Arabic literature. It reveals a racial anxiety and othering of Africa among celebrated Arab authors, writes Mona Kareem.More

Female architects on the rise in the Middle East

Taking inspiration from the success of star architect Zaha Hadid, who died in 2016, a new batch of ambitious female architects is hoping to take the region by storm.More