Syria always ranks close to the bottom of the Press Freedom Index published annually by the organisation "Reporters Without Borders". And as Mona Naggar reports, the Ba'ath regime has stepped up censorship and persecution in response to recent protests in the countryMore
Relations between Iran and its Arab neighbours have reached an all time low following the military intervention by the Arab Gulf states in Bahrain. But, warns Lebanese political scientist Khattar Abou Diab, it is unlikely that tensions can be contained at the diplomatic level should any further escalation occur. He talks here to Tarek AnegayMore
No matter what the content of the book – covers of Arab female authors's published in Europe and the US will always be graced with a veiled woman. In this article, Jordania-British author Fadia Faqir relates her experiences and curious findingsMore
The Assad clan rules Syria with no restrictions. And now the anti-reformist hardliners have apparently gained the upper hand in the family assembly. They include Maher al-Assad, the brother of the President, feared for his acts of brutality against members of the opposition. By Rudolph ChimelliMore
Baghdad's only music school was destroyed in 2003. Any budding Iraqi musician who wants to learn an instrument has to use the Internet or find a teacher – neither of which is easy in Iraq. But a group of young musicians has not allowed itself to be deterred by such hurdles and has set up an orchestra, which they see as a symbol of peace. Gudrun Stegen reportsMore
Mubarak may be gone, but the remaining elites will try to use his structural and political heritage to suit themselves, ensuring that Egypt's road to democracy will be a difficult and open-ended one. By Thomas DemmelhuberMore
Behind a suffocating political system and inquisitive cliches, Iranian youth dream of a break with the system while proudly defending their culture. By Gwenvaël Engel
The German Islam Scholar Lamya Kaddor
Why I as a Muslim Woman Don't Wear a Headscarf
Jordan and the influx of refugees
The true Samaritans
Muslims in Liberal Democracies
Why the West Fears Islam
The decline of Islamic scientific thought
Don't blame it on al-Ghazali
The Media and ''The Innocence of Muslims''
Against the Islamisation of Muslims
Turning away from Shia in Iran
''A Tsunami of Atheism''