Mashriq
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COVID-19 and fake news in the Middle East
Arabs find comfort in coronavirus conspiracy theories
In the Arab region, fake news relating to COVID-19 claims that people who have been cured "convert to Islam" or that "Muslims are immune" to the disease. Long-established conspiracy theories have a bearing on the rumours. Another contributing factor is that people have no faith in the authorities. By Mona Naggar
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On the death of Matthias Wagner, founder of the Oriental Summer Academy
Mecca of Arab music in south-western Germany
Musicians from Morocco to Iraq have been crossing paths at the Oriental Summer Academy in south-western Germany for ten years. Matthias Wagner, who founded and directed the academy, recently passed away after a brief serious illness at the age of 68. An obituary by Stefan Franzen
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Human Rights Film Festival Berlin
Lives in limbo
The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin has been held for the third time in 2020 under the patronage of Nadia Murad. In just a short time, this festival, which was initiated by the NGO Action Against Hunger, has evolved into a highlight in the German film calendar. By René Wildangel
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Freedom of speech in the Middle East
Arabs follow fake news, while the dream of progress dies
In the Arab world, freedom of opinion collides with a societal juggernaut that silences imagination with remarkable efficiency. Egyptian author and novelist Khaled al-Khamissi describes the mechanisms of repression in Arab society
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Emigrating from Lebanon
Traumatised Beirutis ready to "leave for good"
Since the violent explosion in Beirut in early August, Lebanon has found no peace. Ever more Lebanese want to leave the country. With her bags packed, Cindy Chemaly Cochrane says she no longer wants to live in fear. By Diana Hodali
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COVID-19 and terrorism
9/11, coronavirus – epochal events that force a re-think
This 11 September marked the nineteenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. The wide-ranging repercussions of those attacks in the years since 2001 are only just emerging. Throughout the coronavirus crisis, political patterns born of the era of terrorism continue to prevail. An essay by Stefan Weidner
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Interview with political scientist Tobias Zumbraegel
How are Middle East countries coping with climate change?
Climate change, water scarcity and declining oil revenues: the Middle East and North Africa face huge environmental challenges. Political scientist Tobias Zumbraegel has published a study on how the region is dealing with these pressing issues. Interview by Christopher Resch
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Muslim racism and imperialism
Power and exclusion
The outpouring of solidarity worldwide following the violent death of George Floyd should prompt us to step back and fundamentally question racist structures and privileges based on injustice – wherever they exist in the world. An essay by Tayfun Guttstadt
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16th Morgenland Festival Osnabruck
A virtual journey of sound across the Balkans
As a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the Osnabruck Morgenland Festival took place via YouTube for the first time – transporting us to new cultural regions through music. Marian Brehmer attended several of the virtual concerts
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Black Lives Matter in Egypt
The controversy surrounding racism – are Arabs racist?
The Arab world suffers from a system in which people are intolerant of "the other". This racist environment contributes to the growth of hostility and antagonism towards anyone who differs from our sense of what is "normal" or "conventional". By Khaled al-Khamissi
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Corruption in the Arab world
Why are most Arabs so prepared to trust the military?
Why do so many people in Arab countries trust the armed forces, even though most armies in the region are highly corrupt? Abdalhadi Alijla has the answers
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Interview with pioneering Islamic thinker Fehmi Jadaane
What is the essence of Islam, and does it need reforming?
Renowned Jordanian Islamic scholar Fehmi Jadaane vehemently objects to the transformation of Islam into an ideology. The religion ends up mired in a political swamp, he says, its message nothing more than an instrument of governance. Interview by Alia Al-Rabeo