Europe
All countries-
Averroes' Enlightenment legacy
An intellectual earthquake
Koert Debeuf, director of The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy posits that it is high time the West revised the exclusionary narrative of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and restored the historical truth to its rightful place
-
Exhibition: "Jews, Christians and Muslims" in Berlin
Dispelling myths
The Berlin exhibition "Jews, Christians and Muslims: Scientific Discourse in the Middle Ages 500–1500" shows the circuitous routes by which knowledge made its way around the medieval world while dismantling the theory of a Judeo-Christian Europe. By Gustav Seibt
-
″Christmas and the Qu′ran″
When love comes down
″Christmas and the Qu′ran″, Karl-Josef Kuschel′s scholarly examination of the Christmas story in the light of the New Testament and the Koran, digs deep to deliver a message of hope. Lucy James read the book
-
Pew Research Center study
Islam does not stand in antithesis to the West
A study by the Washington-based Pew Research Center says the number of Muslims living in Europe is set to increase. But this is no reason to conjure up the spectre of an Islamisation of the West, says Loay Mudhoon
-
The left-wing/right-wing alliance of Assad apologists
Disenchantment with the West?
Why do left- and right-wingers in Germany defend Assad′s tyranny? Gunther Orth has some answers
-
Non-fiction: Pankaj Mishra's "Age of Anger"
The embittered majority
In his book "Age of Anger: the history of the present" the Indian author Pankaj Mishra sees global distortions as the result of a birth defect in European modernity. Stefan Weidner read the book
-
Music festival on the Greek island of Chios
Opportunities for reflection
An inspirational idea from a violinist and a composer has led to the establishment of a new music festival on the Greek island of Chios. Their idea is to help build bridges between refugees and islanders – and maybe make the hard winter a little easier to bear. By Astrid Kaminski
-
Germany’s identity crisis
We are the people, too
Within two years, the rise of the AfD has caused a backlash in German discourse that Angela Merkel, fearing the loss of conservative voters to the right, has proved incapable of quelling. As the new German parliament reconvenes, it remains to be seen whose votes are worth more, writes Jagoda Marinic
-
Tayeb Salih′s ″Season of Migration to the North″
A literary hall of mirrors
Described as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century by the Arab Literary Academy, Tayeb Salih's ″Season of Migration to the North″ was first published in 1966. For this year′s Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize Lecture, Professor Robert Irwin reflected on Salih′s unique mode of engaging with Western culture and the counternarrative he provides to post-colonial discourse. By Valentina Viene
-
White terrorism
Murder on their minds
Islamist terror attacks often provoke loud, knee-jerk responses from politicians and the media alike. Yet when the attacker is not Muslim, they fall over themselves to downplay the situation. By Michael Thumann
-
Book review: ″Refugees Worldwide: Literary Reportage″
Hierarchies of the destitute
The fourteen essays featured in ″Refugees Worldwide: Literary Reportage″ delve deep into the nature of refugee status, charting uniquely individual lives and deconstructing the sense of a collective identity. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the book
-
Interview with Pakistani American actress Aizzah Fatima
"Human, flawed and funny"
Actor and writer Aizzah Fatima made waves in 2014 with her provocative play "Dirty Paki Lingerie" which explored what it meant to be a Muslim in the post 9/11 world. Fatima spoke to Roma Rajpal Weiss on her upcoming work – "The Art of Hijab, Kohl Black and The Right Way To Pray", a play that engages with the stigmatisation of hijab-wearing Muslim women in the Western world