Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

With elections on the horizon and an altered African Union mission, Somalia was meant to enter a new phase of stabilisation in 2021. But both have been postponed, and the present government seems ill-equipped to shoulder the country's considerable challenges. It is time for external stakeholders to name their terms, says Annette WeberMore

Many predominantly Muslim countries have penal laws against "blasphemy", "defamation of religion" and "apostasy". In practice they serve as highly effective weapons to settle personal animosities, family vendettas and land disputes. By Thomas KrapfMore

However they may appear in their early stages, Arab civil wars are wars between kinsfolk. The social group becomes partisan, whether sectarian, tribal, party political or ethnic. Whatʹs more, argues Morris Ayek, Arab civil wars have no endMore

Ostinato Records recently released an amazing compilation of Somali music, ″Sweet as broken dates″, which reminds listeners that – despite the prevalent images of a land torn apart by civil war – Somalia was once a country with a thriving cultural tradition. Review by Richard MarcusMore

How does one go about telling a story as dramatically tragic as that of the young Somali sportswoman who lost her life attempting to cross the Mediterranean in a refugee boat? And can such a story be told by a writer best known for graphic novels, comic books for adults? By Manfred EwelMore

The EU claims that the migration pact with Africa is a completely new initiative. Rather than reshaping patterns of migration, however, Europe′s desperate politics of symbolism would merely seem to focus on stemming the flow. By Ludger SchadomskyMore

Somalia, Kenya and their neighbouring countries are increasingly being haunted by extremist violence. This essay assesses why this region has become a hotbed of Islamism and why one-dimensional military interventions by external forces have not delivered the desired results. By Emmanuel KisianganiMore