Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

The fourth Qalandiya International exhibition opens with shows in the West Bank and Gaza, but also in Lebanon and Germany, crossing borders the Palestinians themselves can't pass. By Sarah Judith HofmannMore

"Salib Sufi" (literally: "Sufi Cross") combines Christian chants and prayers with Sufi chants and recitations. Accompanied by instruments from East and West, the band performs a mixture of classical recitation and modern singing, featuring elements of Old Coptic. Eslam Anwar interviews project initiator Salib FawzyMore

A book of texts on modern art in the Arab world is causing a furore. It has been put together by the New York Museum of Modern Art. Now it has been launched – and discussed – in Beirut. By Lena BoppMore

Ostinato Recordsʹ latest release, "Two Niles to Sing a Melody", is not only a collection of sixteen songs from the peak period of the country’s popular music era, the 1970s, it also contains fascinating first-hand accounts from a variety of musicians who survived the purges during the subsequent clampdown on popular culture. By Richard MarcusMore

Directed by Azalarabe Alaoui, the Moroccan film "Kilikis, the town of owls", though not a documentary, is based on the notorious Tazmamarat prison, where political opponents were incarcerated during the reign of the late King Hassan II. Time to face up to the past? By Ismail AzzamMore

Some time around 3200 BC, humans living in the ancient Middle East developed the first written language. George Smith presented fragments of the Flood narrative from the ancient Middle Eastern story of Gilgamesh at a conference in London in 1872 – and mankind’s first epic was rediscovered. By Melanie Christina MohrMore

The art of storytelling has a long tradition in the Arab world. Folk tales and historical events were passed down orally over many generations. Now the Sudanese author Lubna Isam has revived the tradition. Interview by Eslam AnwarMore

Lebanese-British satirist Karl Sharro, with his alter ego Karl reMarks, is a fast-rising star of online comedy. Now he has published his first book, "And Then God Created the Middle East and Said ʹLet There be Breaking Newsʹ". Interview by Susannah TarbushMore

Diali Cissokho left his native Senegal for North Carolina years ago. Raised as a griot, one of the traditional musical story tellers and historians of West Africa, he wanted to continue playing music in his new home. It may have taken a while to find the musicians he was looking for but, writes Richard Marcus, it was worth the waitMore