Maghreb

Country: Maghreb

Cover and e-book edition of Ofer Grosbard's "The Holy Quran for Educating the Child" in English, Arabic and Hebrew (source: quranet.net)

Interview with Quranet founder Ofer Grosbard

Parenting according to the Koran

At the suggestion of his Arab students, Israeli psychologist Ofer Grosbard created the project "Quranet", which uses texts from the Koran to solve educational problems in schools and families. More than ten years after its inception, the project is now attracting attention in the Arab world. Interview by Claudia MendeMore

"Quranet" website Ofer Grosbard and his "Quranet" project: The therapeutic verses of the Koran Islam and psychoanalysis: A tale of mutual ignorance

African migrants off the Libyan coast on 27.01.2018 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Standing at the gate

How Libyans see Europe

Libyans have mixed feelings about the EU. On the one hand, they admire what Europeans have achieved, but on the other, they feel let down. Moutaz and Walid Ali report from TripoliMore

Refugee camps in Libya: Guilty of torture and rape by association – Europeʹs dirty secret Libya's Tawergha people barred from return: Collective punishment Libyan civil war: EU divisions over Libya leave a gap for others

Algerians protesting the election of Tebboune as the new President of Algeria on 13.12.2019 (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Arab Spring 2.0

The Middle East's fearless protesters

The upheavals of the past year in the MENA region are arguably as momentous as those of the Arab Spring in 2011. Yet perhaps the biggest difference is that our interest seems to have evaporated. Why? Essay by Jannis HagmannMore

Interview with the Moroccan thinker Hassan Aourid: Democracy cannot be stopped Unrest in the Arab world: The genie is out of the bottle Military dictatorships in the Middle East: The real enemies of the Arab Spring

Palestinian studies the Koran in Khan Younis (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

The Prophet and Sharia

Islamic family law reform – a question of interpretation

Equality in divorce, a ban on polygamy: reformers of Islamic family law have a clear agenda. They are exploiting the ambiguity of traditional jurisprudence. By Joseph CroitoruMore

Marriage, divorce and inheritance: Who should reform Egypt's personal status law, and how?Women's rights in Morocco: Gender equality on paper only Book review: Zahra Ali's "Islamic Feminisms": Female emancipation based on the spirit of Sharia

Moroccan political scientist Hassan Aourid (photo: private)

Interview with the Moroccan thinker Hassan Aourid

Democracy cannot be stopped

Hassan Aourid is one of the most important political and intellectual figures in Morocco. In interview with Ismail Azzam for Qantara, Aourid outlines his vision of the decline of political Islam and the future of democracy and human rights in the MaghrebMore

Indigenous rights in the Maghreb: An uphill struggle for Tunisiaʹs Amazigh Morocco′s Amazigh: The long road to recognition Unrest in the Arab world: The genie is out of the bottle

Hamid Dabashi, professor at Columbia University, New York (photo: hamiddabashi.com)

Interview with Hamid Dabashi

Europe’s coloniality persists after the fall of empire

An interview with the Iranian-American historian and cultural philosopher Hamid Dabashi about writing, Europe's past and present, right-wing populism and the Arab uprisings. By Tugrul MendeMore

Interview with Hamid Dabashi: ''Another people now Is re-defining the Idea of democracy''Iran and Saudi Arabia: A plea for Islamic tolerance Father of post-colonial studies: Edward Said – exiled between cultures

Morocco's teachers demonstrate for better working conditions on 24.03.2019 in Rabat (photo: Reuters)

Democracy and human rights

Morocco's police state makes a comeback

Morocco's rule of law, human rights and freedom of the press are under attack. According to political scientist Mohamed Taifouri, although the 2011 constitution includes a large number of freedoms, the state repression that was thought to have been overcome is making a comebackMore

Morocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fire Moroccoʹs treatment of Hirak El-Shaabi: Fair trial? Fat chance Reform in Morocco: Sapping the political will

Journalist and author Charlotte Wiedemann (photo: DW)

Charlotte Wiedemann: "Now is the time for utopias"

The end of white dominance

In her latest book – "Der lange Abschied von der weissen Dominanz" – recently published in German, journalist Charlotte Wiedemann describes the upheaval in our changing, multi-polar world with startling clarity. By Christopher ReschMore

Western news coverage: The white perspective Germanyʹs Islam debate: The need to meet Islam critics head on Interview with Islamic scholar Stefan Weidner: Thinking outside the Western box

Tomb of the Persion poet Hafez in Shiraz, Iran (source: Wikimedia)

Book review: Stefan Weidner's ʺ1001 Books. The Literatures of the Orientʺ

The Middle East – a rich vein of world literature

Recently published in German, Stefan Weidner's new book issues an invitation to all those who would like to be better acquainted with the literature of the Middle East – a profoundly fascinating journey through the works of Arab, Persian and Turkish authors. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Goethe anniversary: Orient and Occident Goethe and the Orient: Why did the poet's mind wander to far-off climes?Translations of classical Islamic literature: From the emotional Orient to the distortion of Islam

Symbolic image of anti-Muslim racism (photo: Imago/P. Endig)

An enduring stereotype

The West's gleeful obsession with the 'oppressed Arab woman'

The stereotype of the oppressed Arab woman continues to dominate public discourse throughout Europe. Not only is this skewed image altering the perception of changing notions of family and roles within the Arab world, it is also an expression of our own cultural insecurity, writes Claudia MendeMore

Women′s rights in the Arab world: The key to change Women in Turkey: The headscarf is slipping Gender equality in the Middle East: To the benefit of all

First edition of the West-Eastern Divan (photo: Goethe Museum in Dusseldorf

Goethe anniversary

Orient and Occident

Two hundred years of the "West-Eastern Divan": "North and West and South shatter, thrones burst and empires tremble" – why Islam is part of German literature. By Heinrich DeteringMore

Goethe and the Orient: Why did the , true to the writer's motto of "Crush infamy!", , true to the writer's motto of "Crush infamy!", poet's mind wander to far-off climes?Translations of classical Islamic literature: From the emotional Orient to the distortion of Islam Johann Gottfried Herder and the Orient: Faith as silent spirituality

Great guys, one and all? Front row, from left to right: Zine el-Abidine Ben-Ali next to Ali Abdullah Saleh, Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak (photo: dpa)

Revenge is not the answer!

Prosecuting tyranny in the Arab world

In the wake of the Arab Spring, not one Arab dictator has faced charges for creating a police state and inducing terror among citizens. Similarly, none has been prosecuted for destroying state institutions, the essentials of citizenship, or the means of social advancement. Analysis by Shafiq Nazim GhabraMore

Tyranny in the Islamic world: Keeping the tribe alive The decline of humanism in the Arab world: With an iron fist Military dictatorships in the Middle East: The real enemies of the Arab Spring

Security forces try to disperse protesting teachers in Rabat (photo: picture-alliance/AP Images/M. Elshamy)

Relations between the EU and Morocco

The stability myth

The EU's relationship with the Moroccan government reinforces the political status quo at a time when a growing number of Moroccans appear to want change. By Chloe TeevanMore

Qantara dossier: Morocco Franceʹs new Mediterranean initiative: A G10 summit marked by pragmatism EU and the Maghreb: Fair trade for a level playing field Migration from Africa: Upholding migrant human rights

Grace 1, the tanker seized in early July by British Royal Marines off the coast of Gibraltar (photo: Reuters/J. Nazca)

Europe's policies in the Middle East

Late-colonial convulsions

The UK has stopped an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar. Italy and France are supporting opposing parties at war in Libya. Germany has other priorities. Europe is doing almost exactly what it did 100 years ago. An essay by Stefan BuchenMore

Western involvement in the Middle East: A rotten legacy The crisis of the Arab nation state: Reconstructed reality 100 years of Sykes-Picot: "A tapestry of plans and promises"The end of Sykes-Picot?: "The end of the Middle East, as we know it"Sykes-Picot and the role of Gertrude Bell: Midwife of the Middle East

Postcard showing the Hotel Majestic in Tunis in the 1930s (source: Wikipedia)

Book review: Daniel Speck's "Piccola Sicilia"

Little Sicily in North Africa

With "Piccola Sicilia", Daniel Speck proves himself to be a great storyteller and intercultural bridge builder. This family saga also spotlights a little-known chapter of Tunisian history: the German occupation of the country in 1942/1943 and the fate of Tunisia's Jews. By Martina SabraMore

The Jewish community in Tunisia: "Everything is ok; we don't have any problems"Book review: Cecile Oumhaniʹs "Tunisian Yankee": Life is elsewhere Muslims who saved Jews during World War II: The forgotten Schindlers

Protest in Tunis in spring 2012 against the conservative Islamic Ennahda party (photo: Aya Chebbi)

Women's rights in the Middle East

Feminists in Tunisia claim civic space

In 2011, the Tunisian people overthrew their authoritarian regime after decades of oppression. The fact that women were at the forefront of this movement was soon noticed by the international community, challenging the widespread preconception of a region devoid of womenʹs activism. By Aya ChebbiMore

Islam and women's rights in Tunisia: Equality in danger Qantara dossier: "Women in the Islamic world"Souad Abderrahim: Mayor of Tunis: The "Sheikha", the city and its problems

Country: Maghreb

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