International Libya Conference
Libyans harbour high hopes for a transition to stability
Conflict between Ankara and Athens
Has Erdogan's foreign policy hit rock bottom?
The controversial Jerusalem Declaration
Why the world needs a new definition of anti-Semitism
Hit streaming series "Fatma's Revenge"
Netflix takes on the Turkish macho
Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, prime minister of the Libyan government of national unity.

International Libya Conference in Berlin

Libyans harbour high hopes for a transition to stability

The Libya Conference will be held in Berlin on 23 June. Much has been achieved since the last Libya Conference in Berlin in January 2020. The ceasefire is holding, there is a united interim government for the first time and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 24 December. But the path ahead remains strewn with obstacles. By Karim El-GawharyRead more

SWP Comment: The limits to Libya's unityHow can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?Ankara’s Maghreb moment: Advancing Turkey's economic, energy, and military aimsLibya's peace process doomed to failure without its women
Turkey's President Erdogan visiting Greece, 2017.

Conflict between Ankara and Athens

Has Erdogan's foreign policy hit rock bottom?

The change in U.S. president is also having an impact on the conflict between Turkey and Greece. Since the USA has started to play the Greek card, the strategic situation in the Eastern Mediterranean has shifted to Turkey's disadvantage. Ronald Meinardus reports from IstanbulRead more

Gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Detente between Greece and Turkey?Interview with Middle East analyst Stephan Roll: "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"Mask diplomacy and power politics: Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirusA truly international conflict: How can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?

The controversial Jerusalem Declaration

Why the world needs a new definition of anti-Semitism

Years ago, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance formulated how hatred of Jews can be recognised. Now a new definition is causing controversy. By Sarah Judith HofmannRead more

Israeli-Palestinian dialogue: Israel, Palestine – and nuance as the moral imperativeInterview with Amos Oz: ''I love Israel even in times when I don't like it''Debate about anti-Semitism and the Middle East conflict: Dissidence and the Jewish diaspora
Scene from "Fatma's Revenge".

Hit streaming series "Fatma's Revenge"

Netflix takes on the Turkish macho

Since the end of April, a Netflix series has been broadcast in Turkey about the cleaner Fatma, who searches for her missing husband in six episodes and ends up in a murderous odyssey. The series celebrates the woman as a hero who defends herself against humiliation, threats and sexual harassment, writes Jochen MenzelRead more

Istanbul Convention: How a European treaty against women's violence became politicisedTurkey's femicide problem: "It was suicide!" – a state-sanctioned cover-up?The Istanbul Convention and women's protection: Bombing the heart of the family in Turkey?Islamic popular culture: A match for Bollywood – the rise of Turkey's dizisTurkey's handle on soft power: Hit TV series from Turkey conquer the Arab world

Politics

Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, prime minister of the Libyan government of national unity (photo: Libyan Government of National Accord/AA/picture alliance)

International Libya Conference in Berlin

Libyans harbour high hopes for a transition to stability

The Libya Conference will be held in Berlin on 23 June. Much has been achieved since the last Libya Conference in Berlin in January 2020. The ceasefire is holding, there is a united interim government for the first time and parliamentary elections are scheduled for 24 December. But the path ahead remains strewn with obstacles. By Karim El-GawharyMore

SWP Comment: The limits to Libya's unityHow can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?Ankara’s Maghreb moment: Advancing Turkey's economic, energy, and military aimsLibya's peace process doomed to failure without its women
Turkey's President Erdogan visiting Greece, 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/Presidency Press Service/K.Ozer)

Conflict between Ankara and Athens

Has Erdogan's foreign policy hit rock bottom?

The change in U.S. president is also having an impact on the conflict between Turkey and Greece. Since the USA has started to play the Greek card, the strategic situation in the Eastern Mediterranean has shifted to Turkey's disadvantage. Ronald Meinardus reports from IstanbulMore

Gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Detente between Greece and Turkey?Interview with Middle East analyst Stephan Roll: "Egypt's leadership feels markedly threatened by Turkey"Mask diplomacy and power politics: Erdogan's foreign policy in the shadow of coronavirusA truly international conflict: How can Europe help prevent the carving-up of Libya?
A woman holds a picture of Iran's newly-elected president Ebrahim Raisi as supporters celebrate his victory in Imam Hussein square in the capital Tehran on 19 June 2021 (photo: Atta Kenare /AFP/Getty Images)

Raisi inherits an ancient civilisation

The striking continuity of Iran – Persia unchanged?

At the root of Iran’s current economic malaise, political disarray, and foreign policy confrontations lie various approaches that are powerfully historical and therefore problematic to deconstruct. Three pervasive tendencies in its political culture are scapegoating, political tribalism, and an obsolete interpretation of national sovereignty. By Mahmood SariolghalamMore

The Republic of Iran turns forty: A theocracy at the crossroadsCaught between tradition and modernity: Will ancient poet Hafez win the "soft war" in Iran?Minorities in the Islamic Republic: Fear of separatistsRamita Navai's ″City of lies″: Where nothing is allowed, yet anything is possible
"Free Palestine!" demonstration in Munich (photo: Sachelle Babbar/Zuma Wire/picture-alliance)

The controversial Jerusalem Declaration

Why the world needs a new definition of anti-Semitism

Years ago, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance formulated how hatred of Jews can be recognised. Now a new definition is causing controversy. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

Israeli-Palestinian dialogue: Israel, Palestine – and nuance as the moral imperativeInterview with Amos Oz: ''I love Israel even in times when I don't like it''Debate about anti-Semitism and the Middle East conflict: Dissidence and the Jewish diaspora
more Politics »

Society

Germany/Islamkolleg/symbolic image (photo: Metodi Popow/imago images)

College of Islam opens in Osnabruck

Germany finally gets its own "home-grown" imams

On 15 June, the "Islamkolleg" in Osnabruck officially launched its new training programme for imams in German. The college is intended to prepare Islamic theologians for their work in mosque communities and thus further the integration of Muslims in Germany. By Christoph StrackMore

The drive towards "home-grown" imams: Islam in, from and for GermanyInterview with Imam Benjamin Idriz: Questioning traditionEurope and its Muslims: Islamic theology in Germany: Spanning the divideQantara dossier: "Islamic theology in Germany"Imam training in Germany: Domesticating Islam?
Women protesting in Cairo in 2012 (photo: dapd)

Ten years after the Arab Spring

Arab women's rights, a genuine lifestyle revolution?

Arab women played a leading role in the protest movement of 2011. Since then, ongoing social transformation has had a considerable impact on their lives. What is their assessment of the situation ten years on? Claudia Mende spoke to women from Egypt, Tunisia and MoroccoMore

Civil society held hostage by corruption and murder: Libya's peace process doomed to failure without its womenWomen′s rights in the Arab world: The key to changeAn enduring stereotype: The West's gleeful obsession with the 'oppressed Arab woman'Women's liberation in the Gulf: Arab women – fighting for their rights for 60 years
Algerian Islamic scholar Said Djabelkhir was sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting Islam" (photo: Ryad Kramdi/AFP)

Interview with the Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir

What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law

Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir rejects the charge of "offending Islam". In interview with Ismail Assam, he maintains that he has been wilfully misconstrued. At the same time, he stresses that he was talking in a "historical" manner about Islam, calling for it to move on from the era of fatwas and to look critically at Muslim religious heritageMore

Interview with pioneering Islamic thinker Fehmi Jadaane: What is the essence of Islam, and does it need reforming?Interview with Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im: "We are in the middle of a transformative process"Execution for a Facebook post? Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countries
Young migrants arriving in Ceuta, 19 May 2021 (photo: Bernat Armangue/AP Photo/picture alliance)

Underage migrants stranded in Spain

The lost children of Ceuta and the "warehouses of shame"

Hundreds of minors are stranded in the Spanish enclave. They can neither return to Morocco nor travel on to Europe. Many are hiding out of mistrust of the police. Karin Janker reports from MadridMore

MEP Dietmar Koester on Fortress Europe: "The EU allows human rights to be trampled underfoot"Crisis between Morocco and Germany: Western Sahara, source of strife among would-be partnersSpain accuses Morocco of "blackmail" over sudden influx of migrants to Ceuta
more Society »

Culture

Scene from "Fatma's Revenge" (source: YouTube screenshot)

Hit streaming series "Fatma's Revenge"

Netflix takes on the Turkish macho

Since the end of April, a Netflix series has been broadcast in Turkey about the cleaner Fatma, who searches for her missing husband in six episodes and ends up in a murderous odyssey. The series celebrates the woman as a hero who defends herself against humiliation, threats and sexual harassment, writes Jochen MenzelMore

Istanbul Convention: How a European treaty against women's violence became politicisedTurkey's femicide problem: "It was suicide!" – a state-sanctioned cover-up?The Istanbul Convention and women's protection: Bombing the heart of the family in Turkey?Islamic popular culture: A match for Bollywood – the rise of Turkey's dizisTurkey's handle on soft power: Hit TV series from Turkey conquer the Arab world
Cover of Nasser Kanani's "The Love Poetry of Hafez through the Lens of German Literature: Hafez and his German Devotees" (published in German by Königshausen & Neumann)

Iranian literature in Germany

Roses from Shiraz: German devotees of Hafez

For centuries, the great classical Persian author Hafez has inspired German writers. Translations, adaptions and homages have been created in his wake, and the process continues today. Nasser Kanani has published an expansive book on Hafez’ German devotees. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Professor Nasser Kanani on the Persian poet Hafez: "The joyful audacity of his spirit, the melody of his poetry"Caught between tradition and modernity: Will ancient poet Hafez win the "soft war" in Iran?Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the box
30.05.2017., Zagreb, Croatia - The European Short Story Festival - Reading and FESS Short Story Award Ceremony. Hassan Blasim (photo: Tomislav Miletic/PIXSELL)

Book review: Hassan Blasim's "God 99"

A different sort of sacred

Reading Hassan Blasim's God 99 is an immersive experience of grief and exaltation, anger and disgust, writes Marcia Lynx Qualey. We join the Iraqi narrator as he sits around in seedy Finnish bars and plays slot machines; as he meets refugees and listens to their stories; as he exchanges letters with a dying friend; and as he crosses a kaleidoscopic series of bordersMore

Trauma in contemporary Arab literature: Translating oblivionPreviously unpublished work: Naguib Mahfouz' "The Quarter"Book review: Hassan Blasim's "The Corpse Exhibition"
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2021 (photo: YouTube screenshot)

Literary power politics

Spotlight on the UAE's 30th Abu Dhabi Book Fair

They’ve already got the Louvre; they’ll soon have a Guggenheim Museum as well – and now the Emirates have added literature to their quest for cultural supremacy in the Arab world. Stefan Weidner reports from Abu Dhabi, from the first book fair of this year to take place in personMore

Habermas, the Sheikh Zayed Award and Arab reactions: Habermas and the contradictions of the Arab intellectualA triumph for discourse: Juergen Habermas' rejection of the Sheikh Zayed Book AwardGerman angst and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award: Habermas, philosopher of communication, rejects dialogue Qantara dossier: Arabic literature
more Culture »

In brief

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Kylian Mbappe (France): the son of a Cameroonian father and an Algerian mother, Kylian Mbappe has deep roots in Africa. Mbappe was just 19 when he was part of the French team that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He is just one of several French players of African heritage, including Paul Pogba (Guinea), N'Golo Kante and Moussa Sissoko (both Mali), Ousmane Dembele (Ivory Coast) and Karim Benzema (Algeria)

Mbappe, Lukaku and Co. – Euro players with African heritage

Among the 24 squads at the Euros, dozens of players with African roots will turn out in the June 11-July 11 tournament. Several of them are top names at this pan-continental event. By Stefan Nestler

Editor's picks

India's farmers: "Modi and the BJP are destroying the country"

Debate about anti-Semitism: Dissidence and the Jewish diaspora

In our modern world, what constitutes contemporary Islam?

Why the burka is so important for right-wing populists

...More

Ebrahim Raisi: Iran's new, ultraconservative president

Ultraconservative cleric Ebrahim Raisi has been elected Iran's new president with more than 61.95 percent of the vote, Interior Minister Aboldreza Rahmani Fazli announced on Saturday. Voter turnout was estimated at 48.8%, the lowest ever recorded for a presidential election after reformists called for a boycott.More

BBC Radio 4: Covering Edward Said – 40 years of Islam, media and the West

Palestinian American cultural critic Edward Said; photo from 1999 (photo: piciture-alliance/akg)

In 1981, Edward Said published a book that examined how ideas of Islam are disseminated in the western news media by commentators and experts. It was called "Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World". Forty years on, columnist and author Nesrine Malik examines how Said's ideas – and the responses to them – stack up.More

My.Kali: Editor-in-chief discusses queer culture, activism and community

Traditional gender norms dominate societies across the Middle East and North Africa, but young people who don't easily fit into well-established identities are increasingly speaking out. From Iraq to Tunisia, non-binary voices are demanding a platform and online magazines like My.Kali play a central role in helping to forge empowered non-conformist communities. More

Islamic institutions in Arab states: Mapping the dynamics of control, co-option and contention

Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt (photo: picture-alliance)

The complex relations between the state and Islamic institutions in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco shed light on evolving governance and have important implications for Western policies of countering violent extremism and conflict resolution.More

Faces of Iranian youth

Culture vultures: Tehran's galleries are very popular among Iranian young people and the cultural scene is constantly diversifying. According to a 25-year-old photographer, "government restrictions play an important role in this phenomenon. Art is seen as a means of emancipation"

Faces of Iranian youth

Behind a suffocating political system and inquisitive cliches, Iranian youth dream of a break with the system while proudly defending their culture. By Gwenvaël Engel

"Two Gods" studies the life of a Muslim casket maker

An intensely cinematic portrait of male friendship and mentorhood. In Newark, NJ a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer brings two young men under his wing to teach them how to live better lives.More

KAS: "The Modern Arab State: A Decade of Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa"

"The Modern Arab State: A Decade of Uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa", edited by Youssef Cherif (photo: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung)

Ten years after the Arab uprisings, democracy and its institutions in the region remain fragile and often cosmetic, and yet civil societies are aspiring and a new social contract is emerging with an increasingly empowered citizenry.More