Ten years after the Arab Spring
Arab women's rights, a genuine lifestyle revolution?
Algerian scholar Said Djabelkhir
What we Muslims need is a critical appraisal of Islamic law
India's farmers vs. Narendra Modi
"Modi and the BJP are destroying the country"
Elections in Iran
Khamenei shuts down opposition ahead of upcoming ballot
Women protesting in Cairo in 2012.

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 MoroccoRead more

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".

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 heritageRead more

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
Indian farmers protest in Mumbai.

India's farmers vs. Narendra Modi

"Modi and the BJP are destroying the country"

In India, hundreds of thousands of farmers are fighting doggedly against laws passed by Narendra Modi’s government to liberalise agriculture. In a nationwide campaign, more than forty farmers’ organisations have called on Indian voters to deny the ruling BJP party their votes in future elections. Dominik Muller reportsRead more

India and the farmers' protests: Solidarity mounts against Narendra Modi's BJPDispute about the temple to Lord Ram in Ayodhya: The end of India's post-colonial consensusArundhati Roy's "Azadi": Narendra Modi is pushing Indian society to the brinkIndia, a crumbling democracy: Narendra Modi's vendetta against free-thinking academics

Elections in Iran

Khamenei shuts down opposition ahead of upcoming ballot

In the run up to Iran’s presidential election, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sought to entrench his power. Alex Vatanka asks whether a sharp slump in voter turnout will reveal the extent of popular discontentRead more

Iran's 2021 presidential elections: Iran's elite politicians ignore the burning social issuesPower politics in Iran: Fallout from Mohammed Javad Zarif's political bombshellParliamentary elections 2020 in Iran: Era of the Khamenei vassals

Politics

20 March 2021, Tehran: Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivering a televised Persian New Year message to the nation (photo: © Iranian Supreme Leader's Office/ZUMA Wire)

Elections in Iran

Khamenei shuts down opposition ahead of upcoming ballot

In the run up to Iran’s presidential election, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sought to entrench his power. Alex Vatanka asks whether a sharp slump in voter turnout will reveal the extent of popular discontentMore

Iran's 2021 presidential elections: Iran's elite politicians ignore the burning social issuesPower politics in Iran: Fallout from Mohammed Javad Zarif's political bombshellParliamentary elections 2020 in Iran: Era of the Khamenei vassals
Algerian voters in Tunisia arrive to the Tunisian Embassy of Algeria to cast their votes ahead of the early general elections scheduled for 12 June, in the capital Tunis, Tunisia on 10 June 2021 (photo: Yassine Gaidi / Anadolu Agency)

Democratic disappointments in Algeria

How can the Hirak meet Algerians' democratic needs?

Saturday's historically low election turnout was a reflection of Algerians' ongoing frustration with the political status quo. Faced with mounting state repression, however, the likelihood of the Hirak evolving from popular protest movement into a significant opposition force appears slim. By Ilhem RachidiMore

Interview with human rights activist Rabah Arkam: Algeria's protesters continue their "Revolution of Smiles"Algeria: how the Hirak fared in 2020: Protestors still calling for genuine democracyDemocracy in the Maghreb: Tebboune's 'New Algeria' looks a lot like the old Algeria
Indian farmers protest in Mumbai (photo: Reuters)

India's farmers vs. Narendra Modi

"Modi and the BJP are destroying the country"

In India, hundreds of thousands of farmers are fighting doggedly against laws passed by Narendra Modi’s government to liberalise agriculture. In a nationwide campaign, more than forty farmers’ organisations have called on Indian voters to deny the ruling BJP party their votes in future elections. Dominik Muller reportsMore

India and the farmers' protests: Solidarity mounts against Narendra Modi's BJPDispute about the temple to Lord Ram in Ayodhya: The end of India's post-colonial consensusArundhati Roy's "Azadi": Narendra Modi is pushing Indian society to the brinkIndia, a crumbling democracy: Narendra Modi's vendetta against free-thinking academics
16 May 2021, Amsterdam, Netherlands: a Black woman seen holding a placard over her head against colonialism during a demonstration. In Amsterdam thousands of Dutch people gathered at the Dam Square in Amsterdam to condemn the Israeli attacks and the forced evictions of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem (photo: Ana Fernandez/Zumo Wire/imago images)

Israeli-Palestinian dialogue

Israel, Palestine – and nuance as the moral imperative

As someone accustomed to presenting his country to interested outsiders, Israeli teacher and tour guide Noam Yatsiv makes the case for a more nuanced appreciation of the historical circumstances in Israel/Palestine, deeming it a "moral obligation" of European observersMore

Arabs and Jews in Israel: You can't tear us apartIsraeli philosopher Omri Boehm: The Haifa Republic – full equality for Middle East peaceInterview with Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery: ''Israel needs peace, not settlements''
more Politics »

Society

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
View of Tangier's harbour promenade (photo: Karima Ahdad)

COVID-19 fallout in Morocco

Tangiers' economic boom – few winners and many losers

Business in the Moroccan city of Tangiers is booming due to its location at the nexus of global trade routes. But many locals are failing to reap the benefits. What they crave most is the resumption of international tourism and the attendant influx of revenue. Stefanie Claudia Muller reports from TangiersMore

Tangiers, Morocco: Of myths and modernityInterview with German anthropologist Dieter Haller: "Freedom of speech has long been empty rhetoric"Tangiers takes centre stage: Renaissance of the "White City"Crisis between Morocco and Germany: Western Sahara, source of strife among would-be partners
more Society »

Culture

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
UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Old City of Sana'a in Yemen (photo: picture-alliance/epa/Y. Arhab)

Book review: Threa Almontaser's "The Wild Fox of Yemen"

An emotional landscape of subtle complexity

"The Wild Fox of Yemen" by Threa Almontaser is an anthology of poetry that gathers readers up and into itself and immerses them in the poet's world – the world of a first-generation American/Yemeni trying to find her way in a country while her familial roots are far across oceans in Yemen. By Richard MarcusMore

A Muslim Poetry Slam: The Five Pillars of i,SlamPoetry anthology: Fady Joudah's "Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance"Mahmoud Darwish: Building bridges with Arabic poetry
The Iranian-German poet SAID in 2006 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/dpa-zentralbild/M. Schulte)

Obituary: Iranian-German poet SAID

Shout your names

Among the authors writing in German who are not native speakers of the language, SAID, who was born in 1947, was among the most successful and the most unconventional. Highly politically engaged, he remained true to his position between cultures. He died on 15 May. By Stefan WeidnerMore

Interview with the Poet SAID: "I have defended my piety against the Islamic Republic"Professor Nasser Kanani on the Persian poet Hafez: "The joyful audacity of his spirit, the melody of his poetry"Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the boxIran′s image in the West: Sheer incredulity
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

In our modern world, what constitutes contemporary Islam?

Why the burka is so important for right-wing populists

Playing on fears of an Islamist takeover

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

...More

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on the Sahel

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg discusses the worsening security situation in Africa's Sahel region, as well as NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan.More

In memoriam: Michael Hudson (02.06.1938 - 25.05.2021)

Political scientist Michael Hudson (photo: Leila Hudson)

In addition to his two major works – "The Precarious Republic: Political Modernization in Lebanon" and "Arab Politics: The Search for Legitimacy" – Michael Hudon edited and authored dozens of volumes, scholarly articles, and commentaries. Throughout his career, he advocated for human rights and democratisation across the Middle East and was a passionate supporter of Palestinian liberation.More

Iran’s presidential race: Who is ultra-conservative favourite Ebrahim Raisi?

Ebrahim Raisi (photo: yjc)

Ebrahim Raisi, head of the judiciary, is the current favourite to win Iran’s presidential election on 18 June. This 60-year-old traditionalist cleric is a close ally of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose confidence he has gained over the years by holding key positions of power.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