Author: Diana Hodali

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Andre Bank, acting director of the GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies in Hamburg (photo: private)

Interview with Middle East expert Andre Bank

"Jordan consistently hedges its bets"

Many of King Abdullah II's regional policies are unpopular with Jordanians because they are perceived to be selling out Arab interests. In an interview with Diana Hodali, Middle East expert Andre Bank explains why this is soMore

Protests in Jordan: "The status quo has to go"Arab protest movements: The brief Jordanian springInterview with Rami G. Khouri: Fragmentation of the Arab world
Destruction in Homs Old Town, Central Syria (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Rebuilding Syria

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Who should foot the bill for Assad?

Though the war in Syria continues, President Bashar Assad and his allies are already planning reconstruction efforts. Russia is demanding money from the rest of Europe. Should Germany contribute? By Diana HodaliMore

Syria's Kurds reel from U.S. move while Assad plans his next stepReconstruction in Syria: The next battlegroundReconstruction of Aleppo: ″Others destroy and we rebuild″
Guido Steinberg, Saudi Arabia expert with Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) (source: DW)

Interview with Middle East expert Guido Steinberg

No one wants conflict with Saudi Arabia

Even though the case of the disappeared Saudi journalist Khashoggi weighs heavily, no government is prepared to risk open conflict with the Saudis. Meanwhile, the concerns of dissidents who have fled their authoritarian countries of origin to the West are growing. By Diana HodaliMore

Turkish police found evidence of Khashoggi slayingWestern diplomacy in crisis: What to do about Khashoggi?Missing Khashoggi had big plans for his troubled region
Hafida Khatib in her flat in the Palestinian refugee camp Burj el-Barajneh, Lebanon (photo: Diana Hodali/DW)

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

"I've never forgotten Palestine"

In May 1948, Israel declared its independence. Palestinians such as Hafida Khatib refer to this moment as the "Nakba" (catastrophe). Hafida and her family fled to Lebanon, a country that has never felt like home. Diana Hodali reports from Burj el-Barajneh south of BeirutMore

Palestinians in purgatory: Eternally displacedThe Palestinian Nakba of 1948: An objective delineation of eventsPhoto gallery: Remembering JaffaPhoto gallery: The Palestinian Nakba of 1948
Bombarded and besieged, the Syrian town of Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus (photo: picture-alliance)

Interview with Kristin Helberg on the Syria conflict

Boundless cynicism

In conversation with Diana Hodali, Syria expert Kristin Helberg is critical of the fact that although the Europeans may be ready to take part in a military intervention in the Syrian conflict without a UN mandate if necessary, they insist on a UN mandate when it concerns the protection of civiliansMore

Syria: The voice from the hospital basement in East GhoutaSyria’s White Helmets: Stigmatising saviours Civil war in Syria: Fighting the jihadists with unusual weapons
Salim Tamari, director of the Institute for Jerusalem Studies, editor of the Jerusalem Quarterly and associate professor of sociology at Birzeit University (source: Living Jerusalem Project)

Palestinian sociologist Salim Tamari on the Six-Day War

"People became hostages of the annexation"

The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, which began with the Six-Day War in June 1967, changed the lives of millions of Palestinians. Sociologist Salim Tamari talked to Diana Hodali about what they experiencedMore

Trump, Abbas and the Middle East conflict: Rose-tinted posturingInterview with Lutheran pastor Mitri Raheb: ″Till we have a fair peace″Interview with Palestinian American writer Susan Abulhawa: ″Literature is a facet of society″
Salafists praying on Potsdam Square in Berlin (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Interview with Islam researcher Nina Kasehage

"Not all jihadists are the same"

Nina Kasehage has conducted 175 interviews with Salafists across Europe. This has given her a deep insight into their lifestyle and way of thinking. She finds it regrettable that the whole group gets tarred with the same extremist brush. Interview by Diana HodaliMore

Interview with the Islamic theologian Hamideh Mohagheghi: We need to talkWahhabism and Salafism: Shared foundation – different methodsRaising awareness about Salafism in German schools: Symbolic acts alone are not enoughCountering radicalisation with '180° turn': Together we are strong
The Syrian refugee Alaa Houd (photo: DW/Claudia Dehn)

One Syrian refugee’s story

″I could no longer live in Syria″

Syrian refugee Alaa Houd left his job and family and hired people smugglers to make his way to the wealthy countries of Western Europe. Hiring people smugglers was his only way of leaving war-torn Syria. Diana Hodali spoke to Syrian Alaa Houd and recounts his story for himMore

Portrait of the refugee helper Father Zerai: "All these people want is a chance"Refugee crisis in Europe: The price of European indifferenceJordan and the influx of refugees: The true Samaritans
Uri Avnery (photo: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images)

Interview with the Israeli Peace Activist Uri Avnery

''Israel Needs Peace, Not Settlements''

Despite growing international criticism, Israel is pressing ahead with the construction of new settlements in and around Jerusalem. In this interview with Diana Hodali, peace activist Uri Avnery says that the current Israeli government does not actually want a two-state solution, regardless of what it saysMore

Interview with Uri Avnery: ''Israel Was Also Proclaimed Unilaterally''Commentary by Daniel Barenboim: Perhaps the Last ChanceInterview with Sari Nusseibeh: A Virtual State Called Palestine
Uri Avnery (photo: AP)

Interview with Uri Avnery

''Israel Was Also Proclaimed Unilaterally''

The Palestinian leadership wants the United Nations to recognise it as an independent state. In an interview with Diana Hodali, the well-known Israeli human rights activist Uri Avnery says this could finally lead to some progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflictMore

In brief

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Most Recent Photo Essay

A woman stands in Sheikh Lotfallah mosque in Isfahan, Iran. This mosque is a true masterpiece of architecture and refinement. It was built between 1602 and 1619 during the Safavid Empire. The decorative detail is breathtaking

Around the world of Islam

For more than 10 years, Pascal Mannaerts has been travelling the globe as a freelance photographer. Seeking to do justice to the beauty, elegance and grace of Islamic monuments, he has compiled a selection of his favourite shots taken in Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East.