Topic: Ramadan

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Symbols of Judaism, Islam and Christianity at Haifa's Holiday of Holidays (photo: Noam Yatsiv)

Haifa's Holiday of Holidays

The festival where everyone is welcome

Haifa is known for being Israel’s exemplary model of relative harmony between Jewish and Palestinian citizens. Its unique "Holiday of Holidays" is a joyous, multicultural event that has become a major player in domestic tourism. After a two-year break due to the pandemic, Noam Yatsiv writes from this year's festivalMore

Jaffaʹs Arabic-Hebrew theatre: Model for a democratic, secular IsraelRabbi Elhanan Miller on interfaith dialogue: "People of the Book" brings Jews and Muslims togetherInterview with Israeli philosopher Omri Boehm: The Haifa Republic – full equality for Middle East peaceArabs and Jews in Israel: You can't tear us apart
The Egyptian series "El-Ekhteyar 2" was created by a production company with close ties to the military - and promotes a narrative to match (photo: ON TV)

Mass propaganda in Egypt

"El-Ekhteyar 2" – twisting the facts for President Sisi

The Egyptian series "El-Ekhteyar 2" was created by a production company with close ties to the military – and pursues a corresponding narrative. Moritz Baumstieger explains how the series, which was broadcast in time for Ramadan, takes its own unique approach to historical factsMore

Social utopia on the Nile? Sisiʹs new breed of EgyptiansEgyptʹs political future: Generalissimo SisiSisi regime propaganda: Egypt's people – nothing but a burden and a nuisanceThe role of film-makers in the new Egypt: Revolution on screen
Scene from the Moinuddin Chishti Sufi shrine complex in Ajmer, northern India (photo: Marian Brehmer)

The alchemy of fasting

Ramadan – a feast for spirit and soul

In Islamic mysticism, Ramadan is more than just a period of prescribed abstinence, signifying an opportunity for inner contemplation. Marian Brehmer explores the spiritual dimensions of the month of fasting against the background of SufismMore

Sufism: A soft form of Islam?Qantara photo essay: Ramadan during coronvirusSufism in Iran: Finding joy in times of troubleQantara photo essay: Ramadan – Enlightenment and commerce
Ramadan under coronavirus in Europe: Instead of praying in a mosque many Muslims are spending the holy month praying at home (photo: Future Image/Iimago images)

COVID-19 rages on

Muslims begin Ramadan 2021 under the shadow of coronavirus

Surging coronavirus cases in many parts of the world have overshadowed the start of this year's Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with festivities once again curtailed by contagion fears.More

Iran orders 10-day shutdown amid fourth wave of coronavirus pandemicCoronavirus in the Middle East: Rumours of vaccine tourism in Dubai unfounded – for nowEgypt plays politics with poverty: President Sisi’s COVID-19 divisive vaccine strategyCOVID-19 pandemic: Ramadan 2020 during coronavirus – with a virtual community
Turkish soaps conquer the Arab world. "1001 Nights" is one of the Turkish dizis (photo: Tmc Film)

Turkey's handle on soft power

Hit TV series from Turkey conquer the Arab world

Televised Turkish dramas are all the rage in the Middle East. A young Ottoman TV Empire has been expanding its soft power by harnessing regional dialects, Arabic names and viewers' desire for racy-yet-traditional plots. By Jennifer HolleisMore

Islamic popular culture: A match for Bollywood – the rise of Turkey's dizisErdogan and Turkish foreign policy: Neo-Ottoman rumblingsTurkeyʹs Middle East exiles: Istanbul – the Arab worldʹs beacon on the BosphorusQantara dossier: Turkish cinema
A fence at the closed border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Valeriy Melnikov)

Arab states

Pandemic shines a light on the Gulf's three-way split

With Ramadan over and coronavirus hopefully on the wane, Bader Al-Saif takes a look at how divisions dating back to the June 2017 blockade of Qatar shaped the region's contrasting approaches to political messaging and public health in a time of both crisis and observanceMore

Qatar′s political isolation: The latest scapegoatImpact of COVID-19 on Saudi Arabia: Shaking the House of Saud to the coreCOVID-19 pandemic: Ramadan during coronavirus – with a virtual community
Ramadan in Sri Lanka (photo: Reuters/D. Liyanawatte)

Ramadan during coronavirus

Whatever you believe, faith can help in troubled times. But what happens when mosques close, when places of worship no longer offer a place to go? During the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world have found ways of coping with the situation. More...More

Pyramids at Giza bear the message "Stay Home" on 18.04.2020 (photo: picture-alliance/Xinhua/A. Gomaa)

COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus takes no account of Ramadan

According to the latest Reuters tally, more than 2.54 million people are now reported to have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 177,004 have died. As Muslims prepare for a very different Ramadan this year, here are the latest developments from across the regionMore

Muslims and the COVID-19 pandemic: Pilgrims in times of coronavirusCOVID-19 pandemic: Ramadan during coronavirus – with a virtual communityCOVID-19 pandemic: A golden opportunity for Middle East autocrats?
Symbolic image of Muslims breaking the fast during Ramadan (photo: DW)

COVID-19 pandemic

Ramadan during coronavirus – with a virtual community

Ramadan begins this week even as the coronavirus pandemic up-ends life around the world. The crisis is forcing Muslims to re-think traditions and find new approaches to one of Islam's most important religious rituals. By Siham Ouchtou and Kersten KnippMore

In shadow of coronavirus, Muslims face a Ramadan like never beforeMiddle East braces for bleak Ramadan as coronavirus threat lingersCOVID-19 in North Africa: Corona proactivity in Tunisia, trivialisation in Egypt
Anti-government protests in Algiers (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Popular uprisings in the Islamic world

Algiers, Khartoum… that trembling moment

In the midst of palpable political fatigue in Europe, it does good to look to Algiers and Khartoum, where for the past several weeks hundreds of thousands of citizens have been fighting on the public stage for self-empowerment. By Charlotte WiedemannMore

Authoritarian rule in the Arab world: Nurturing the Arabellion phoenix After the ousting of Omar al-Bashir: Sudan holding out for real changeElias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir Square
Islamic scholar Peter Heine (source: Klaus Wagenbach Verlag)

Book review: Peter Heineʹs "The Culinary Crescent"

Pepper... a universally-used condiment

Delving into Peter Heine's cookbook, now also available in English, you are left with the feeling that he bit off more than he could chew. "The Culinary Crescent" reads like a mishmash of a thousand and one culinary arts. By Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

Non-fiction: ″Scents & Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook″: Muslim master chefsIn praise of fusion food: Hummus with a twistInternational understanding through cuisine: Food for thought
Non-fasting demonstrators in Tunis protest the daytime closure of cafes and restaurants during Ramadan, 27.05.2018 (photo: Ismail Dbara)

The right not to fast during Ramadan

Tunisians call on the Constitution

Tunisiaʹs Constitution of 2014 may guarantee freedom of conscience and belief, but the country has not resolved the debate surrounding the non-observance of Ramadan in public. Ismail Dbara reports from TunisMore

The tradition of Ramadan: Which image of God determines ritual behaviour?Lessons from the unrest in Tunisia: Free in name onlyTunisia seven years after the Arab Spring: Facing an uncertain future
Symbolic image of Ramadan (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/N. Mounzer)

Fasting during Ramadan

Too much of a good thing

Ramadan is like Islam as a whole: from a distance, people are scared of it. But close up, it′s wonderful. If only it weren′t for an uncomprehending majority on one side, and the pious hard-core fasters on the other. By Anja HilscherMore

Anja Hilscher's book "Image Problem": Addressing the problem of Islam's imageThe Islamic month of Ramadan: A test of willpowerThe holy month of Ramadan: To fast or not to fastRamadan for shopkeepers: Breaking the fast with dates and seafood
Nadia Doukali′s Iftarlendar for Ramadan (photo: private)

The Iftarlendar

An "Advent calendar" for Ramadan

First there was the Advent calendar. Now, with the so-called "Iftarlendar," Muslims can also prepare themselves for one of their most important holidays, the feast of Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the fast. And it only takes 30 windows. By Uta SteinwehrMore

Ramadan for shopkeepers: Breaking the fast with dates and seafood Ramadan in Germany: A time for spiritual reflection and self-restraintQantara dossier: "Islam in Germany"
Eric Maddox addressing a gathering of people taking part in a Virtual Iftar Project dinner (photo: Lora Lucero)

The Virtual Iftar Project

1

"It is harder to ignore, vilify or harm those with whom we have broken bread"

The Virtual Dinner Guest Project is an international multimedia initiative that brings people across various cultures together at the dinner table. Breaking bread and barriers in one go, this platform launched the Virtual Iftar Project across Europe during the month of Ramadan, which has just ended. Roma Rajpal Weiß spoke to the project founder, Eric Maddox, about the project and about cultural tension between Muslims and non-MuslimsMore

Facebook page of the Virtual Iftar ProjectInternational understanding through cuisine: Food for thoughtRamadan in Brazil: Maintaining the traditionMuslims in the German Armed Forces: Observing Ramadan in uniformThe Islamic month of Ramadan: A test of willpower
Breaking the fast in Brazil's "Islamic heartland", Recife. Photo: Ekrem Güzeldere

Ramadan in Brazil

Maintaining the tradition

The small Muslim community in the Brazilian metropolis Recife meets every evening in the city's only Muslim centre to break their fast with the iftar dinner. Most of the people in the community are African immigrants. Ekrem Güzeldere reportsMore

Muslims in Brazil: A culturally vibrant minorityQantara Dossier: RamadanThe Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar: In the shadow of an icon

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