Michael Frey has written a fascinating book about the contemporary political thinker Nassif Nassar. Since 1967, Nassar has devoted his life’s work to the question of a fair social order both within and beyond Lebanon. Now Frey offers us the first introduction to his work in a European language. By Sonja HegasyMore

How is the relationship between science, philosophy and religion discussed in the Muslim world, beyond the well-known dictum that Islam rules its states and societies and therefore also determines its morality and aesthetics? A new series by Berlin-based publishers Klaus Schwarz addresses this question. By Sonja HegasyMore

The Pierre Boulez Hall of the new Barenboim-Said Akademie celebrated its grand opening in early March in the centre of Berlin. Sonja Hegasy attended the opening concertMore

Ahmed Mourad's new novel asks whether evil is an unavoidable route to good, and how much violence is necessary in the fight against the corrupt and the unscrupulous. Sonja Hegasy on a literary slice of Egyptian life before the revolutionMore

God's Horses was the only Arab entry in the "Un Certain Regard" section of this year's Cannes Film Festival. In it, the Moroccan film director Nabil Ayouch investigates the reasons why young people turn to terrorism. Sonja Hegasy went to see itMore

More than two decades after the end of the civil war and with fresh fears that the conflict could erupt again at any time, many people in Lebanon think it is still too soon to start trying to make sense of the country's history. Also, as Sonja Hegasy reports from Beirut, the upheaval in the region is having an effect on this debateMore

Voter turnout in Morocco's early parliamentary elections on 25 November is expected to be low. A major reason for this is widespread disaffection among the young, who feel ignored by existing parties. In its eyes, the establishment is nothing but a "façade democracy". By Sonja HegasyMore