Eroding confidence in the Fourth Estate
Narendra Modi declares war on India's free press
The fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans
"Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul
Turkey and northern Syria
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's deadly serious colonial project
U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush
As the farmers camp out at the edges of the capital, protesting new agricultural laws they say will devastate their earnings, the mainstream and social media have come under unprecedented attacks from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Critics say it has used the massive demonstrations to escalate a crackdown on free speech, detaining journalists and freezing Twitter accounts.

Eroding confidence in the Fourth Estate

Narendra Modi declares war on India's free press

Freedom of the press is the mortar that binds together a free society. If Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to de-institutionalise what used to be a dynamic and independent Fourth Estate persist, public confidence in the media will steadily decline, along with confidence in Indian democracy, writes Shashi TharoorRead more

India and the farmers' protests: Solidarity mounts against Narendra Modi's BJPIndia, a crumbling democracy: Narendra Modi's vendetta against free-thinking academicsArundhati Roy's "Azadi" Narendra: Modi is pushing Indian society to the brink
The lobby of Spinzar Hotel in downtown Kabul.

The fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans

"Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul

Even in times of war and pandemic, refugees are still being deported to Afghanistan. Several deportation flights have taken place in recent weeks alone. Since those affected often have nothing to go back to, many of them end up in a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul. Emran Feroz reports from the Afghan capitalRead more

Press killings in Afghanistan: Afghan journalists forced to run a murderous gauntletAfghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Deportations to Afghanistan: No safe country of originFighting the Taliban in Afghanistan: Where the warlords still hold sway

Turkey and northern Syria

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's deadly serious colonial project

The neo-Ottomanism propagated by Erdogan has long been more than rhetoric and symbolic politics. This can be seen from recent developments in parts of northern Syria, where Turkey is in the process of permanently securing its sphere of influence. Joseph Croitoru reportsRead more

Erdogan and Turkish foreign policy: Neo-Ottoman rumblingsTurkey's Syria offensive: Burying the Kurdish autonomy projectU.S. withdrawal from Syria: The U.S. is still needed in Syria
Marking 20 years of German armed forces' mission in Afghanistan.

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush

The USA and NATO plan to withdraw from Afghanistan by September. The operation is risky, the outcome uncertain. Many Afghans fear civil war. The quake on the Hindu Kush will also impact Germany, writes Stefan Weidner in his commentaryRead more

Afghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Afghanistanʹs political future: Is peace with the Taliban possible?After the peace conference in Doha: A test match with the Taliban19 years on from 9/11: Has Germany failed in Afghanistan?

Politics

Marking 20 years of German armed forces' mission in Afghanistan (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Anja Niedringhaus)

U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan

Joe Biden and the West's betrayal of the Hindu Kush

The USA and NATO plan to withdraw from Afghanistan by September. The operation is risky, the outcome uncertain. Many Afghans fear civil war. The quake on the Hindu Kush will also impact Germany, writes Stefan Weidner in his commentaryMore

Afghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Afghanistanʹs political future: Is peace with the Taliban possible?After the peace conference in Doha: A test match with the Taliban19 years on from 9/11: Has Germany failed in Afghanistan?
Protestors hold banners in support of journalists and free speech in New Delhi, India, 3 February 2021 (photo: AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Eroding confidence in the Fourth Estate

Narendra Modi declares war on India's free press

Freedom of the press is the mortar that binds together a free society. If Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to de-institutionalise what used to be a dynamic and independent Fourth Estate persist, public confidence in the media will steadily decline, along with confidence in Indian democracy, writes Shashi TharoorMore

India and the farmers' protests: Solidarity mounts against Narendra Modi's BJPIndia, a crumbling democracy: Narendra Modi's vendetta against free-thinking academicsArundhati Roy's "Azadi" Narendra: Modi is pushing Indian society to the brink
Erodgan presenting a map of northeastern Syria (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Weng)

Turkey and northern Syria

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's deadly serious colonial project

The neo-Ottomanism propagated by Erdogan has long been more than rhetoric and symbolic politics. This can be seen from recent developments in parts of northern Syria, where Turkey is in the process of permanently securing its sphere of influence. Joseph Croitoru reportsMore

Erdogan and Turkish foreign policy: Neo-Ottoman rumblingsTurkey's Syria offensive: Burying the Kurdish autonomy projectU.S. withdrawal from Syria: The U.S. is still needed in Syria
King Hussein of Jordan speaks at the re-opening of Parliament in 1957 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

One hundred years of Jordan

"A land for all Arabs" turned Middle East anchor of stability

Founded in 1921 as a temporary solution, Jordan managed to establish itself as one of the most stable countries in the Middle East. The inclusive and flexible approach taken by the state’s founder Abdullah and his successors doubtless contributed to this stability. But the centennial celebrations of the Hashemite Kingdom are overshadowed by an economic crisis and deadlock over political reform. By Edmund RatkaMore

The Levant: Jordan's fragile stabilityInterview with Middle East expert Andre Bank: "Jordan consistently hedges its bets"The crisis of the Arab nation state: Reconstructed realityHistorical roots of the current Middle East crisis: The end of an artificial construct
more Politics »

Society

The lobby of Spinzar Hotel in downtown Kabul (photo: Emran Feroz)

The fate of Europe's unwanted Afghans

"Deportee Central" – a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul

Even in times of war and pandemic, refugees are still being deported to Afghanistan. Several deportation flights have taken place in recent weeks alone. Since those affected often have nothing to go back to, many of them end up in a seedy hotel in downtown Kabul. Emran Feroz reports from the Afghan capitalMore

Press killings in Afghanistan: Afghan journalists forced to run a murderous gauntletAfghanistan’s academics under fire: Must young Afghans be willing to die for an education?Deportations to Afghanistan: No safe country of originFighting the Taliban in Afghanistan: Where the warlords still hold sway
Islamist activists carry placards against Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who was released in 2018 after spending eight years on death row for blasphemy; Karachi, 21 November 2018 (photo: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)

Execution for a Facebook post?

Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countries

The Prophet Muhammad never executed anyone for apostasy, nor encouraged his followers to do so. Nor is criminalising sacrilege based on Islam’s main sacred text, the Koran. In this essay, Ahmet Kuru exposes the political motivations for criminalising blasphemy and apostasyMore

Human rights in the Islamic world: Battle cry "blasphemy"Abusing blasphemy legislation: Indonesia's slide towards identity politicsAuthoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world: Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy allianceThe decline of Islamic scientific thought: Don't blame it on al-Ghazali
18 year-old Afghan Negin Khapalwak plays the piano (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Jawad)

Afghanistan and civil society

Ban on Afghan girls singing dropped after activist outrage

Afghanistan's government distanced itself from a recent plan to ban girls from singing in public after women's rights activists slammed education officials for promoting a "Taliban-like" policy. By Nasim SaberMore

Negotiating with the Taliban for girls′ education: Treading carefullyPeace talks with the Taliban: Where are Afghanistan's women?Qantara photo essay: Afghanistan's modern past
Protest again the burka ban in Denmark (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Ritzau Scanpix/M. C. Rasmussen)

Burka bans in Europe

Why the burka is so important for right-wing populists

On 7 March, Switzerland became the latest European country to vote in favour of a so-called "burka" ban. It was yet another feather in the cap of the right-wing populist Swiss People's Party (SVP) on an issue that remains a perennial favourite with the Right across Europe. Essay by Daniel BaxMore

Swiss voters back proposal to ban full-face veils in public places Regional 'burka ban' up for vote in Switzerland France's burka ban: Excluding the wrong peopleThe rise of right-wing populism in Europe: A continent divided
more Society »

Culture

Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine (photo: Talal Khoury; source: edition-converso.com))

Chaza Charafeddine's "Beirut für wilde Mädchen"

Flashback from Beirut

A childhood and youth in Beirut, a life lived between Lebanon, Switzerland and Germany, and a unique voice in Arabic-language literature: "Beirut für wilde Mädchen" sees Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine tell her country’s story from a highly personal perspective. Gerrit Wustmann read the bookMore

Book review ″Beirut Noir″: Chronicling life in the corrupt cityBook review: Hilal Chouman′s ″Limbo Beirut″: Hybrid livesNajwa Barakat on Arabic literature: Combating the desertification of Arab culture
Turkish soaps conquer the Arab world. "1001 Nights" is one of the Turkish dizis (photo: Tmc Film)

Turkey's handle on soft power

Hit TV series from Turkey conquer the Arab world

Televised Turkish dramas are all the rage in the Middle East. A young Ottoman TV Empire has been expanding its soft power by harnessing regional dialects, Arabic names and viewers' desire for racy-yet-traditional plots. By Jennifer HolleisMore

Islamic popular culture: A match for Bollywood – the rise of Turkey's dizisErdogan and Turkish foreign policy: Neo-Ottoman rumblingsTurkeyʹs Middle East exiles: Istanbul – the Arab worldʹs beacon on the BosphorusQantara dossier: Turkish cinema
Bicycle parked along a track on the Sufi Trail (photo: Marian Brehmer)

The Sufi Trail

Anatolia through the eyes of a pilgrim

The Sufi Trail is a long-distance hiking route from Istanbul to Konya that seeks to revive the ancient tracks used by foot pilgrims on their way to Mecca. Marian Brehmer spoke to the trail's founder and hiking route developer Sedat CakirMore

Interview with Islamic scholar and philosopher Abdolkarim Soroush: "The Sufis were prophets of pluralism"Album review: Trygve Seim′s "Rumi Songs"The filming of Rumi: Everybody's darling
Iraqi author Usama Al Shahmani (photo: Ennio Leanza/Keystone/picture-alliance)

Usama Al Shahmani's "Im Fallen lernt die Feder fliegen"

Falling, the feather learns to fly

In his second novel, "Im Fallen lernt die Feder fliegen", Iraqi author Usama Al Shahmani describes the stirring story of two young siblings seeking refuge, and their attempts to overcome the double trauma of war and exile. Volker Kaminski read the bookMore

Iraqi author Usama Al Shahmani: ʺIn foreign lands, the trees speak ArabicʺShahad al-Rawiʹs "The Baghdad Clock": Romance and sanctions in ʹ90s IraqNahidh al-Ramadhani's "The Hope Vendor": A successive shattering of dreams
more Culture »

In brief

More

Most Recent Photo Essay

The Panjshir ("five lions") is a mountain valley about 150 kilometres north of Kabul, famous for its scenic beauty and its proud inhabitants. The area is named after a legend of five brothers who, during a flood in the 10th century, are said to have held back the waters of a great river that once flowed across the valley from west to east. Today, access to the Panjshir is via a newly metalled road

Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and the "Five Lions"

To Afghans, the name "Panjshir" evokes associations with the Tajik resistance against the Soviets during the 1980s. But the special charm of the province lies in its landscape. Marian Brehmer reports

Lebanon-Syria: Smuggling and sanctions, the new front line

Despite being on the brink of collapse, the Lebanese economy is keeping Bashar al-Assad's Syria afloat. Dodging international sanctions – notably the U.S.-imposed Caesar Act – products such as food and petrol are being smuggled across the border into Syria on a massive scale.More

Qantara dossier: Islamophobia

Demonstration against the building of a mosque in Cologne (photo: picture-alliance/Ralph Goldmann)

Renowned journalists, Islamic scholars and authors shed light on the various facets of racist and Islamophobic violence in Western countries.More

Foreign Affairs: The Taliban are ready to exploit America’s exit

U.S soldiers in Afghan province Logar (photo: Reuters/O. Sobhani)

The United States is leaving behind a war that is now much further from a negotiated settlement than it was even one year ago. As one senior Taliban commander put it recently, "This fight is not to share power. This war is for religious purposes in order to bring an Islamic government and implement Islamic law."More

Sudan 2021: What comes after the revolution?

Sudanese flag waved by protesters during a demonstration to demand Sudan's transition to democracy, 12 April 2019 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

Two years after the overthrow of al-Bashir, Sudan's political transition is still extremely volatile – and needs more targeted international support.More

War in Syria: What you should know about the Syrian conflict

The war in Syria began with peaceful demonstrations in 2011, to which the Assad regime responded brutally. This film is an attempt to explain the complex developments of the last 10 years.More

"Rumi: The Musical": Bringing the Middle East to the West End

Nadim Naaman, a Lebanese-British actor and singer, has found a unique way to bring together the best of the West End and his own roots. Middle East Matters asks him about his latest project, "Rumi: The Musical".More

Ramadan breeds dread in crisis-hit Iraq

An Iraqi woman shops at a wholesale market ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Mosul, Iraq, 12 April 2021 (photo: Reuters)

Faced with sharp price rises, a decline in the buying power of the dinar and rising unemployment, Iraqis enter the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan with a feeling of dread.More

The Muslims who inspired Spinoza, Locke and Defoe

Ibn Tufayl’s “Hayy ibn Yaqzan” in translation; and the first two pages of a manuscript containing the text of Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy ibn Yaqzan, Ms. Istanbul, Ayasofya 04807-001 (source: muslimheritage.com)

Written by 12th-century Arab writer Ibn Tufayl, “Hayy ibn Yaqzan”, which is about a boy alone on an island, appears to have influenced Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe". Mustafa Akyol argues that, since the way forward for Islam lies in reconciling faith and reason, it would be wise to reconsider what Ibn Tufayl’s “Hayy ibn Yaqzan” and the works of Ibn Rushd were trying to tell us.More

A Ramadan etiquette guide for non-Muslims

Breaking the daily fast with "iftar" (photo: dapd)

There are 7 billion people in the world. And a full 22% of them – 1.6 billion – are fasting from sunup to sundown. Every day. For an entire month. It's Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar. But what if you're not a Muslim – just a caring, considerate person. What should you do to ensure you don't come across as insensitive…More