Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

Against a background of long-simmering conflicts regarding Iran and political Islam, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies have abruptly severed relations with Qatar. Thanks to the USA′s new stance in the Gulf region, both nations now feel free to drastically step up pressure on Qatar. By Matthias SailerMore

Saudi Arabia began its military offensive against its neighbour to the south in 2015, ostensibly to reinstate Yemen′s deposed president. Instead the war has driven the poorest country in the region to the brink of famine. By Maysam BehraveshMore

Syrian intellectual Yassin al-Haj Saleh was a revolutionary from the very first. He remains harshly critical of all those political observers and experts in the West who claim that there is no alternative to Assad and that shoring up the regime would be the lesser of two evils. Interview by Emran FerozMore

While the attention of the world is focused on events in Aleppo, Assad and his allies are talking about the "liberation" of the city. Some believe him, left wing anti-imperialists for example. By Emran FerozMore

″The Age of Jihad: The Islamic State and the Great War for the Middle East″ by journalist Patrick Cockburn traces not just the rise of Islamic State and other extremist groups who are striving for power in Muslim countries, but how American and British foreign policy in this century has contributed directly to their emergence. Richard Marcus read the bookMore

The militias of Afghan warlords have always occupied a dubious position in the life of the country. But Kabul relies on them as allies in the battle against the Taliban – a strategy, however, that is having the opposite effect. By Emran FerozMore

A cold war is waging in one of the world′s hottest regions. A key component of the sectarian competition between Shia and Sunni Islam in the Middle East is geopolitical, with Iran facing off against Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies in a struggle for regional dominance. By Robert HarveyMore