Author: Andreas Pflitsch

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"Harun al Rashid receives envoys from Charlemagne, 786" by Julius Koeckert 1864 (owned by the Maximilianeum in Munich)

Caliphs and assassins

Between myth and reality

Although the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished in 1924, there remains a lasting fascination for this lost institution. The Tubingen Islamic studies scholar and historian Heinz Halm conducted meticulous research on the Fatimid caliphate in 11-12th century Egypt. Andreas Pflitsch read the bookMore

History of the Caliphate: We are all caliphs!Global history: Playing with the relativity of perspectivesIS cultural vandalism: A trail of destruction Germany's Ahmidiyya Muslims: Celebrating 100 years of the Caliphate
Taha Hussein (photo: Al Jazeera)

Taha Hussein and the democratisation of education in Egypt

The sea of knowledge

The Egyptian author Taha Hussein warned as long ago as the 1930s that the future of Egypt depended on reforming its education system. His book "The Future of Culture in Egypt" is a plea for an enlightened, democratic and Mediterranean Egypt. By Andreas PflitschMore

Al-Azhar and pan-Islamic rationalism: The demise of Islamic centres of moderationThe decline of Islamic scientific thought: Don't blame it on al-GhazaliInterview with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University: "What the Islamist armed movements are doing is wrong"Culture policy in Egypt: The soothing power of culture
Anti-Sarrazin demonstration in Potsdam in September 2010 (photo: imago/Christian Thiel)

Book review: Klaus J. Bade on Thilo Sarrazin

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Forget Sarrazin!

In 2010, the German politician and former member of the board of the Bundesbank Thilo Sarrazin, caused a nationwide uproar with his hugely controversial theories on intelligence, class, race, immigration and multiculturalism. The prominent migration specialist Klaus J. Bade has now written a book on the ensuing debate. According to Andreas Pflitsch, Bade's analysis is thorough, but he completely misses the essence of the matterMore

Thilo Sarrazin and His Comments on Muslims' Intelligence: The Joy of Despising OthersThilo Sarrazin: "Germany Is Abolshing Itself": Take Heed: the End is Nigh!Thilo Sarrazin and Muslim Migrants in Germany: Rejection of Parlour Racism
Laurent Fries's world map, which is based on the Waldseemüller map of 1513 (photo: Wikimedia commons)

Global history

Playing with the relativity of perspectives

A new six-volume work entitled "A History of the World" is the high point of a historiographical boom in the discipline known as "global history". The project attempts to overcome the eurocentrism of traditional writings of history. By Andreas PflitschMore

Global World War Research and the Middle East: "World History Is Historiography against the Grain"Tamim Ansary: "Destiny Disrupted": World History from an Islamic PerspectiveEdward Said's "Orientalism": The Orient beyond Cliché
Karl May as Kara Ben Nemsi (photo:CC, DW )

The 100th Anniversary of Karl May's Death

Literary Genius or Man of Legendary Hubris?

Karl May is the most widely read of all German writers. This year, which marks the 100th anniversary of his death, a number of new biographies seek to reconsider Karl May's place in German literary history. Andreas Pflitsch read two of themMore

Gertrude Bell's Orient Travels: Escape from the Tight Corset of the Modern AgeMax Baron of Oppenheim: An Encyclopedic Travelogue Free from the Arrogance of the TimeReligious Tourism in the Middle AgesBernahrd von Breydenbach's Pilgrimage to the Orient
Ulrich Kienzle (photo: Rudolf Simon)

Memoirs of Middle East Reporting

''Somebody had to go to Cairo''

The memoirs of former Middle East correspondent Ulrich Kienzle document how the spirit of optimism in the German media of the late 1960s and 1970s hooked up with the quixotic political idealism of the time. A review by Andreas PflitschMore

Journalism or Propaganda? Prejudice and Media Perception in the Middle EastAl Jazeera and Qatar: Accessories of the Arab SpringIslam and Western Media: Islam-Experts, Ten-a-Penny
Youssef Ziedan (photo: Doris Poblekowski)

Youssef Ziedan's Novel ''Azazeel''

In Case of Doubt, Choose Doubt

Youssef Ziedan's "Azazeel" was awarded the renowned Arab Booker Prize in 2009. Our reviewer Andreas Pflitsch says that this historical novel is a plea against religiously motivated violenceMore

Alaa al-Aswani's ''On the State of Egypt'': ''Democracy Is the Solution''Interview with the Saudi Arabian Writer Abdo Khal: The Discovery of Arabic Literature in the GulfChristians and Muslims in the New Egypt: Civil Society Instead of Confessionalism
Protest on Tahrir Square (photo: AP, dapd)

Alaa al-Aswani's "On the State of Egypt"

''Democracy Is the Solution''

A selection of columns published before the revolution by celebrated Egyptian writer Alaa al-Aswani show that even if the West was turning a blind eye to imminent political change in Egypt, many writers and intellectuals were making clear predictions of the seismic eruptions to come. By Andreas PflitschMore

Interview with Alaa Al Aswany: ''We're Still at the Beginning''Alaa al-Aswani: The Arab World's Literary Taboo-BreakerIn Dialogue: Khaled Al-Khamissi and Stefan Weidner on The Arab Spring
(photo: Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung im Hausarchiv des Bankhauses Sal. Oppenheim)

Max Baron of Oppenheim

An Encyclopedic Travelogue Free from the Arrogance of the Time

As diplomat and explorer, Max Baron of Oppenheim's knowledge of the Orient was exceptional for the time. His interest in the Arab world was unique as well in that it was free from condescension. A portrait by Andreas PflitschMore

The 100th Anniversary of Karl May's Death: Literary Genius or Man of Legendary Hubris?Topic: Travels in the Orient