Mashriq
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Interview with Egyptian Novelist Alaa al-Aswany
''Mubarak's Regime Remains Intact''
According to Egypt's renowned novelist Alaa al-Aswany, the Muslim Brothers' rule was a lesson for the country. "The idea of political Islam is now falling apart," al-Aswany asserts in this interview with Jannis Hagmann. But now, he warns, Mubarak's regime may try to take power again
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Egypt's Revolution at the Crossroads
A Battle That No One Can Win?
Egypt has been the scene of a series of tumultuous events since the start of demonstrations against the now-deposed President Morsi. The nation may well have entered one of the most dangerous periods in its recent history, says Mansura Eseddin
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Egypt after the Coup
Two Sides of the Same Coin
The renowned Lebanese journalist and writer Hazem Saghieh believes that the events of recent weeks in Egypt have shown that Arab societies are only capable of bringing forth military power and political Islam after all, and that the champions of democracy, on the other hand, are not a force to be taken seriously when the chips are down
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After the Ousting Mohammed Morsi
Egypt on the Brink of Collapse?
Following the military coup on 3 July, institutional order in Egypt is teetering on the brink while most of the country's political elite stand by and watch. Thomas Demmelhuber analyses the situation
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Interview with Amel Grami
''The Arab Revolutions Have Triggered A Male Identity Crisis''
The Arab revolutions are calling traditional gender roles into question. In this interview with Martina Sabra, Tunisian intellectual Amel Grami tells how strong women in Tunisia are resisting the Islamisation efforts of both the ruling Ennahda Party and the Salafists
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Interview with the Syrian Writer Rosa Yassin Hassan
Touched by Magic
Until a few months ago, Rosa Yassin Hassan was filing daily reports on the war in Syria in her blog, "Diary of the Syrian Revolution". Her accounts detailed both the suffering of civilians and the brutal acts committed by both the regime and the opposition. Persecuted by the regime, she fled to Germany in the autumn of 2012. Laura Overmeyer spoke to her
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No-fly Zone for Syria
Last Chance to End the Misery
The imposition of a no-fly zone in 1991 against the regime of Saddam Hussein worked wonders for Iraqi Kurdistan. Twenty years later, a no-fly zone in Libya led to resolution of the conflict there. Why shouldn't it also be tried in northern Syria? A commentary by Silke Mertins
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Interview with the Lebanese Artist Ghazi Kahwaji
''I Believe that Several Paths Lead to God''
The Lebanese artist and writer Ghazi Kahwaji sees the revival of Mediterranean humanism as a basis for intercultural dialogue between Arab and European societies. An interview by Aladdin Sarhan
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Islam in European Classical Music
As-salam alaykum Resounding from the Minaret
We cannot say precisely when the musical penetration of East and West began, but one thing is certain: composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and others could not resist the fascination of the Orient. Thus elements of Turkish music, Persian poetry and Arabic storytelling found their way straight to the heart of European culture. By Nadja Kayali
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The Aftermath of the Arab Spring
The Changing Map of Middle East Power
The eruption of the Arab revolts put power relations among Middle Eastern countries in a state of flux, and both winners and losers have emerged. But, given that the strengths and weaknesses of most of the actors are highly contingent, the regional balance of power remains highly fluid. By Volker Perthes
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Interview with Syrian Writer Nihad Sirees
On Literature's Honest Surrender
Syrian author Nihad Sirees has written seven novels and several plays and TV dramas. After increasing pressure from the Syrian government, Sirees left Aleppo in early 2012. Marcia Lynx Qualey met him at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair, just as he was leaving his exile in the US and moving to Egypt
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Lebanese Victims of Torture
Remembering Palmyra
They were abducted and tortured. Now they have taken to the stage: In "The German Chair", Lebanese survivors of Syrian jails recreate the horrors of the civil war in a play. By Jannis Hagmann