Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

The recent elections in Iraq mark a dramatic turning point in the countryʹs political fortunes. New party alliances – in particular the Sairun list led by influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr – have emerged victorious from the polls. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

You can’t change regional geography, notes the political analyst Khaled Hroub. Iran and the Arabs will always be neighbours, but we can change and re-shape history and politics. The common interest must therefore lie in ending the period of conflict and moving towards co-operation and regional security More

The politics of Mohammed bin Salman hardly bode well for the stability of the Middle East. The Saudi Crown Prince is taking an increasingly tough line against Iran and that countryʹs regional ambitions, thus exacerbating the Sunni-Shia divide. By Shlomo AvineriMore

Much of the carnage that has ravaged Syria during the past seven years is due to the actions of the United States and its allies in the Middle East. By Jeffrey D. Sachs
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The embargo on arms exports to countries involved in the conflict in Yemen recently agreed by Germany's two biggest political parties must be maintained and underpinned by binding criteria in a law on arms exports, writes Markus BickelMore

The governments of the Middle East must not allow themselves to be lulled into complacency by the ostensible fall of the Islamic State. Instead, writes Moha Ennaji, they must urgently commit to weakening the allure of radical Islam – the only way to break the cycle of terror and violence is to resolve Islam′s intra-religious conflictsMore

In the race to buy influence, garner soft power and win over hearts and minds, those involved in the three-month old Gulf crisis are hell-bent on raising the stakes. Commentary by James M. Dorsey More