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Goethe′s fascination with the "Thousand and One Nights"
Mephistopheles spoke; Scheherazade beguiled
To date, critical studies of Faust have given little consideration to its Oriental elements, in particular the fables from the "Thousand and One Nights". Goethe′s fascination with the famous storyteller Scheherazade, and his adoption of her narrative techniques and themes, has been underestimated. By Melanie Christina Mohr
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Popular unrest in the Middle East
Who says popular demand for change is off the agenda?
Recent protests in Beirut against government corruption and incompetence highlight a growing revival of non-violent dissent across the Middle East and North Africa. As well as an end to corruption, protesters in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon have been taking to the streets demanding improvement in basic public services such as waste management, accountability and transparency. By James M. Dorsey
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Jihadism
Islamic State's perversion of "Hijra"
"Hijra" – originally the peaceful migration of Muslims to countries where they would be spared persecution – has been hijacked by the militants. Now it is serving to radicalise and recruit Muslims around the globe. By Rebecca Gould
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Werner Herzog′s epic ″Queen of the Desert″
Hackneyed melodrama
"Queen of the Desert″ tells the life-story of eccentric explorer Gertrude Bell. This well-bred Englishwoman was drawn to the Middle East at the turn of the last century. It’s the first time that Werner Herzog has made a female character the main focus of one of his films. The result is disappointing. By Jochen Kürten
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Interview with Rachid Boutayeb and Michael Roes
A trans-cultural dialogue on enlightenment
Writers Rachid Boutayeb and Michael Roes demonstrate how inter-cultural dialogue can be conducted without relinquishing the claim to enlightenment. Their debate has been published in German and in book form by publishing company Alibri and is entitled "Der eifersuchtige Gott" (The Jealous God). Martin Bauer spoke to both authors about origins, foreignness and their shared interest in enlightenment
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Media portrayals and geopolitics in the Near and Middle East
Who shapes our image of the world?
In this commentary, Charlotte Wiedemann considers how press freedom and the media are tethered to Western geopolitics
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Strategies for combating fundamentalist ideologies
Reviving Islam's enlightenment
In 1877, the great French novelist Victor Hugo wrote, "Invading armies can be resisted; invading ideas cannot be." Nowadays, the power of ideas, for good or for evil, is something we need to take into account, particularly in contemplating Islamic radicalism. By Daniel Chirot and Scott L. Montgomery
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Nabil Ayouch's film "Much Loved"
Sinner or saint?
Screenings of Nabil Ayouch's new film "Much Loved" have been banned in Morocco. Described as "an insult to all Moroccan women", the drama focuses on the lives of three prostitutes in Marrakech. It was a big hit at this year's Munich Filmfest. By Susan Vahabzadeh
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Mona Eltahawy: "Why do you hate us so?"
The Middle East needs a sexual revolution
As long as there is no true revolution, women in Islamic countries will remain second-class citizens, believes the controversial Egyptian journalist Mona Eltahawy. Claudia Kramatschek introduces her recent book
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Interview with Alaya Allani, an expert on Islamism
"The jihadists have no social base in Libya"
Alaya Allani, professor of contemporary history at the Monouba University in Tunis and a specialist on Islamist movements, does not expect that the IS terrorist militia will be able to establish itself in Libya over the long-term, although the jihadists have already successfully formed cells in some regions of the country. Beat Stauffer spoke to him in Tunis
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Shukri al-Mabkhout's novel "The Italian"
Failure in the police state
"The Italian", the debut novel by Tunisian writer Shukri al-Mabkhout, lays bare the mechanisms of control and censorship in operation during the Ben Ali era. It is a worthy winner of this year's "Arab Booker" prize, says Günther Orth.
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Migration and xenophobia
Europe's refugee problem, then and now
This is not the first time that Europe has faced a wave of desparate refugees. Nor is it the first time that its response has left a lot to be desired. According to Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the continent should recall its past when considering how to deal with the people who are willing to risk everything crossing the Mediterranean to reach its shores