Iran
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Silent and moving images from Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami was a globally renowned film maker and photographer from Iran. His work was recognised at numerous international festivals.
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Interview with Hooria Mashhour
On the rebels′ blacklist
Fearing for her life in her home country, a former minister from Yemen applied to Germany for asylum. Now she′s working for the integration of refugees. Interview by Ali Almakhlafi
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Obituary: the Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami
Pioneering spirit
Acutely aware of the never-ending potential of the silver screen: the Iranian film directorr Abbas Kiarostami is dead. By Ekkehard Knorer
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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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150th anniversary of Friedrich Ruckert′s death
Forget Goethe, read Ruckert
One of Germany′s greatest poets died 150 years ago – and today, hardly anyone is familiar with him. But all those years ago, Friedrich Ruckert knew how to integrate refugees successfully. By Christoph Meyer
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Politics and economics in Iran
Pie in the sky
Four months after the historic nuclear deal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been left practically empty-handed. UN sanctions against Iran have been largely lifted, but those still in force are so complex that few financial institutions in Europe are daring to conduct any business with Tehran, where there is a growing sense of disappointment – leaving rich pickings for the radicals. By Ali Sadrzadeh
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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
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Saudi-US relations
Chilly diplomacy
Relations between the US and its long-term ally Saudi Arabia are at an historically low ebb. President Barack Obama′s recent visit to Saudi Arabia did little to improve the situation. Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, provides an analysis
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A report by Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar
″Pinning our hopes on a murderer″
When the news of repeated break-ins at her parents′ house reached Parastou Forouhar in January, the artist, who lives in Germany, travelled to Iran to deal with the situation in person. The house that had belonged to her parents, political activists Daryoush Forouhar and Parvaneh Eskandari, before they were murdered by the secret service, had been completely vandalised. An account by Parastou Forouhar
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Cultural rapprochement with Iran
Laden with promise
Following the historic Iran nuclear deal that was clinched in Vienna in July 2015 and the subsequent lifting of sanctions against Iran in mid-January 2016, Germany and Iran are now looking for ways to stimulate cultural dialogue and exchange between the two countries. Dorothea Grassmann talks to Ali Fathollah-Nejad
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Iranian feature film "Lantouri"
A society in close-up
Iranian film director Reze Dormishian's third film is a powerfully articulated indictment of some of his country's more dubious and controversial practices, such as the execution of children and adolescents, horrific acid attacks and retributive justice. By Rene Wildangel
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″Afro-Iran″ photo book
The Persian Gulf′s forgotten minority
For a long time, little was known about the Afro-Iranian minority in the Persian Gulf. German-Iranian photographer Mahdi Ehsaei has been documenting their lives in portraits – Marian Brehmer presents his book