A triumph for discourse
Juergen Habermas' rejection of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award
Social media in Turkey
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's monitoring of the digital realm
German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award
Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue
Religious persecution in Pakistan
Violence increasing against the beleaguered Ahmadiyya community

Social media in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's monitoring of the digital realm

Having taken control of the traditional media, Turkish President Erdogan is now extending his reach to the social networks. A new law has been passed to rein in major digital players Twitter and Google. But the government's attempt to dominate public opinion is producing some bizarre outgrowths, reports Ronald Meinardus from IstanbulRead more

Turkey's failing justice system: Desperate for justice, Turks resort to trial by TwitterPress freedom in Turkey: President Erdogan tightens the noose around social mediaTurkey′s media crackdown: No freedom. No press.Violence against journalists increasing: Press freedom under fire in TurkeyCoronavirus and press freedom in Turkey: Erdogan's crusade against "all media and political viruses"

German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award

Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue

Philosopher Juergen Habermas was due to be awarded a major Arab prize in Abu Dhabi, but has turned it down following criticism. This decision torpedoes Arab efforts at a substantive cultural dialogue and exposes the West’s moral hubris, says Stefan WeidnerRead more

Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Why has Juergen Habermas rejected a prize from the UAE?Juergen Habermas awarded Kluge Prize for Philosophy: ″Asylum is a human right″Qantara dossier: Dialogue of cultures

Religious persecution in Pakistan

Violence increasing against the beleaguered Ahmadiyya community

Pakistan's anti-Ahmadi laws have been in place for almost 40 years now, and the impact on this religious minority has been devastating. In a war of attrition, the laws have ground down the Ahmadi community, scarring an entire generation. Fear, flight and persecution are the hallmarks of life for the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan. According to Mohammad Luqman, there is little hope of improvementRead more

Endemic anti-Ahmadiyya discrimination: Pakistan's "Commission for Minorities" without the AhmadisRadicalisation among Barelvis in Pakistan: The spread of violent fanaticismHuman rights in the Islamic world: Battle cry "blasphemy"Interview with Nadeem Aslam: "Within three or four years the texture of Pakistani life changed"

Politics

Philosopher and sociologist Juergen Habermas expresses his gratitude for the Heine Prize in Düsseldorf (North Rhine-Westphalia) on 14 December 2012 (photo: dpa)

A triumph for discourse

Juergen Habermas' rejection of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award

After at first agreeing to accept the grand prize as "Cultural Personality of the Year" in the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Juergen Habermas then decided to decline the honour. A commentary by Reinhard SchulzeMore

German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Why has Juergen Habermas rejected a prize from the UAE?Interview with Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf: Petrodollars proved stronger in the Middle East than cultural traditionQantara dossier: Dialogue of Cultures
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif (photo: FARS/M. Bolourian)

Power politics in Iran

Fallout from Mohammed Javad Zarif's political bombshell

An interview by Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has provoked outrage in Iran. In it, Zarif criticised the Revolutionary Guards' destructive role in both the nuclear agreement and the Syrian war. Ali Sadrzadeh has the detailsMore

Charting the history of Iran sanctions: The Islamic Republic's never-ending labour painsReconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar: A turning point for the whole Middle East?Iran′s image in the Arab world: Conservative regime and open-minded society
Barelvis demonstrating in Lahore, Pakistan, 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Sajjad)

Religious persecution in Pakistan

Violence increasing against the beleaguered Ahmadiyya community

Pakistan's anti-Ahmadi laws have been in place for almost 40 years now, and the impact on this religious minority has been devastating. In a war of attrition, the laws have ground down the Ahmadi community, scarring an entire generation. Fear, flight and persecution are the hallmarks of life for the Ahmadiyya in Pakistan. According to Mohammad Luqman, there is little hope of improvementMore

Endemic anti-Ahmadiyya discrimination: Pakistan's "Commission for Minorities" without the AhmadisRadicalisation among Barelvis in Pakistan: The spread of violent fanaticismHuman rights in the Islamic world: Battle cry "blasphemy"Interview with Nadeem Aslam: "Within three or four years the texture of Pakistani life changed"
Street scene in Cairo: A father rides a motorbike with his five children (photo: picture alliance/ dpa/ Matthias Toedt)

Overpopulation and Sisi regime propaganda

Egypt's people – nothing but a burden and a nuisance

Looking to mobilise the Egyptians, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and his ministers will refer to them as the "people". As soon as the Egyptians demand something of the state, however, they are a burden. Apparently, it is not the state that is accountable to the people, but the people who are accountable to the state, writes Shady Lewis Botros in his essayMore

Social utopia on the Nile? Sisiʹs new breed of EgyptiansSocietal repression in Egypt: The tentacles of autocracyEgyptʹs 2018 presidential elections: Blatant autocracyEgypt's deepening economic crisis: Abdul Fattah al-Sisi’s vanity projects
more Politics »

Society

Archive photo of sociologist and philosopher Juergen Habermas (photo: Janine Schmitz/photothek/imago images)

German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award

Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue

Philosopher Juergen Habermas was due to be awarded a major Arab prize in Abu Dhabi, but has turned it down following criticism. This decision torpedoes Arab efforts at a substantive cultural dialogue and exposes the West’s moral hubris, says Stefan WeidnerMore

Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Why has Juergen Habermas rejected a prize from the UAE?Juergen Habermas awarded Kluge Prize for Philosophy: ″Asylum is a human right″Qantara dossier: Dialogue of cultures
Symbolic image: media in Turkey (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Social media in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's monitoring of the digital realm

Having taken control of the traditional media, Turkish President Erdogan is now extending his reach to the social networks. A new law has been passed to rein in major digital players Twitter and Google. But the government's attempt to dominate public opinion is producing some bizarre outgrowths, reports Ronald Meinardus from IstanbulMore

Turkey's failing justice system: Desperate for justice, Turks resort to trial by TwitterPress freedom in Turkey: President Erdogan tightens the noose around social mediaTurkey′s media crackdown: No freedom. No press.Violence against journalists increasing: Press freedom under fire in TurkeyCoronavirus and press freedom in Turkey: Erdogan's crusade against "all media and political viruses"
MoMA exhibition shows how urban planning fosters social division (photo: courtesy of the artist /The Museum of Modern Art New York)

MoMA: Racism in U.S. urban planning

The role of architecture in America's systemic racism

Ghettos and gentrification: the latest MoMA exhibition in New York shows how urban planning promotes social division and takes a critical look at "racist" architecture. Sertan Sanderson reportsMore

The Arter, art and gentrification: Modern art makeover in Istanbul?Interview with German anthropologist Dieter Haller: "Freedom of speech has long been empty rhetoric"Qantara dossier: Gentrification
Scene from the Moinuddin Chishti Sufi shrine complex in Ajmer, northern India (photo: Marian Brehmer)

The alchemy of fasting

Ramadan – a feast for spirit and soul

In Islamic mysticism, Ramadan is more than just a period of prescribed abstinence, signifying an opportunity for inner contemplation. Marian Brehmer explores the spiritual dimensions of the month of fasting against the background of SufismMore

Sufism: A soft form of Islam?Qantara photo essay: Ramadan during coronvirusSufism in Iran: Finding joy in times of troubleQantara photo essay: Ramadan – Enlightenment and commerce
more Society »

Culture

British author Isabella Hammad (photo: Ula Soltys)

Isabella Hammad on "The Parisian"

"Palestinians need to set the terms of their own liberation"

Isabella Hammad’s "The Parisian" is an engaging and accomplished debut based on the life of her great-grandfather. Set during the end of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Palestinian nationalism, it is a classic coming-of-age novel. In interview with Schayan Riaz, the young British author with Palestinian roots talks about racism, the publishing world and giving a voice to PalestiniansMore

Ghassan Zaqtan's "Describing the past": The vapours of memoryInterview with Palestinian American writer Susan Abulhawa: ″Literature is a facet of society″Palestinian feature film "Eyes of a Thief": A political family drama
Juergen Habermas at the John W. Kluge Prize award ceremony in Washington in 2015 (photo: Shawn Miller)

Sheikh Zayed Book Award

Why has Juergen Habermas rejected a prize from the UAE?

At nearly 92, Juergen Habermas is still advocating for a robust and transparent civil society. Now Germany's greatest living intellectual has rejected a book award from the United Arab Emirates. Stuart Braun has the detailsMore

German angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue Juergen Habermas awarded Kluge Prize for Philosophy: ″Asylum is a human right″
The Egyptian series "El-Ekhteyar 2" was created by a production company with close ties to the military - and promotes a narrative to match (photo: ON TV)

Mass propaganda in Egypt

"El-Ekhteyar 2" – twisting the facts for President Sisi

The Egyptian series "El-Ekhteyar 2" was created by a production company with close ties to the military – and pursues a corresponding narrative. Moritz Baumstieger explains how the series, which was broadcast in time for Ramadan, takes its own unique approach to historical factsMore

Social utopia on the Nile? Sisiʹs new breed of EgyptiansEgyptʹs political future: Generalissimo SisiSisi regime propaganda: Egypt's people – nothing but a burden and a nuisanceThe role of film-makers in the new Egypt: Revolution on screen
Illustration by Deloupy from "Algeriennes", story by Swann Meralli, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger (published in English by Pennsylvania State University Press)

"Algeriennes" by Swann Meralli and Deloupy

The bravery and resilience of Algeria's "mujahidates"

Using a graphic novel to address a contentious issue like the Algerian war of independence may seem an odd choice, but new release "Algeriennes", translated into English by Ivanka Hahnenberger, defies any preconceptions you may have about the genre's limitations. Richard Marcus read the bookMore

Alice Zeniter's "L'Art de perdre": Rediscovering a lost chapter of (family) historySixty years since the beginning of the Algerian war: National fronts?Algerian cinema: Young, rebellious and full of beansJoseph Andras′ ″De nos freres blesses″: A shameful chapter
more Culture »

In brief

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Muslim miners in Bosnia break their fast underground

Muslim men engaged in long hours of hard labour deep underground in a coal mine in Bosnia still find the strength to fast. Kemal Softic accompanied them down the mine

Barkha Dutt: Indian healthcare system "betrayed by monumental policy failure"

As COVID-19 infections and deaths in India hit another record on Thursday, journalist and Washington Post columnist Barkha Dutt says the crisis is due to the “criminal incompetence and mismanagement” of the Indian government and authorities. Days after losing her father to COVID, Dutt says she is being targeted and trolled, like many Indian journalists, for speaking up.More

FINO: Forum Islam and Middle East

Forum Islam and Middle East (FINO); Universty of Bern logo (source: https://www.fino.unibe.ch/)

The Forum Islam and Middle East (FINO) was established at the University of Berne in 2018 and sees itself as a transdisciplinary competence centre for documentation, knowledge transfer and academic services in the field of Islam and the Middle East (IME).More

Global Village Space: Pakistan, and why nations radicalise

Anti-French protest in Pakistan following the arrest of Saad Rizvi (photo: AFP)

Discussing Dr. Shoaib Pervez’s latest book "Radicalization in Pakistan: A Critical Perspective", Farah Adeed probes the origins of collective societal radicalisation in Pakistan.More

Bangladesh extends lockdown to keep India's COVID variant at bay

Bangladesh  is relying on India to pull through and deliver COVID-19 vaccine doses. Until then, health officials have put the country on lockdown. And while infections have started dropping, the government has decided to extend the measures, for now.More

DW honours Nigerian reporter Tobore Ovuorie for defending the voiceless

Nigerian investigative reporter and DW's 2021 Freedom of Speech Award winner Tobore Ovuorie (photo: Elvis Okhifa/DW)

Tobore Ovuorie is DW's 2021 Freedom of Speech Award winner. The investigative journalist's undercover work has given a voice to those hushed in Nigerian society. Her courage almost cost her her life.More

ARTE documentary: Looking at the rights of women

While inequalities with men are fading in many areas and speech is becoming freer with movements like #MeToo​, there is still a long way to go on many fronts. From Saudi Arabia, where women have only recently gained basic freedoms, to Afghanistan, where the return of the Taliban threatens the fragile progress of girls' education.More

Bicentenary of Napoleon: A controversial legacy

Napoleon’s military conquests fuelled a vast and unprecedented migration of artworks aimed at establishing a “universal museum” in Paris, the self-proclaimed capital of knowledge and the arts. The rise and fall of the Napoleonic Louvre fundamentally altered the way Europeans perceived art and heritage, inspiring a race to create national museums and presaging the colonial plunder of the rest of the world.More

"Iberian Moorings" compares Muslim and Jewish golden ages

Casa de Sefarad, Cordoba (photo: Zarateman, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Known to Jews, Muslims, and Christians by three different names – Sefarad, al-Andalus, and Hispania, respectively – the Iberian Peninsula has been a centre of fertile intellectual, cultural and spiritual production for multiple religious traditions.More