Gulf Region
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Marital traditions in the Islamic world
Marriage first, love later?
The number of arranged marriages in the Middle East and North Africa is decreasing. Matrimony between cousins is still widespread, but matches of this kind now account for at most a quarter of all weddings. A growing number of young people find their partners without mediation; marriage for love is their ideal. By Martina Sabra
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Oil and development in the Middle East
A two-edged sword
When poor countries started producing oil, they thought that was the key to economic growth and prosperity. Since then, the impact of resource wealth on producing countries has been the subject of endless debate. By Nassir Djafari
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Egypt's economic and fiscal crisis
Rescuing the sinking ship
Just last week, the Egyptian government and a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached a staff-level agreement about a 12 billion US-dollar loan package. Egypt hopes to restore confidence in its crippled economy and attract more investors. But is this deal the right answer for Egypt's economic problems? Sofian Philip Naceur talked to Amr Adly, a non-resident scholar of the Carnegie Middle East Center
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Egypt and the Arab Spring
Vive la resistance!
In the Arab world, even the smallest acts of resistance can give a sense of self-worth, encouraging a long-demoralised people to feel that change, after all, is possible. By Nael Shama
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Islamic law
The trust deficit
What the Middle East needs today is not Islamic law, but wide-ranging efforts to rebuild trust among and within communities and in private organisations and government. By Timur Kuran
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Saudi-Iranian rivalry
And the winner is...
A cold war is waging in one of the world′s hottest regions. A key component of the sectarian competition between Shia and Sunni Islam in the Middle East is geopolitical, with Iran facing off against Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies in a struggle for regional dominance. By Robert Harvey
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Interview with the Saudi author Alhanoof Aldegheishem
Traces of the unknown
The Saudi Arabian dentist Alhanoof Aldegheishem wrote her first novel ″Frāībūrġ. riqqatu l-cuzla″, which roughly translates as ′Freiburg – sweet loneliness′, during a long research residency in Germany. In it, she describes how her own perspective changed and developed through her exposure to a foreign culture and the challenges she faced along the way. Interview by Hussein Gaafar
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Gulf State economies
The expat bonus
How should policymakers in the Middle East′s Gulf States manage their countries′ large expatriate workforces? In Saudi Arabia, foreign nationals account for roughly one-third of the population. In Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, nine out of every ten residents is an expatriate. By Sami Mahroum
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Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum
Dubai′s fairytale prince
Dubai's Crown Prince is a star on Instagram. With some 3.5 million subscribers, he has long since overtaken royals such as Prince William and Kate. Moreover he emphasises Islamic values. Yet for all the glamour and posturing, there′s no denying that the Emirate keeps a tight rein on freedom of speech. By Mey Dudin
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The Reform Islam debate
Islam doesn′t need a Martin Luther!
Calls for an Islamic Reformation are issued in the wake of every Islamist act of terrorism. But Muslims don't need a Martin Luther. What is needed is a reconciliation of Islam with the constitutional state, says Loay Mudhoon
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Fashion for Muslim women
Modesty a la mode
The years-old debate about designing fashion for Muslim women who follow strict dress codes has re-ignited in France, raising the question of just what role, if any, European design houses have in a political debate. By Courtney Tenz
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Combatting violent extremism
Could Sufi Islam be the cure-all?
The world is in urgent need of a ″soft″ strategy when it comes to fighting radical Islamist ideology. Enter Sufi Islam which, argues Pakistan academic Syed Qamar Afzal Rizvi, can help us brave the challenges of curbing fanaticism, fundamentalism and violent extremism