Society

On a burial ground in the north of Frankfurt (image: Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa/picture-alliance)

Integration in Germany

Muslims find a home, but few graves

Germany lacks Muslim burial grounds, while establishing new ones is fraught with red tape. Christoph Strack examines the issue and talks to the initiator of one showcase projectMore

Integration versus racism: I don't see myself as a victimIntegration in Germany: Finally growing upMathias Rohe on the muezzin call: "Traditional religious practice is not political Islam"

Detention in Egypt

Cairo's model Badr prison rife with abuse

A new prison, touted by Egypt as a model for reform, that holds some of its most prominent prisoners denies inmates healthcare and subjects them to punitive treatment including isolation, relatives of those inside and rights groups say.More

Human rights violations in Egypt: Demanding President Sisi free his political prisonersEgypt – a human rights crisis: No more "quiet diplomacy"Arrest of EIPR human rights activists in Egypt: My friend Gasser Abdel Razek, the "terrorist"
Amos Goldberg, Susan Neiman and Charlotte Wiedemann during the discussion at the Einstein Forum in Berlin on 2 February 2023 (image: Inge Guenther)

Germany's culture of remembrance

An exercise in empathy

Holocaust, Nakba and the German culture of remembrance: the Einstein Forum in Potsdam facilitated a discussion banned in Tel Aviv. Inge Guenther attendedMore

The Holocaust, colonialism and mutual understanding: Time for a refresher in humanityMiddle East conflict: Shoah and Nakba – two interlinked catastrophesThe Palestinian Nakba of 1948: An objective delineation of events
Fatima Haidari gives tours of her native Herat from her student flat in Milan, Italy (image: Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)

Afghan diaspora

Refugee from Taliban offers virtual tours of homeland

Forced to flee by the Taliban, Fatima Haidari now offers virtual tours of Afghanistan from her new home in Italy – with the proceeds funding secret English classes for women thereMore

Women’s rights in Afghanistan: The Taliban cannot defeat womenAfghanistan under the Taliban: "Girls continue to attend our schools""Not our Islam!": German imams condemn ban on university education for Afghan women
Volunteers in Berlin at a collection point for earthquake victims (image: Julius-Christian Schreiner/dpa/picture-alliance)

Earthquake in Turkey

Germany’s Turkish community sends aid

Germany is home to more than three million people with Turkish roots. Many of them are worried about loved ones affected by the devastating earthquake in southern Turkey – and they want to help. Peter Hille reportsMore

Turkey-Syria quake: Weak buildings, shallow shock caused deathsTurkey earthquake: Whatever happened to Turkey's earthquake tax?Syria quake aid held up by hardline group, U.N. says
Screenshot of a video showing residents digging a mass grave in Urm al-Kubra, a town in western Aleppo governorate, Tuesday, 7 February 2023 (source: Twitter / @bkdadaksa)

France24 earthquake report

In Syria’s rebel zones, volunteers dig mass graves

As rescue workers continued to search for survivors of the earthquake that happened on 6 February, residents of Syria’s northwestern opposition-controlled territories were forced to start digging mass graves to bury victimsMore

Syria and Ukraine: Humanitarian aid is Russia's political footballWar in Syria: The horror of IdlibUrban renewal under Erdogan: Istanbul shantytown residents in limbo
Rally for press freedom in Algeria, September 2020 (image: Louiza Ammi/abaca/picture-alliance)

Human rights in Algeria

Banned, intimidated, driven into exile

Algeria's civil society is once again being targeted by the authorities. With the judicial dissolution of the human rights league LADDH, yet another human rights group critical of the government has been shut down – the outlook could hardly be worse. By Sofian Philip NaceurMore

Human rights and migration: Why older Algerians risk the small boats to SpainThe EU's diplomatic dilemma: Morocco and Algeria square off over Western SaharaAlgeria at 60: No more lethargy – Algiers’ passive foreign policy is over
Whirling dervishes in Konya, Turkey (image: Marian Brehmer)

The future of Islamic mysticism

Is Sufism under threat?

Sufis today are under attack from fundamentalists and modernists alike. At the same time, a new form of Sufism is emerging in the West. By Marian BrehmerMore

Sufism in Egypt: Cairo's mystic revivalMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just Muslim
South Sudan's U20 football team (image: South Sudan Football Association/Facebook)

South Sudan

Through football, South Sudanese youth forge ahead

With the return of peace after a decade of war, South Sudan's youth national teams qualified for the country's first continental football championships. They are helping forge a stronger national identity and pride. By Lolade AdewuyiMore

Marwa Zein's "Khartoum Offside": Football, film and freedom in SudanMane, Salah and more – Six stars to watch at the Cup of NationsWomen’s football in Morocco: Jump-starting women's soccer in the Arab worldAfrica Cup of Nations in Egypt: Politics casts a long shadow
80-year-old president of the Rabat Bar Association and former human rights minister, Mohamed Ziane (source: Twitter)

Human rights deteriorating in Morocco

Rabat's defamation drive

Morocco's regime continues to silence voices through censorship and arrest, apparently feeling vulnerable in the face of widespread popular criticism. Commentary by Abdellatif El HamamouchiMore

Growing repression in Morocco: Creating an atmosphere of fearMorocco's billionaire PM: Business elite stifles politicsMorocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fire
Protests against the persecution of Muslims in New Delhi, June 2022 (image: Maneesh Swarup/AP/picture-alliance)

India and Pakistan

The legacy of colonial rule

India's ruling political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is inspired by the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Its core philosophy revolves around the idea of a predominantly Hindu India that seeks a global leadership role. By Suparna BanerjeeMore

Identity politics: The pain of India's partitionIndia and Pakistan – 75 years of independence: A pair of troubled nationsModi's India: Authoritation pseudo-democracy in the making?
Young Sufis celebrate the birthday of Imam al Hussein in Saida Zeinab, Cairo (image: Hassanein Hamady)

Sufism in Egypt

Cairo's mystic revival

Egyptian Sufis have been on the defensive against the country's Islamists for decades. Meanwhile, interest in mysticism is growing among the young members of Cairo’s middle and upper classes. By Marian BrehmerMore

Sufism in Egypt: Sufis, sheikhs and charlatansMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just Muslim
A group of women with raised hands and a placard at a demonstration in Kabul (image: Stringer/Reuters)

Women’s rights in Afghanistan

The Taliban cannot defeat women

Since returning to power in Afghanistan, the Taliban have steadily eroded the rights and opportunities of women and girls, particularly their access to education. But Afghans are not taking the regime's draconian policies lying down – and nor should the rest of the world. By Gordon Brown & Yasmine SherifMore

Afghanistan under the Taliban: "Girls continue to attend our schools""Not our Islam!": German imams condemn ban on university education for Afghan women"Scheherazade's heirs": Keep writing! Literature from Afghanistan
Sharma has devoted his life to championing the deeds of an Indian "patriot" -- the man who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi (image: Jalees ANDRABI/AFP)

Hindu nationalism

Gandhi's killer – a Hindutva hero

Hindu fundamentalist Ashok Sharma has devoted his life to championing the deeds of an Indian "patriot": not revered independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, but the man who shot him deadMore

Indian democracy at 75: Narendra Modi’s damaging dominanceRahman Abbas' "Zindeeq": Who's learning lessons from the Holocaust?Indian Muslim writer Sadia Dehlvi: "The soul of India is inclusive, pluralistic, and democratic"
Symbolic image: A woman on her way to an abortion (image: imago images/Addictive Stock)

Women's rights in Egypt

We need to talk about abortion

Abortions are illegal in Egypt unless they are necessary to save a married woman's life. But that doesn't stop local women from having one. Egyptian society needs to acknowledge this, activists say. By Diana HodaliMore

Women′s rights in the Arab world: The key to changeAzza Soliman, an Egyptian feminist at risk: "What has Azza done?"Morocco's abortion ban: Acknowledging reality
A Hindu bride and a Muslim groom during a mass wedding in Calcutta (image: Pacific Press/picture-alliance)

Hindu nationalism

Interfaith marriage in India – a dangerous undertaking

Citing archaic "anti-conversion" laws, right-wing Hindu groups are working to prevent marriages between Indian Hindus and Muslims. Some couples have faced violence and death threats. Murali Krishnan reports from New DelhiMore

The "India Love Project" on Instagram: Fighting hate with loveIndian Muslim writer Sadia Dehlvi: "The soul of India is inclusive, pluralistic, and democratic"Hindu nationalism in India: India's hate-filled "saffron pop"
Victims of the partition riots in Delhi in August 1947 (source: dandc.eu)

Identity politics

The pain of India's partition

India’s partition in 1947 continues to evoke strong emotions even after seven decades. Entrenched identity politics, arguably a product of colonial rule, saw Hindus pitted against Muslims. Collective trauma was the result, deepening the faith divide on both sides of the border. By Suparna BanerjeeMore

The Indian subcontinent's colonial heritage: Divide and conquerModiʹs identity politics: Islamophobia threatens to engulf IndiaQantara photo essay: "Partition of India: the way forward"
Map of the Maghreb (1843) by the geographer Alexandre Vuillemin, taken from his "Atlas universel de géographie ancienne et moderne à l’usage des pensionnats" (Universal Atlas of ancient and modern geography for the use of boarding schools) (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The origins of the Maghreb

Was the Arab Maghreb a French invention?

The book "The Invention of the Maghreb: between Africa and the Middle East" prompts us to review basic terminology. This includes terms that we use almost every day as if they are definitive by virtue of geography, history and culture, such as "the Arab Maghreb", "North Africa", "the Middle East" and "sub-Saharan Africa". Shady Lewis Botros read the bookMore

The West and the Middle East: Casting a long shadow – Napoleon's intervention in Egypt"A Slave Between Empires: A Transimperial History of North Africa" – Decolonising Maghreb history The Tuareg: literature, language and culture: "The journey of the princess"
A women counts bank notes in Lebanon (photo: Java)

Lebanon's economic collapse

Staring into the abyss

Lebanon was long viewed as the Switzerland of the Middle East. Until relatively recently, billions were deposited in its banks. Gulf states were among the foremost investors in Beirut. But this all came to an end in 2019. Now the troubled nation is gripped by the worst economic crisis in its history. Birgit Svensson reports from Beirut and TripoliMore

Lebanese thinker Martin Accad: "Lebanon's tragedy is political sectarianism"Lebanese protesters call for systemic change: What now for Beirut, once the Paris of the Middle East?Beirut on the brink: Regardless of corona, Lebanon is at economic breaking point
A refugee from North Africa wearing a woolly hat in the colours of the German flag sits in the terminal building of Hanover Airport (photo: dapd)

Migration from Tunisia

Why many young Tunisians set their sights on Europe

Tunisia has been going through a severe economic and political crisis in recent years. More than one in three young people there are unemployed. For many skilled, qualified and unemployed young Tunisians, the route to Europe, which lacks qualified personnel in many sectors, seems like the only way forward. By Marco WolterMore

Africa, not the EU: Tunisia's brain drainParliamentary election in Tunisia: Tunisia's undemocratic driftFlight and migration from the Maghreb: Under pressure, Tunisia accepts "unusual deportations"Tunisia uncertainty after poll snub, calls for president to quit

Pages

Egypt’s female social media influencers face arrest

A screenshot from Salma Elshimy's Instagram account featuring photos of the Egyptian model and influencer (© almaelshimy, Instagram)

Charged with "inciting debauchery" and "violating family values": Last week, Egyptian TikTok celebrity Salma Elshimy became the latest in a growing list of women to fall foul of the Egyptian authorities over social media postsMore

The big history of Albania's tiny Koran

The Prushi family have been guardians of the Koran for generations The Prushi family have been guardians of the Koran for generations (image: Adnan Beci/AFP)

For generations, this postage stamp-sized book has been passed down through one family -- surviving wars and one of the world's most fanatical "godless regimes".More

Iran's revolutionary feminist backlash

Demonstrators protest in solidarity in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin (photo: DW)

Controlling women's bodies has been a pillar of the Islamic Republic from its inception, writes Nader Hashemi.More

Ramadan: Enlightenment and commerce

According to the Koran, the Prophet Muhammad received the Book's holy words in the month of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims are supposed to practice abstinence. Daily prayer is compulsory – even for travellers. Islamic prayer rooms have been set up in many international airports, like the one here in Amman. In Germany, you can find these rooms in the airports at Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf

Ramadan: Enlightenment and commerce

Muslims all over the world are currently observing Ramadan. The month of fasting is supposed to be all about reflection, meditation and abstention - but Ramadan is becoming increasingly commercialised.

Islamic Republic facing a religious watershed

Symbolic image demonstrating frustration with Iran's religious leaders (photo: Getty Images/AFP)

Iranians do not want an Islam that interferes. They are fed up with a system that manipulates people with simple promises of salvation and anti-Western propaganda. Islamic theologian Hamideh Mohagheghi sees Iran at a religious crossroadsMore

The rise and rise of Muslim influencers

Female influencer wearing headphones using digital tablet while vlogging at cafe (photo: Jose Carlos Ichiro/Westend61/imago images)

In recent decades, Muslim piety has gone through a number of qualitative transformations, the most prominent of which is the emerging phenomenon of "Islamic influencers", which represents a new type of Islamic religiousness that combines globalisation and the values of Western modernity and is easy and effortless. By Ahmad Saif al-NasrMore

UN urged to reject anti-Semitism definition over ‘misuse’ to shield Israel

Blue United Nations flag fluttering in the wind (image: DW/F. Goerner)

More than 100 Israeli and international civil society organisations have asked the United Nations to reject the controversial IHRA anti-Semitism definition, warning it is being "misused" to protect Israel from legitimate criticism.More

India's predicted urban boom

Mumbai, one of India's biggest cities, grew by about eight million people in the past 30 years -- equivalent to the entirety of New York City's population (photo: Punit PARANJPE/AFP)

India is projected to see an explosion in its urban population in the coming decades, but its cities already cannot cope and climate change will make living conditions harsher stillMore

Pakistan feels economic shockwaves

Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif addresses a National Assembly session in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 11 April 2022 (photo: National Assembly of Pakistan/AP/picture-alliance)

While many countries are dependent on Ukrainian or Russian wheat or foreign energy imports, Pakistan requires both. For this reason, the country has been hit particularly badly by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Serious reform is needed, but is it too late for Pakistan's new PM, Shehbaz Sharif (pictured above), to deliver? According to Michael Rubin, Pakistan faces collapse, and the world should be worried.More

APPLY NOW: Germany's IPS Programme for Arabs 2023

The International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme for Arab (IPS) countries offered by the German Bundestag (closing date 15 December 2022) affords young and talented Arab graduates the opportunity to get to know the German parliamentary system.More

Promoting human rights in the Middle East and North Africa

A woman bashes pan lids together during an anti-government demonstration in Algeria (photo: Getty Images/AFP/R. Kramdi)

With authoritarianism once more gaining ground in the Middle East and North Africa, the European Council on Foreign Relations explores how European diplomats can be more effective in promoting human rights and democratic values in the regionMore

World Refugee Day: UNHCR's "The Colour of Flight"

1974: Greek Cypriot children in a refugee camp in Strovolos, a municipality of Nicosia, which at the time had a population of around 1,600 (photo: Jean Mohr; colourised by Marina Amaral)

For "The Colour of Flight", UNHCR collaborated with Brazilian artist Marina Amaral, 30, who specialises in colouring archival images. Building a bridge between past and present, she breathes life into images of the displaced.More

Weathering sandstorms, Iraqis grit their teeth

People ride during a sandstorm in the town of Khalis in Iraq's Diyala province on 3 July (photo: AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP)

Another sandstorm has darkened Iraqi skies and it's hard to breathe, but Baghdad motorcycle delivery rider Milad Mitti doesn't have the luxury of missing a day's work. Like most people in the now blistering hot desert country, the 30-year-old battles on in frustration, wearing goggles and a grey neck warmer over his mouth and nose "so I can breatheMore

Amnesty International Report 2021/22

Amnesty International 2021/2022 annual report (source: amnesty.org)

The Amnesty International Report 2021/22 highlights the human rights situation in 154 countries in 2021. From a human rights perspective, 2021 was largely a story of betrayal and hypocrisy in the corridors of power.More

R.I.P. Abraham B. Yehoshua: "Championing peace and justice"

Israeli author and peace activist A. B. Yehoshua, 1936-2022 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

A.B. Yehoshua, a prominent Israeli author celebrated for his mastery of the Hebrew language and a leading peace activist, died last week. He was 85.More

Saudi women move from behind wheel to under the hood

Ghada Ahmed (r) works on a car in Saudi Arabia, where garages are tapping women as a source for mechanics (photo: Fayez Nureldine/AFP)

An auto repair garage in Saudi Arabia is turning to an untapped source for new car mechanics: Saudi women, who just four years ago weren't even allowed to driveMore

Ancient 'zar' ritual puts exorcism on stage

Umm Sameh peforms the music and dance ritual known as "zar", traditionally performed to ward off or exorcise jinn or evil spirits (photo: Khaled DESOUKI/AFP)

A stage, lights, a mesmerised audience: it looks like an Egyptian folkloric concert, but Umm Sameh is singing to heal the sick by driving out the demons that possess themMore

Ukraine: Seven of the country's most important mosques

Crimean Tatar men pray at a mosque in Bakhchysarai (photo: AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)

While Muslims make up a small proportion of the country's population, Islam has a history in Ukraine stretching back to at least the 14th centuryMore

Is Islam fundamentally incompatible with Britishness?

Tipu Sultan's last stand painting as depicted in Leicester Square. The canvas, which glorified Britishness, was followed by additional works focused on Britain vanquishing the figure of the Muslim (British Military Museum website)

Challenging Islamophobia involves rejecting the country's racist, post-colonial, politically constructed hierarchy, argues Ismail Patel.More

Summer on PBS: "The Great Muslim American Road Trip"

Mona Haydar and husband Sebastian Robins star in the PBS show “The Great Muslim American Road Trip,” which premieres in summer 2022 (photo: Adam McCall/PBS)

Their 'Ask a Muslim' project went viral. Now rapper-activist Mona Haydar and husband Sebastian Robins have a travel show about Islam in the United States.More

"Voices that matter": Intersectional analysis of Canadian Muslim women

Woman preparing lunches for the homeless in San Francisco (photo: Abdel Rahman Bassa)

The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) has released a report that found Muslim women experience poorer social and economic conditions compared to their non-Muslim counterparts, while others such as queer, disabled and Black Muslim women – along with newcomers and single mothers – experienced poorer outcomes still.More

Muslims and interfaith marriage

Bridal couple make hearts with hands (photo: Tú Anh/Pixabay/Creative Commons)

One out of five Muslims is in an interfaith relationship, surveys suggest. But few imams are willing to adapt the traditional Muslim wedding ceremony to their needs, couples say.More

"The invisible Muslim": On White privilege and Islam

Banner advertising Medina Tenour Whiteman's "The Invisible Muslim" (source: hurstpublishers.com)

"The Invisible Muslim" offers a topical read to better understand the anti-racism conversation raging across the world right now, as well as a case study of what it means to be a Muslim in the West in the 21st century.More

Bulgarian Pomaks keep traditional wedding rite alive

Bulgarian Pomak bride Nefie Eminkova in her wedding finery and special make-up (photo: Nikolay Doychinov/AFP)

A wedding extravaganza of bright colours, flowers, feasting and dancing, yet the bride, Nefie Eminkova, who comes from Bulgaria's Pomak – Muslim – minority, can see none of it. Her eyes must remain tightly closed until the imam gives his blessing.More

Berlin Mideast Podcast

Focus on the Middle East. Logo of the Berlin Mideast Podcast (photo:Konrad Adenauer Foundation)

Monthly German-language podcast series Berlin Mideast Podcast looks at the current situation and trends in the Middle East.More

Scotland's National Galleries to showcase portraits of its Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Polish communities

Veiled woman (photo: Arpita Shah)

The National Galleries of Scotland has unveiled plans for a major show exploring the diverse communities and individuals who make up modern-day Scotland. Featuring the work of Arpita Shah, portraits of people from Scotland’s Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Polish communities are to go on display alongside images of Scottish celebritiesMore

Qantara dossier: Islamophobia

Demonstration against the building of a mosque in Cologne (photo: picture-alliance/Ralph Goldmann)

Renowned journalists, Islamic scholars and authors shed light on the various facets of racist and Islamophobic violence in Western countries.More

Sands of time: a century of Egyptian photography – in pictures

Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Princess Nasl Shah of Turkey, at the Women’s Conference at the Dome Palace (photo: Mohamed El Ghazouly)

These images of everyone from presidents to paupers show the tourist’s view of Egypt that we know – and the backstreets we don’tMore

Europe rights body pulls pro-hijab campaign after French outcry

Colourful hijabs worn by Muslim women (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch)

The pan European rights body the Council of Europe has pulled a campaign promoting diversity among women and their freedom to wear the Muslim headscarf after it sparked an outcry in fiercely secular France.More

Azerbaijan activists sound alarm over femicide wave

Dilara Bagiyeva, 41, a victim of domestic violence in Azerbaijan (photo by Tofik BABAYEV/AFP)

Activists in Azerbaijan have been urging the country's government to ratify the 2011 Istanbul Convention – a landmark international agreement aimed at preventing domestic violence – for years. Baku has yet to act, however. Meanwhile the number of women dying at the hands of their partners continues to riseMore

SWP dossier: Forced displacement and migration

Pin and thread sculpture of a map of the world (© pogonici/Shuttterstock)

Migration is on the increase worldwide. The causes are manifold. Ever more people are forcibly displaced by persecution, violent conflicts and human-rights violations. Read up on international cooperation in the areas of forced displacement and migration, on developments in Europe’s migrant and refugee policies, and on the migrant and refugee policies of individual states.More

Online education is the only hope for Afghan schoolgirl

Afghan primary school girls in a classroom in Kabul, 18 September 2021. Secondary schools for girls remain closed (photo: © via Reuters/WANA News Agency)

Denied access to school due to the Taliban's failure to reopen secondary schools for girls, one Afghan teenager has taken to the Internet to try to exercise her basic right to an education. But her self-driven online learning mission has not been easy.More

Washington Post: Mustafa Akyol argues for Islamic reform from within

Cover of Mustafa Akyol latest book; YouTube screenshot of Mustafa Akyol

A re-examination of authoritative sources based on reason is at the heart of Mustafa Akyol’s new book: “Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance”. Akyol’s work offers the reader a journey into largely forgotten but important theological debates that took place among Muslim scholars in the Middle Ages.More

FINO: Forum Islam and Middle East

Forum Islam and Middle East (FINO); Universty of Bern logo (source: https://www.fino.unibe.ch/)

The Forum Islam and Middle East (FINO) was established at the University of Berne in 2018 and sees itself as a transdisciplinary competence centre for documentation, knowledge transfer and academic services in the field of Islam and the Middle East (IME).More

Global Village Space: Pakistan, and why nations radicalise

Anti-French protest in Pakistan following the arrest of Saad Rizvi (photo: AFP)

Discussing Dr. Shoaib Pervez’s latest book "Radicalization in Pakistan: A Critical Perspective", Farah Adeed probes the origins of collective societal radicalisation in Pakistan.More