Author: Thomas Latschan

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Naghme Abedini with her husband and children (photo: American Center for Law and Justice/AFP/Getty Images)

Christian minorities in Iran

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Iran's persecuted converts

The Iranian-American woman Naghme Abedini has been fighting for her husband's release from an Iranian jail for some time now. He is a Christian convert accused of founding "underground churches" in the Islamic Republic – institutions that are growing ever more popular in Iran. By Thomas LatschanMore

Turning away from Shia in Iran: ''A tsunami of atheism''Christians in the Middle East: Between co-existence and suppressionIran before the elections: Hunger strikes and love letters
Ilham Tohti (photo: picture-alliance/Frederic J. Brown/afp/dpa)

Profile: the Uighur civil rights activist Ilham Tohti

The moderate critic

Ilham Tohti, a well-known Uighur and a moderate critic of Beijing's policy towards the country's Muslim minority, was found guilty of "separatism" and sentenced to life in prison last September, despite the fact that he has always worked to improve relations between Uighurs and Han Chinese and is against breaking up the country. A profile by Thomas LatschanMore

The Uighurs' situation: An escalation of violence in XinjiangThe Chinese regime and the Uighurs: Colonialists in their own countryChina's Muslim minority: China's battle against the Uighurs
Ayatollah Khomeini arriving in Iran on 1 February 1979 (photo: Getty Images/Afp/Gabriel Duval)

Interview with Iran expert Bahman Nirumand

"Everyone believed Khomeini's promises"

Thirty-five years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile. Thomas Latschan spoke to the Iran expert Bahman Nirumand about Khomeini's role in the Islamic Revolution and his significance for modern-day IranMore

Nader Hashemi and Danny Postel's ''The People Reloaded'': The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran's FutureIran's Regime: A Permanent Legitimation CrisisInterview with Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi: The Secular Elements of the Islamic Republic
Michael Lüders (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Michael Lüders on the Sanctions on Iran

"The Objective Is Regime Change"

For years, the nuclear dispute between the West and Iran has been at a deadlock. In this interview with Thomas Latschan, Middle East expert Michael Lüders says that the West's main objective is not in fact to find a solution to the problem, but to stop Iran from being a power factor in the regionMore

Roxana Saberi: ''The Syrian Situation Is Sending a Message to the Iranians''Iran's Nuclear Programme: Tehran's Visions versus Nuclear RealitiesThe ''Israel Loves Iran'' Campaign: Iranians and Israelis Call for an End to Fear
The Community House in Jakarta (photo: DW)

The ''Community House'' in Jakarta

Education Gives Hope to Indonesian Slum Kids

Around one fourth of Jakarta's 18 million residents live in slums - among them, 1.5 million children. A European project is helping them climb out of poverty through education. By Thomas LatschanMore

Franz Magnis-Suseno: ''Every Religion Is Essentially Humanistic''Integrated Islamic Schools in Indonesia: Secular Subjects within a Religious Framework

In brief

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Most Recent Photo Essay

Umar is an indigenous former Protestant pastor who converted to Islam in the late 1990s and now acts as a mediator between local Christians and Muslims in San Christobal de las Casas, Chiapas. "Our religion is monotheistic," he said. "But we are not practicing a holy cult here"

The indigenous Muslims of Chiapas, Mexico

A trip to the indigenous Mayan heartland of Mexico shows how vital the Muslim community is in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. The southern state of Chiapas is home to hundreds of predominantly indigenous Tzotzil men and women, many of whom have converted to Islam from Catholic or other Christian denominations. By Edgard Garrido