Burka bans in Europe
Why the burka is so important for right-wing populists
New books on the Middle East
The clouds of war or the dawn of a new beginning?
Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Programme
The Islamic Republic's timely vaccine against U.S. pressure?
The Sufi Trail
Anatolia through the eyes of a pilgrim

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 BaxRead more

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

Book review: new books on the Middle East

The clouds of war or the dawn of a new beginning?

German Middle East analyst Guido Steinberg and television journalist Ulrich Tilgner have both published new books on the conflicts in the Middle East. Their analyses and their forecasts for the region could not be more different. By René WildangelRead more

Geopolitics in the Middle East: A new century dawnsWestern foreign policy reorientation: Strategy of restraintU.S. withdrawal from Syria: The U.S. is still needed in SyriaU.S.-Saudi relations: Joe Biden's recalibration

Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Programme

The Islamic Republic's timely vaccine against U.S. pressure?

On 27 March, Iran and China signed a 25-year accord intended to foster "strategic co-operation". Despite ongoing uncertainty over the deal's actual scope, content and chances of realisation, the agreement has been hailed by Iranian officials as nothing less than a game-changer when it comes to securing the interests of the Islamic Republic. By Ali Fathollah-Nejad and Amin NaeniRead more

China in the Middle East: Beijing's new charm offensiveHic sunt dracones: Is Iran set to forfeit its national interests to China?U.S.-Saudi relations: Joe Biden's recalibration

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 CakirRead more

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

Politics

Dr Guido Steinberg (left) and Ulrich Tilgner (photos: Eventpress Stauffenberg/picture-alliance and Future Image/imagoimages)

Book review: new books on the Middle East

The clouds of war or the dawn of a new beginning?

German Middle East analyst Guido Steinberg and television journalist Ulrich Tilgner have both published new books on the conflicts in the Middle East. Their analyses and their forecasts for the region could not be more different. By René WildangelMore

Geopolitics in the Middle East: A new century dawnsWestern foreign policy reorientation: Strategy of restraintU.S. withdrawal from Syria: The U.S. is still needed in SyriaU.S.-Saudi relations: Joe Biden's recalibration
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, Tehran, March 2021 (photo: AFP)

Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Programme

The Islamic Republic's timely vaccine against U.S. pressure?

On 27 March, Iran and China signed a 25-year accord intended to foster "strategic co-operation". Despite ongoing uncertainty over the deal's actual scope, content and chances of realisation, the agreement has been hailed by Iranian officials as nothing less than a game-changer when it comes to securing the interests of the Islamic Republic. By Ali Fathollah-Nejad and Amin NaeniMore

China in the Middle East: Beijing's new charm offensiveHic sunt dracones: Is Iran set to forfeit its national interests to China?U.S.-Saudi relations: Joe Biden's recalibration
Shepherds in Raqqa in 2017 (photo: Chris Huby/Le Pictorium/imago images)

Syrian conflict

How climate change paved the way to war in Syria

Researchers agree that climate change alone cannot be blamed for the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011. However, neither can it be ignored as a reason this once blossoming country has become parched and war-torn. By Jennifer HolleisMore

Climate change consequences for the Islamic world: Of infernal proportionsWater shortage in the Maghreb: Climate change and Tunisia's water management challengeInterview with political scientist Tobias Zumbraegel: How are Middle East countries coping with climate change?
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Riyadh, 24 March 2021 (photo: BANDAR AL-JALOUD/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP)

China in the Middle East

Beijing's new charm offensive

The last week in March saw China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi visit six countries in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain. Two initiatives in particular are sending the clearest signal yet that China may be gearing up to play a greater political role in the Middle East. By James M. DorseyMore

Hic sunt dracones: Is Iran set to forfeit its national interests to China?Turkey’s failing economy, COVID vaccines and the Uighur issue : Coronavirus less dangerous than Erdogan's politicsUS-Saudi relations: Joe Biden's recalibration
more Politics »

Society

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
Protesters move away as Turkish police officers intervene during a demonstration in support of Bogazici University students, at Kadikoy in Istanbul, 1 April 2021 (photo: Bulent Kilic/AFP)

Turkish graduates in Europe

Turkey's best and brightest flee in brain drain

As Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his crackdown on dissent, increasing numbers of Turkish graduates and young professionals are seeking new lives and better prospects abroad. Germany is their No.1 destination. By Sinem Ozdemir and Daniel Derya BellutMore

Political turbulence in Turkey: President Erdogan under pressureFreedom of the press: Turkey's Pelican group – Erdoganʹs state within a state?Freedom of expression in Turkey: Academics on the run
Rafik Schami (photo: Dieter Nagl/AFP)

Spotlight on bridge-builders: Rafik Schami

The story-teller from Damascus

Syrian-born Rafik Schami is a gifted storyteller and one of the most successful authors writing in German today. In his 50 years in exile in Germany, he has introduced the Arab art of storytelling to German literature and has been showered with prizes. But Schami is more than just a storyteller, he is also an outspoken critic of politicians and governments both in Europe and the Middle East. By Ceyda NurtschMore

Syrian–German author Rafik Schami: An exile in his homelandInterview with Rafik Schami: Defending the Assad kingdomInterview with Rafik Schami: "The Rebellion's Perseverance Surprises Me"
A man surveys damage to a Baha'i house in the village of Ivel (photo: Baha'i Persecution in Iran)

Religious minorities in Iran

Baha'is repressed and persecuted by the state

It's no secret that the Baha'i community in Iran is persecuted. Now, a document has come to light that appears to show the extent to which the repression is state-sponsored. By Matthias von HeinMore

Interview with Mahvash Sabet: Lyrical flightsPreparing for Pope Francis' visit: The scant remains of Iraq's ancient Christian communityInterview with author Ronya Othmann: Fighting the obliteration of Kurdish-Yazidi identityEndemic anti-Ahmadiyya discrimination: Pakistan's "Commission for Minorities" without the Ahmadis
more Society »

Culture

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
Mali musician Anansy Cisse (source: Facebook)

Album review: Anansy Cisse's "Anoura"

A joyful tonic for the pandemic-weary

Anansy Cisse's new release "Anoura" – literally 'the light' – is not only a fine example of Malian music, but the story behind the album is also a microcosm of the struggles facing Malians, especially musicians, in the strife-ridden country. By Richard MarcusMore

Album review: Tartitʹs "Amankor/The Exile": Lapping at your consciousnessAlbum review: Imarhanʹs "Temet": Keeping it realAbderrahmane Sissako's film "Timbuktu": In the beginning there was violence
Perimeter wall of Tehran's notorious Evin prison (photo: dpa)

Ava Farmehri's "Through the sad wood our corpses will hang"

Flashback to a childhood in Tehran

Iranian-Canadian author Ava Farmehri’s debut novel paints a bleak picture of growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. The book is both a prison novel and a reflection on freedom. Gerrit Wustmann read it for Qantara.deMore

Alireza Abiz' "Censorship of Literature in Post-Revolutionary Iran": Iranian literature – the censor’s mindsetYoung Iranian women writers in Germany: Patchwork identitiesBook review: "I'm Probably Lost" by Sara Salar: Silent rebellionInterview with Iranian author Amir Hassan Cheheltan: "Literature is based on politics and eroticism"Interview with the Iranian author Fariba Vafi "Cliches have no place in writing″
more Culture »

In brief

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Most Recent Photo Essay

How successful is linguistic integration? Three quarters of German-born Muslims grow up with German as a first language. Among immigrants, only one fifth claim that German is their first language. The trend of language skills improving with successive generations is apparent across Europe. In Germany 46 percent of all Muslims say that their national language is their first language. In Austria this is 37 percent, Switzerland 34 percent

Muslims in Europe: Integrated or not?

The Muslim population in Western Europe has been growing since the 1960s. In most countries, Muslims now make up more than five percent of the total population. Despite social tensions, integration is making clear progress. By Aasim Saleem

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

Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The state of the world's human rights

"The State of the World's Human Rights", Amnesty International Report 2020-2021 (source: Amnesty International)

During 2020, the world was rocked by COVID-19. The pandemic and measures taken to tackle it impacted everyone, but also threw into stark relief, and sometimes aggravated, existing inequalities and patterns of abuse.More

New York Times: What a tiny masterpiece reveals about power and beauty

Rosette bearing the names and titles of Shah Jahan; folio from the Shah Jahan album (photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Four centuries ago, mighty crosscurrents of religion and culture flowed into a new Indian art. It was courtly and refined, but also eye-poppingly luxuriant.More

Online magazine Jadaliyya

Featuring contributions by writers from the Islamic world, the independent online magazine "Jadaliyya" is published by the Arab Studies Institute.More

ARTE documentary: The Prophet's Exile

How Muhammad's exile from Mecca to Medina (the Hegira) was pivotal in the history of Islam, and the difference between Meccan suras and Medinan suras.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

Online magazine Mada Masr

"Yesterday's cartoon" by Andeel (source: Mada Masr)

The Egyptian online magazine "Mada Masr" is a progressive independent medium that was founded after the Arabellion in 2011. It publishes news, commentaries, essays and photo galleries in English and Arabic.More

Eight Arab architects who shaped the world

New Gourna, Egypt, designed by Hassan Fathy (source: Mille)

For centuries, Arab and Islamic architecture has given birth to traditional styles and world heritage sites, which are studied across the world today for their level of detail and craftsmanship. It is a rich architectural heritage that has paved the way for modern Arab architects. We take a look at eight Arab architects who have shaped the region’s architectural scene over the past fifty years.More