Interview with Asma Lamrabet
Emancipation through a new reading of the Koran
Islamist terror in France
The agitators are right next door
Environmental protection in Kashmir
Working in the shadow of violence and climate change
Interview with Madawi al-Rasheed
"Gradual change is a myth, Saudi society is ready"

Interview with Moroccan Islamic feminist Asma Lamrabet

Emancipation through a new reading of the Koran

Moroccan physician and author Asma Lamrabet is one of the foremost representatives of Islamic feminism in North Africa. She urges Arab women to follow their own path, distinct from Western feminism, in order to liberate themselves from male paternalism. Claudia Mende spoke to her in RabatRead more

Islamic inheritance law in Morocco and Tunisia: Feminist Asma Lamrabet under pressure Islamic feminism in Morocco: "We Have to Re-Appropriate the Source Texts"Interview with Dina El Omari on feminism and Islam: "Muslim women need space for critical self-reflection"Interview with Zara Faris: "Feminism is about stereotypes on how women should live"

Islamist terror in France

The agitators are right next door

"Je suis Prof": in the wake of the horrific murder of teacher Samuel Paty, thousands of people took to the streets in cities across France in a show of support for the values of the Republic and in honour of the deceased. Details from Leo Klimm in ParisRead more

More police operations underway over killing of French teacherCharlie Hebdo trial in Paris: Will justice bring relief?France's "anti-separatism" drive: Emmanuel Macron's plan to protect French values alienates Muslims

Environmental protection in Kashmir

Working in the shadow of violence and climate change

Illegal construction, timber smuggling and a decades-long conflict have left their mark on the forests of Kashmir. But locals are stepping in to protect the unique nature of their home in the Himalayas. By Furkan Latif KhanRead more

India and Pakistan: "If Germany can be reunified, so can Kashmir"Tarik M. Quadir: "If we don’t pull together to save the earth, we will ‘sink’ together"Modi and the revocation of Article 370: Kashmirʹs tormented quest for freedomPhoto gallery: Kashmir – Living with the curfew

Interview with Saudi social anthropologist Madawi al-Rasheed

"Gradual change is a myth, Saudi society is ready"

Madawi al-Rasheed is one of a group of Saudi exiles responsible for founding NAAS – the National Assembly Party. Set up on Saudi National Day in September, it is the first ever organised political resistance to challenge the House of Saud. Al-Rasheed talked to Jannis Hagmann about the party's aims and ambitionsRead more

Book review: Ben Hubbard's "MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman": Ruling Saudi Arabia from the wingsBetween religion, oil dependence and reforms: Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin SalmanA year to the day: The infamous murder of Jamal Khashoggi

Politics

People march in Paris in tribute to Samuel Paty (photo: Michel Euler/AP/picture-alliance)

Islamist terror in France

The agitators are right next door

"Je suis Prof": in the wake of the horrific murder of teacher Samuel Paty, thousands of people took to the streets in cities across France in a show of support for the values of the Republic and in honour of the deceased. Details from Leo Klimm in ParisMore

More police operations underway over killing of French teacherCharlie Hebdo trial in Paris: Will justice bring relief?France's "anti-separatism" drive: Emmanuel Macron's plan to protect French values alienates Muslims
Saudi social anthropologist Madawi al-Rasheed (photo: screenshot/YouTube)

Interview with Saudi social anthropologist Madawi al-Rasheed

"Gradual change is a myth, Saudi society is ready"

Madawi al-Rasheed is one of a group of Saudi exiles responsible for founding NAAS – the National Assembly Party. Set up on Saudi National Day in September, it is the first ever organised political resistance to challenge the House of Saud. Al-Rasheed talked to Jannis Hagmann about the party's aims and ambitionsMore

Book review: Ben Hubbard's "MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman": Ruling Saudi Arabia from the wingsBetween religion, oil dependence and reforms: Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin SalmanA year to the day: The infamous murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo: Reuters/PPO/M. Cetinmuhurda)

Ankara on the defensive

Pro-Kurdish faction in Recep Tayyip Erdogan's crosshairs

The Turkish government is hoping to split the opposition and put off voters by cracking down on pro-Kurdish politicians. But critics say the strategy won't work this time. By Daniel Derya Bellut and Hilal KoyluMore

Erdogan and the Kurdish conflict: A battle for votesThe Kemalist CHP and the Kurdish HDP: Decision time for Turkeyʹs opposition Turkish court rules jailing of Kurdish leader Demirtas violated rights
Former German chancellor Konrad Adenauer (right) and former Israeli prime minister David Ben-Gurion on 14 March 1960 in New York (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Book review: Daniel Marwecki's “Germany and Israel. White Washing and State Building“

For more honesty in German-Israeli relations

The historian Daniel Marwecki’s latest work provides an important analysis of the complex motives driving German-Israeli relations since World War Two. Rene Wildangel read the bookMore

Anti-Semitism in the Middle East: Not all Palestinians were pro-Nazi, says German historianGermany’s anti-Semitism problem: Jew, Israeli, ZionistHedwig Klein and "Mein Kampf": The unknown Arabist
more Politics »

Society

Woman reading the Koran in a mosque in Dresden, Germany (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Interview with Moroccan Islamic feminist Asma Lamrabet

Emancipation through a new reading of the Koran

Moroccan physician and author Asma Lamrabet is one of the foremost representatives of Islamic feminism in North Africa. She urges Arab women to follow their own path, distinct from Western feminism, in order to liberate themselves from male paternalism. Claudia Mende spoke to her in RabatMore

Islamic inheritance law in Morocco and Tunisia: Feminist Asma Lamrabet under pressure Islamic feminism in Morocco: "We Have to Re-Appropriate the Source Texts"Interview with Dina El Omari on feminism and Islam: "Muslim women need space for critical self-reflection"Interview with Zara Faris: "Feminism is about stereotypes on how women should live"
Majid Magray, 12, and Waseem Ahmed, 16, collecting rubbish left behind by tourists near a waterfall in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir (photo: Furkan Khan)

Environmental protection in Kashmir

Working in the shadow of violence and climate change

Illegal construction, timber smuggling and a decades-long conflict have left their mark on the forests of Kashmir. But locals are stepping in to protect the unique nature of their home in the Himalayas. By Furkan Latif KhanMore

India and Pakistan: "If Germany can be reunified, so can Kashmir"Tarik M. Quadir: "If we don’t pull together to save the earth, we will ‘sink’ together"Modi and the revocation of Article 370: Kashmirʹs tormented quest for freedomPhoto gallery: Kashmir – Living with the curfew
Journalists protest against censorship in Tunis, January 2019 (photo: picture-alliance/abaca/N. Fauque)

Freedom of speech in the Middle East

Arabs follow fake news, while the dream of progress dies

In the Arab world, freedom of opinion collides with a societal juggernaut that silences imagination with remarkable efficiency. Egyptian author and novelist Khaled al-Khamissi describes the mechanisms of repression in Arab societyMore

Press freedom under attack: The Arab world's new wave of media repressionSocietal repression in Egypt: The tentacles of autocracyInterview with Egyptian writer Khaled Alkhamissi: ''We are living in a vibrant social era in Egypt''
Photo montage - Turkish flag and Twitter icon on a smartphone (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Karl-Josef Hildebrand)

Turkey's failing justice system

Desperate for justice, Turks resort to trial by Twitter

Recently, Twitter has become something of a people's court for Turks seeking justice. Particularly in cases of violence against women and animal rights, social media is regarded as the final legal avenue for those demanding a just ruling, yet the risk of cyber-bullying is high. Ayse Karabat reports from IstanbulMore

New law on Turkish bar associations: Damaging judicial impartialityShaking the status quo in Turkey: #Susamam rappers: "Turkish society is on our side"Turkeyʹs new constitution: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, twenty-first century Sultan
more Society »

Culture

Logo of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2020 (source: humanrightsfilmfestivalberlin.de)

Human Rights Film Festival Berlin

Lives in limbo

The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin has been held for the third time in 2020 under the patronage of Nadia Murad. In just a short time, this festival, which was initiated by the NGO Action Against Hunger, has evolved into a highlight in the German film calendar. By René WildangelMore

Website of the Human Rights Film Festival BerlinBerlinale 2018: ″Central Airport THF″ by Karim AinouzBerlinale 2019: "Midnight Traveler" by Hassan Fazili
Deceased Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian (photo: Tasnim)

Obituary: Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian

The voice of the poets

Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the great singer of Persian music, has died at the age of 80. With his passing, the world has lost an outstanding talent and consummate artist. By Stefan BuchenMore

Mohammad Reza Shajarian: The master rebelInterview with Mohammad Reza Shajarian: ''Humanity is what art is all about''Persian classical music: Going their own way
"Truck and Workers", 2011, by Qatar artist Faraj Daham (photo: Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi)

Art and liberation

Modern Arab art and the depiction of blue collar workers

The rise of liberation movements in the Arab World during the 20th century brought with them an array of complimentary works from the creative sector. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi examines the phenomenonMore

The Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar: Can Mathaf restore a pan-Arab artistic identity?Global history of ideas – contemporary Muslim art: Enlightenment rediscoveredSuspended Territories exhibition: Beyond the veil
Janto Djassi (photo: Kaaha Farah)

Groupe RTD

Energy and rhythm from Djibouti to the world

The small East African nation of Djibouti has so far evaded musical discovery by the West. Now, however, the country's official national band, Groupe RTD, is picking up international accolades with the music it plays when it's off-duty. Stefan Franzen spoke to the group's producer Janto DjassiMore

Album review: Groupe RTD's "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti" –Foot-tapping fusionAlbum review: Lost Somali tapes – ″Sweet as broken dates″Album review: "Two Niles to Sing a Melody" –The strings and synths of Sudan
more Culture »

In brief

More

Most Recent Photo Essay

Psychologists sound the alarm: in December 2019 Iran's health minister warned of the high economic and social costs of mental illness in Iran. The Association of Iranian Psychologists estimated that one quarter of the population suffers from depression. The American Cato Institute saw Iran in 2019 as the third most unhappy country in the world. Since then, the country has been broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic

Iran: knee-deep in trauma and depression

The country's mood was already weighed down by economic and social problems and military crises before the pandemic reached Iran. The regime's crisis management has done little to improve things. By Shabnam von Hein

Ghassan Salame on Libya: "The situation has never been so propitious for a solution"

In interview with FRANCE24, former UN special envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame expresses optimism about the peace negotiations in Libya.More

Deadline for Germany's IPS Programme for Arabs: 15 November

International Parliamentary Scholarship - Programme for Arab Countries

The International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme for Arab (IPS) countries offered by the German Bundestag affords young and talented Arab graduates the opportunity to get to know the German parliamentary system.More

Interview with Mohammad Reza Shajarian: ''Humanity is what art is all about''

Mohammad Reza Shajarian (photo: AP)

For many Mohammad Reza Shajarian, who died on 8 October 2020, was the embodiment of classical Persian culture. In the summer of 2009 his support of the Iranian reform movement made him vastly popular among the young generation. This interview was originally published by Qantara.de in 2011.More

Press freedom in Iraq: Why some journalists are receiving death threats

A year ago deadly rallies led to the resignation of then-prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. Today, it's not just the protest movement that's under threat. Some media outlets have been shut down, while a number of journalists have been detained or even received death threats.More

Trailer: "Kingdom of Silence" - on the death of Jamal Khashoggi

On 19 June 2019, following a six-month investigation, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a 101-page report holding the State of Saudi Arabia responsible for the "premeditated extrajudicial execution" of Khashoggi.More

Cato Institute: Mustafa Akyol's in-depth report on freedom in the Muslim world

What’s the state of freedom in the Muslim world? Mustafa Akyol looks at data in the Human Freedom Index that measures freedom in Muslim‐​majority countries across the world. Read his report here.More