Tunisia
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Ez-Zitouna University
Helping to shape Tunisia's religious future
After decades of secular state leadership, many Tunisians would like Islam to play a greater role in the social and political life of their country. Some feel that Islamic scholars at Ez-Zitouna University could take on the role of mediator in this process. Reporting from Tunis, Carolyn Wißing has the details
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North Africa and the Arab Spring in Film
Between Rebellion and Ideals
North African countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Algeria are currently experiencing a boom in cinema that is critical of society and committed to political change. Yet, every country follows its own path. By Aude Gensbittel
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"Women's Power in Arabic"
Long-overdue Confrontations
In his new book, the journalist Karim El-Gawhary gives a voice and a face to strong Arab women, while moving beyond the clichés and headscarf debates. Martina Sabra describes the book as multifaceted, revealing, entertaining, emotionally moving, and definitely worth reading
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Journalism from the Middle East
Tall Tales from the Desert
A blogging Syrian lesbian, Libyan soldiers in a Viagra-fuelled frenzy, Tunisian women on a sexual Jihad: The blend of sex, Islam and war is failsafe bait for western media, which often fall for propaganda from the Middle East. Not all of the stories are hoaxes, but many of them are. By Sonja Zekri in Cairo
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Libya's Border Triangle
Trouble Looming
The EU is supporting Libyan border security troops near Ghadames, but local members of the military complain of unclear structures and insufficient equipment. They put the blame on the government in Tripoli. Valerie Stocker reports
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Essay by Dani Rodrik
The Problem is Authoritarianism, Not Islam
Is Islam fundamentally incompatible with democracy? Time and again events compel us to ask this question. And yet it is a question that obscures more than it illuminates. An essay by Dani Rodrik
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Interview with Nacer Khemir
Islam as a Culture of Reconciliation
Tunisian film-maker and visual artist Nacer Khemir criticises the cultural inertia, which he feels was caused by decades of dictatorship, and the growing religious fervour gripping his country. He spoke to Christina Omlin
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The Arab Spring in Historical Perspective
Revolutions Take Time
Analysts have gleefully declared the Arab Spring to have failed. What they don't understand however, is that fundamental societal changes don't occur over night. In her essay, Ingrid Thurner pleads for more time for the Arab Spring
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Revolutionary Films in the Arab World
Taking Stock
What is the significance of film during and after revolutions? In recent years, many films have been made in Egypt and Tunisia, although the viewpoints of the filmmakers could hardly be more different. By Irit Neidhardt
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Interview with Habib Selmi
"Tunisians Are Mature Enough"
The renowned Tunisian author and journalist Habib Selmi talks with Volker Kaminski about his most recent literary work and about the difficult situation of writers and artists in his homeland
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Open Letter to Europe
"Tunisia Needs Help!"
In an open letter to José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the well-known Tunisian journalist Soufiane Chourabi appeals to the EU to put pressure on Tunisia’s government because it tolerates the attacks by fundamentalist Islamic groups on Tunisians’ personal freedoms
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Commentary by Daoud Kuttab
An Arab "Third Way"
Throughout the post-colonial period, Arab countries have consistently failed to produce an efficient – let alone democratic – system of government. Now, after a half-century of competition between military or royal dictatorships and militant Islamist regimes, many Arabs are again seeking a "third way"