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Dialogue of Cultures | Intercultural Dialogue

Gate of Tehran – Days of Experimental Sounds

Welcome to the Persian sound laboratory

Mehdi "Peter" Pirhosseinlou lives and works as an artist in Tehran. He regularly organises concerts and festivals in Iran with the artist collective "House No. 4", which he founded. "Gate of Tehran" is an electronic sound spectacle currently showcasing in Berlin. Interview by Laura OvermeyerRead more

Official "House No. 4" website Music and power in Iran: An instrument of propaganda and control The history of jazz in Iran: Creating a confluence

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70

The red herring of 'Islamic human rights'

Muslims who grant themselves the right to adopt a human rights declaration based on their own religion need to allow followers of other religions to do the same, argues Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi in her essayRead more

Interview with Shirin Ebadi: Time for a human rights deal in Iran Islamic debate about human rights: The erroneous 'cultural distinction'Shirin Ebadi: A bearer of hope for democratic change

Introducing the Key Concepts project

From religious tolerance to acceptance

A new project launched by the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg is working out key concepts from Judaism, Christianity and Islam with the aim of promoting interreligious dialogue. Presenting solid academic findings on similarities and differences, scholars will attempt to disarm agitators on all sides. Claudia Mende spoke to its director Professor Georges TamerRead more

Official KCID - Key Concepts in Interreligious Discourses: Judaism, Christianity and Islam - project website Koranic research: The reader maketh the book ″Remembered Future″ interfaith project: Using religion to stop religious wars Interview with the Islamic scholar Ebrahim Moosa: The reinvention of Islam

Peace talks in Stockholm

Yemenis – pawns in a cynical game

The problem with peace negotiations is always that the perpetrators of war represent the only hope for a resolution. In the case of Yemen, the talks are being conducted by the very same warring parties that led the nation into what is currently the world′s greatest humanitarian crisis. Commentary by Karim El-GawharyRead more

Interview with Karl-Otto Zentel, General Secretary of CARE Deutschland: Yemen – what is the world waiting for?Bearing the brunt of the war: Yemeni families in dire straits Bushra al-Maqtariʹs "Voices from a forgotten war-torn country": Yemenʹs chronicles of death and destruction untold

Politics

Houthi followers in Sanaa, Yemen (photo: picture-alliance/AP)

Peace talks in Stockholm

Yemenis – pawns in a cynical game

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi (photo: picture-alliance)

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70

The red herring of 'Islamic human rights'

Interview with Shirin Ebadi: Time for a human rights deal in Iran Islamic debate about human rights: The erroneous 'cultural distinction'Shirin Ebadi: A bearer of hope for democratic change

General Secretary of CARE Deutschland Karl-Otto Zentel (CARE/A. Al-Ansi)

Interview with Karl-Otto Zentel, General Secretary of CARE Deutschland

Yemen – what is the world waiting for?

With the latest round of peace talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen underway in Sweden, Karl-Otto Zentel, General Secretary of CARE Deutschland, gives his own assessment of the civil war and the chances for peace. Interview by Carsten GruenMore

Interview with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman: "We need to bring back the Arab Spring!"Bushra al-Maqtariʹs "Voices from a forgotten war-torn country": Yemenʹs chronicles of death and destruction untold Yemen′s Houthis: Defenders of the country?

Tunisian woman protesting during the 2010/2011 Jasmine Revolution, Tunis (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

The Arab Spring and the "Spring of Nations"

Failed revolutionaries?

What do Europeʹs "Spring of Nations" of 1848 and the Arab Spring have in common? Both revolutions it seems were doomed to failure, with those involved forced to endure a long and icy winter of restoration. And yet there is a glimmer of hope. An essay by the Egyptian historian Khaled FahmyMore

Authoritarian reinstatement in the Arab world: Whatʹs left of the Arab Spring What triggered the Middle Eastern revolts in 2011? The economics of Arabellion Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive

Society

On the International Day against Drug Abuse and Trafficking in 2013, officials in Iran destroyed some 100 tonnes of illegal drugs in Tehran and 16 other Iranian cities (photo: IRNA)

Iranian society

The Islamic Republic has a drug problem

Headlines about Iran usually focus on its nuclear deal with the global powers, its controversial missile programme, not to mention international sanctions. The deep-rooted domestic challenges that the country faces get less attention. One of them is a drastic rise in narcotics consumption in the past ten years. By Mitra ShahraniMore

Afghanistan's opium trade: A nice little earner – for everyone Drug-related crime in Indonesia: Don Widodo's tilt with windmills Drug dealing in Lebanon: At home with a drug baron

Professor Gabriele Gien, President of the Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt looks on as Professor Georges Tamer, chairholder of the Institute for Oriental Philology and Islamic Studies at the University in Erlangen (centre) and Professor Christoph Boettigheimer, Ordinarius for the Chair of Fundamental Theology of the Catholic University Eichstaett-Ingolstadt sign a co-operation aggreement launching the KCID project (source: www.kcid.fau.eu)

Introducing the Key Concepts project

From religious tolerance to acceptance

German IS fighter Christian Lappe, who was killed in Syria in 2017 (photo: private)

From Germany to "Islamic State"

The metamorphosis of Christian L.

To Sabine Lappe, Christian was a dream child. But her beloved son became an IS terrorist who died in Syria. The bereaved mother shared her story with Esther FeldenMore

Interview with the sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar: Radicalisation in the suburbs Preventing jihadism: The psychology of radicalisation: Lego Islam Interview with French extremism researcher Olivier Roy: ″Radicalisation is not the result of failed integration″

Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole (photo: picture-alliance)

Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole

Europe's homegrown Turkish ethno-nationalists

According to prominent Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole, many European countries have failed to integrate their Muslim and Turkish citizens. In interview with Luca Steinmann, Gole argues that this has served to deepen social polarisation in EuropeMore

Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole: "Islam is taking root in Europe"Countdown to the 2018 Turkish election: Erdogan beats the nationalist drum Qantara dossier: "Integration in Germany"

Culture

Gate of Tehran – Days of Experimental Sounds

Welcome to the Persian sound laboratory

Official "House No. 4" website Music and power in Iran: An instrument of propaganda and control The history of jazz in Iran: Creating a confluence

Ayca Mirac performs at Jazz Schmiede in Dusseldorf, 14 March 2018 (source: Facebook; photo: Michael Weilandt)

Album review: Ayca Miracʹ "Lazjazz"

The magic of the Laz

Drawing on her Laz and Turkish heritage, the German-born singer Ayca Mirac has just released her first album – "Lazjazz" – a fascinating blend of ancient melodies, spellbinding dance rhythms and intimate jazz. Review by Stefan FranzenMore

Album review: Gaye Su Akyolʹs "Istikrarl Hayal Hakikattir": Singing the revolution Syrian oud player Bahur Ghazi: Hoping for a phoenix Ravid Kahalani's Yemen blues: ''Your language is my language''

Festival of feminist artists

Loud, louder, tashweesh!

At the Goethe-Institutʹs Tashweesh Festival, artists and intellectuals from North Africa, Europe and the Middle East meet to discuss stereotypical gender images. By Caren MiesenbergerMore

Interview with the Egyptian theatre director Laila Soliman: Revolutions past and present Book review: Zahra Ali's "Islamic Feminisms": Female emancipation based on the spirit of Sharia Suspended Territories exhibition: Beyond the veil

Egyptian BookTubers Nada El Shabrawi and Shady (photo: Goethe-Institut)

Literary trends

Introducing Egypt's BookTubers

Nada El Shabrawi was the first Egyptian to create her own professional BookTubing channel in 2017. In her videos she talks about books that have struck a nerve with her. Shady also produces shows online that offer tips on literature. In interview, the two discuss this new trend, their passion for literature and the Arab public's responseMore

Profile: Hoda Marmar, administrator of Beirutʹs Bookoholics: Truly, madly, deeply into books Arab teens and Young Adult literature: The new wave Kurdistan′s Book Cafe: In praise of female entrepreneurs

Al Jazeera's "My Tunisia"

Al Jazeera series "My Tunisia" (source: Al Jazeera)

Al Jazeera's intimate portrait series "My Tunisia" follows the life and personal stories of six Tunisians – beyond the headlines and the cliches.More

Zero tolerance: Islamist intolerance on the rise in Bangladesh

Violence dominates the headlines when it comes to Bangladesh. Extremists murder religious critics, government opponents disappear, members of the Hindu minority are attacked. Why is it becoming less and less possible to unite democracy and Islam?More

Shady Lewis Botros: "What's it like to be a Christian in Egypt?"

Egyptian author Shady Lewis Botros (photo: AP/Matt Dunham)

Shady Lewis Botros' recently published novel – "Ways of the Lord" – is a rare example of an Egyptian work of fiction whose primary characters are Christian. Beyond entrenched discrimination, the Arabic-language novel explores what the author says is the victimisation of Egypt's Christians by a "politically engineered harmony" between the state and their own church, seeking to control their lives.More

SWP: Myanmar, the Rohingya crisis and further EU sanctions

The EU's threat of imposing additional trade sanctions on Myanmar is unlikely to have the desired impact. Felix Heiduk recommends alternative measures.More

Qantara's Arab Spring dossier

Graffiti on the President's palace in Cairo (photo: Getty Images)

Civil war in Syria, bloody conflicts in Libya, unstable political conditions in Tunisia and an autocratic system on the Nile: it seems that everything went wrong during the Arab Spring. But is that really the case? We present contributions by prominent Arab authors that shed light on the perspectives of the Arabellion.More

West Bank: Bed & Breakfast in the Occupied Territories?

Airbnb's decision to stop listing properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is a positive step that other global tourism companies should follow, says Human Rights Watch.More

In focus

Gate of Tehran – Days of Experimental Sounds

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70

Introducing the Key Concepts project

Peace talks in Stockholm

Politics

Society

Culture

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Al Jazeera's "My Tunisia"

Zero tolerance: Islamist intolerance on the rise in Bangladesh

Shady Lewis Botros: "What's it like to be a Christian in Egypt?"

SWP: Myanmar, the Rohingya crisis and further EU sanctions

Qantara's Arab Spring dossier

West Bank: Bed & Breakfast in the Occupied Territories?