Turkey
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The filming of Rumi
Everybody's darling
A Hollywood film project and a joint attempt by Iran and Turkey to register the principal works of the poet Rumi with the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list have recently caused political turmoil, above all, in Afghanistan. By Waslat Hasrat-Nazimi
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The Syrian Musicians′ Orchestra play Istanbul
Hosts of honour
This year, the opening night of the 23rd Istanbul Jazz Festival was in the hands of the Orchestra of Syrian Musicians. The move had symbolic power in a city that is currently home to more than 300,000 Syrian refugees. By Marian Brehmer
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Interview with the Turkish political scientist Baskin Oran
Erdogan's freedom of speech
In April President Erdogan called a group of academics that dared criticise the Turkish security forces′ offensive against Kurdish rebels ″vile″ and ″nauseating″. One of them, the political scientist Baskin Oran, is suing the Turkish President – for slander. Interview by Selcuk Caydi
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The Turkish-Kurdish conflict
Friend and foe
The Kurdish PKK and the Turkish government are both relying on a number of local and regional allies – in a conflict, inextricably linked to the war in Syria, which is likely to rumble on for years to come. An analysis by Cengiz Candar
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Turkey and the refugee deal
False friends forever
Germany is facing a crucial question. How can the refugees be stopped? Demonstrating an alarming lack of historical awareness, Chancellor Angela Merkel is putting all her faith in an alliance with Turkey. Yet as events of the early 20th century clearly showed, Germany should never make its political destiny dependent on co-operation with the nationalistic Turkish state. An essay by Stefan Buchen
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Ennahda – the new Muslim Democrats
A blessing for Tunisian democracy?
Widely regarded as Tunisia′s equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood back in 2011, Ennahda has moved a long way from its Islamist roots. Hans Dembowski assesses the latest developments
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Football fan protests in Turkey and Egypt
Closed ranks
Battles for control of stadiums and other public spaces in Turkey and Egypt have pitched militant football fans against authoritarian leaders. By James Dorsey
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Domestic violence against women in Turkey
″Don′t prevent divorce, prevent murder!″
The past few years have seen a huge increase in the number of women murdered in Turkey. There are also increasing reports of domestic violence. Those victims who report violence to the authorities, however, are often treated badly. By Ceyda Nurtsch
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The Reform Islam debate
Islam doesn′t need a Martin Luther!
Calls for an Islamic Reformation are issued in the wake of every Islamist act of terrorism. But Muslims don't need a Martin Luther. What is needed is a reconciliation of Islam with the constitutional state, says Loay Mudhoon
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Sykes-Picot and the role of Gertrude Bell
Midwife of the Middle East
The order of nation states in the Middle East has been disintegrating since Islamic State fighters overran the Syrian border in 2014 – a border that dates back to 1916 and a secret agreement between the diplomats Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot. Yet one woman also played a key role: the British national Gertrude Bell. Birgit Svensson visited her grave in Baghdad
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Interview with the Turkish author Baris Uygur
"Even we're lost for words sometimes"
With a circulation of around 80,000, ″Uykusuz″ is Turkey's most popular satirical magazine. Writer Baris Uygur is one of its publishers. Here he talks to Ceyda Nurtsch about satirical magazines in Turkey, getting around censorship regulations and the popularity of crime fiction
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Pew Research Center: Islam and national laws in the Muslim world