Culture

Matthias Wagner, founder and director of the Oriental Summer Academy (photo: Dorothee Philipp)

On the death of Matthias Wagner, founder of the Oriental Summer Academy

Mecca of Arab music in south-western Germany

Musicians from Morocco to Iraq have been crossing paths at the Oriental Summer Academy in south-western Germany for ten years. Matthias Wagner, who founded and directed the academy, recently passed away after a brief serious illness at the age of 68. An obituary by Stefan FranzenMore

Qantara dossier: Arab music 16th Morgenland Festival Osnabruck: A virtual journey of sound across the Balkans Interview with Michèle Claude: The wonderful world of muwashshahat

Human Rights Film Festival Berlin

Lives in limbo

The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin has been held for the third time in 2020 under the patronage of Nadia Murad. In just a short time, this festival, which was initiated by the NGO Action Against Hunger, has evolved into a highlight in the German film calendar. By René WildangelMore

Website of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin Berlinale 2018: ″Central Airport THF″ by Karim Ainouz Berlinale 2019: "Midnight Traveler" by Hassan Fazili

Deceased Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian (photo: Tasnim)

Obituary: Iranian singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian

The voice of the poets

Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the great singer of Persian music, has died at the age of 80. With his passing, the world has lost an outstanding talent and consummate artist. By Stefan BuchenMore

Mohammad Reza Shajarian: The master rebel Interview with Mohammad Reza Shajarian: ''Humanity is what art is all about''Persian classical music: Going their own way

"Truck and Workers", 2011, by Qatar artist Faraj Daham (photo: Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi)

Art and liberation

Modern Arab art and the depiction of blue collar workers

The rise of liberation movements in the Arab World during the 20th century brought with them an array of complimentary works from the creative sector. Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi examines the phenomenonMore

The Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar: Can Mathaf restore a pan-Arab artistic identity?Global history of ideas – contemporary Muslim art: Enlightenment rediscovered Suspended Territories exhibition: Beyond the veil

Groupe RTD

Energy and rhythm from Djibouti to the world

The small East African nation of Djibouti has so far evaded musical discovery by the West. Now, however, the country's official national band, Groupe RTD, is picking up international accolades with the music it plays when it's off-duty. Stefan Franzen spoke to the group's producer Janto DjassiMore

Album review: Groupe RTD's "The Dancing Devils of Djibouti" –Foot-tapping fusion Album review: Lost Somali tapes – ″Sweet as broken dates″Album review: "Two Niles to Sing a Melody" –The strings and synths of Sudan

Cast and crew members during the filming of "Bandar Band" (photo: Bamdar Film (Tehran))

Film review: Iranian-German movie "Bandar Band"

Hope amid adversity

Iranian director Manijeh Hekmat expected the production of her latest movie to go ahead as planned – but then she found herself having to improvise. The resulting film is more than just an homage to Iran's landscapes. By Heike MundMore

Interview with the Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof: "Devils donʹt exist"Winner of the Berlinale 2020: "Sheytan Vojud Nadarad" – There is no evil, unless it's perpetrated Iran's 37th Fajr Film Festival: Politics collide with the big screen in Tehran Film review: Hossein Pourseifi's "Morgen sind wir frei": Love in the time of revolution

Mahmoud Hosseini Zad (photo: Khabaronline)

Interview with Iranian translator Mahmoud Hosseini Zad

A naked image of the truth

Iran's capital city, Tehran, is firmly in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic. The cultural scene is suffering because of it too. But in the face of adversity and the often arbitrary interventions by the censor, books are still being published – such as the diaries of David Rubinowicz, who was murdered by the Nazis. Mahmoud Hosseini Zad translated the book. He spoke to Gerrit Wustmann about his work and the current situation in IranMore

COVID-19 in Iran: Power, identity and the coronavirus Contemporary Iranian literature: Reading outside the box Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltan's "Der Zirkel der Literaturliebhaber" – A literary cocoon

The siege of Baghdad, 1258 (source: Sayf al-vâhidî et al. Public domain)

Book review: Ahmed El Shamsy's "Rediscovering the Islamic Classics"

How the printing press saved Islamic classics from near extinction

Ahmed El Shamsy's "Rediscovering the Islamic Classics" examines how a handful of reformist editors and intellectuals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries harnessed printing press technology to save a rich body of classical Islamic texts from the brink of extinction. By Muhammed Nafih WafyMore

Review of Leor Halevi's "Modern Things on Trial": Bottom-up fatwas – Rashid Rida and laissez-faire Salafism Rationality in Islamic theology: Muslims – believers caught between reason and revelation Interview with pioneering Islamic thinker Fehmi Jadaane: What is the essence of Islam, and does it need reforming?The maqamas of Ibn Naqiya in German translation: The picaresque poet from Baghdad

Interview with author Ronya Othmann

Fighting the obliteration of Kurdish-Yazidi identity

Ronya Othmann's novel "Die Sommer" (The Summers) tells the story of Leyla – the daughter of a German and a Yazidi Kurd – who visits her grandparents' Yazidi village in northern Syria every summer until the village ceases to exist. Schayan Riaz spoke to the authorMore

Pursuing prosecution in Germany: Justice for Yazidi survivors of Islamic State genocide Dunya Mikhailʹs "The Beekeeper": Rescuing the stolen women Yazidis mourn their devastated community: Sinjar is not Mosul

Refugees in Germany

From the boat to the Bundeskunsthalle

When hundreds of thousands of refugees crossed Germany's borders in 2015, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised: "We can do it!" This is the story of how Iraqi refugee Raisan Hameed became a successful photography student. By Nader AlsarrasMore

Syrian refugees in Germany five years on: Samer Serawan's Damascus Aroma – a taste of integration Syrian writer Widad Nabi: ″Integration is the search for common ground″Refugees in Germany: Working through the trauma

Album review: Naima Shalhoub's "Siphr"

Juxtaposing harsh realities with bright hope

"Siphr", Naima Shalhoub's first studio album, is a reflection of both the musician's Lebanese background and her commitment to social justice. While each song is a compelling mixture of musical and lyrical influences from both her American home and her Middle Eastern heritage, the album is deeply rooted in the philosophy of numbers and their symbolic and literal meanings. By Richard MarcusMore

Gaye Su Akyolʹs album "Istikrarl Hayal Hakikattir": Singing the revolution Maya Youssef′s album ″Syrian Dreams″: Hope still springs New music from Pakistan: A captivating mix of sounds

Indian journalist Taran Khan (source: @tarankhan |Twitter)

Non-fiction: Taran Khan's "Shadow City"

Taking a fresh look at Kabul and the Afghan people

Penned by Indian journalist Taran Khan and thus devoid of the customary Western perspective, "Shadow City" presents a refreshing portrait of this long-suffering, multi-layered city. By Marian BrehmerMore

Interview with photojournalist Ursula Meissner: Afghanistan – Hope and beauty in a war-torn land On tour in Afghanistan, part 4: The other half of society Sufis in Afghanistan: The forgotten mystics of the Hindu Kush

View of Tripoli's historic quarter, Libya (source: Facebook/"Corners of Tripoli")

A visual record of Tripoli

Libya's citizen-photographers find beauty in a war zone

In a novel response to Libya’s ongoing civil war, photographers in the capital, Tripoli, are building a vast archive of photographs highlighting the beauty that can be found despite the chaos and bloodshed. By Moutaz AliMore

"Corners of Tripoli" Facebook page (arab.)Kai Wiedenhofer′s ″War on Wall″: In your face... and rightly so Qantara dossier: Photography

: Still from Mati Diop's "Atlantics" featuring Mame Bineta Sane as Ada (photo: Cannes Film Festival)

Film review: Mati Diop's "Atlantics"

Ada, to whom the future belongs

The outstanding debut feature of French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop is an eclectic cinematic composite of genres and a startling social drama on contemporary transatlantic migration, in which a tragic scenario spiked with supernatural elements proves a catalyst for transformation and reversal. By Adela LovricMore

Islamism in Senegal: A fight for the soul of Islam Album review: Diali Cissokho and Kaira Baʹs "Routes": Marrying music and culture ″Touba″ – a film documentary: Pilgrimage to Sheikh Bamba

"Hawaii" is an astonishingly assured debut novel by up-and-coming author Cihan Acar (photo: Robin Schimko)

Book review: Cihan Acar's "Hawaii"

Hawaii in Heilbronn

The hero of Cihan Acar's engrossing debut novel is a young Turkish-German man who has returned to "Hawaii", a troubled district in his native city of Heilbronn, searching for a new beginning in life after the premature end to his football career. As he does so, the simmering animosity between the city's self-appointed vigilante civil defence groups and Turkish mafia clans descends into full-scale war. By Volker KaminskiMore

Qantara dossier: Literature Germanyʹs Turkish migrants: The need to be somebody Debate about racism: Germany is not the anti-racist model the U.S. is looking for

Emirati talk show host Anas Bukhash in Dubai (photo: Bukhash Brothers)

Confronting social taboos in the Gulf

Emirates talk show host Anas Bukhash lays it on the line

Emirati talk show host Anas Bukhash has struck a chord with his programme "ABtalks" which probes social questions that others fight shy of. In the Gulf, "nobody wants to talk about the elephant" in the room, he says. By Diana HodaliMore

Sex tourism in Egypt: A bride for the summer Islam and psychoanalysis: A tale of mutual ignorance Shereen El Feki's ''Sex and the Citadel'': Exploring a sexual minefield Women's liberation in the Gulf: Arab women – fighting for their rights for 60 years

Moroccan writer Aziz Binebine, former Tazmamart inmate and brother of Mahi Binebine (source: Twitter)

Aziz Binebine's "Tazmamart: Eighteen years in Morocco’s secret prison"

We were robbed of our health, our youth and our innocence

Spring 2020 finally saw the publication of Aziz Binebine's Tazmamart memoir in English, translated by Lulu Norman. While it has now been nearly 30 years since the prisoners left their underground cells, Tazmamart remains synonymous both with hidden military prisons and with the terrors of Morocco’s Years of Lead. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the bookMore

Film review: "Kilikis, the town of owls": The power of reflected suffering Tahar Ben Jelloun: ''The Arab Spring'' – The comfortable way to take part in a revolution Interview with the Moroccan writer Mahi Binebine: Forging a future

Kamancheh virtuoso Misagh Joolaee (source: YouTube)

Album review: Misagh Joolaee's "Ferne"

Expanding the horizons of the kamancheh

German-Iranian Misagh Joolaee was recently recognised for widening the scope of playing the Persian spiked fiddle with the German Record Critics’ Award. Mariam Brehmer listened to his new albumMore

Portrait of Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor: Cultural emissary and grand master of the kamancheh The Silk Road Ensemble: "The Music of Strangers": A quest for perfect harmony Album review: "Dawar" by Trio Chemirani: A brilliant kaleidoscope of textures

Remembering Mohammed Dib

The grand seigneur of French-language Algerian literature

21 July marks the centenary of the birth of Mohammed Dib, one of the founding fathers of French-language Algerian literature. Born in 1920 in Tlemcen, Algeria's national writer spent the greater part of his life in exile. He passed away on 2 May 2003 in the Parisian suburb of La Celle-Saint-Cloud. By Regina Keil-SagaweMore

Book review: Alice Zeniter's "L'Art de perdre": Rediscovering a lost chapter of (family) history The Algerian writer Kamel Daoud: Who is the Arab man?Obituary: the Algerian writer Malek Alloula – A prophet unaccepted in his own country Obituary: the Algerian author Assia Djebar – Trailblazer for her country, her gender and her continent Literature and collective trauma in Algeria: Moving beyond the examination of history

Iranian writer Amir Hassan Cheheltan (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm)

Book review: Amir Hassan Cheheltan's "Der Zirkel der Literaturliebhaber"

A literary cocoon

For decades, lovers of literature would gather at the house of writer Amir Hassan Cheheltan's family to debate classical Persian works – until politics forced its way into the readers' cocoon. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Interview with Iranian author Amir Hassan Cheheltan: "Literature is based on politics and eroticism"Amir Hassan Cheheltan's ''Tehran, Skyless City''; Reflecting the dark side of Iran's capital Iran and its authors: The perils of writing

Women writing in Arabic: 10 poets to read now

There is very little Arabic poetry by women translated into English; for Women in Translation Month (#WiTMonth), we offer a brief look at ten poets.More

Minority off-screen, minority on-screen: The missing Muslim voice in "Indian Matchmaking"

Netflix hit series "Indian Matchmaking", starring Sima Taparia (photo: Netflix)

Despite a deluge of angry tweets and incensed opinion editorials calling Indian Matchmaking "outdated", "orientalist fantasy", "harmful", "cringeworthy", it is astonishing that few have managed to call the show out for its non-inclusiveness. Not one Muslim features in the line-up of this hit Netflix India series.More

UAE author Ahmed Mansoor made honorary member of PEN

UAE author Ahmed Mansoor (photo: Martin Ennals Foundation)

Germany's PEN has appointed blogger, poet and human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates since March 2017, as an honorary member and is demanding his unconditional and immediate release. Mansoor is one of the few independent voices to have publicly denounced human rights violations in the country.More

Johnny Farraj and Sami Abu Shumays: Inside Arab music

"Inside Arabic Music" is a landmark piece of literature for countless students of Arabic music and anyone wishing to learn more about its unique vibe.More

Syrian Heritage Archive Project

Khusruwiyah Mosque in Aleppo (photo: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Michel Ecochard)

The Syrian Heritage Archive Project was launched in 2013 in response to Syria's enormous loss of material heritage following the outbreak of hostilities in 2011. Teams at the Museum of Islamic Art and the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin are working to digitise and archive photo collections and research data on Syria.More

Nabil Saleh takes a walk through Baghdad

On a recent sunny afternoon, I took advantage of the partial lifting of the curfew imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus and decided to drive to central Baghdad, where I enjoy long walks through its aching streets.More

"Quarantine Kitchen": An Iranian artist documents people's routines during lockdown

From the Quarantine Kitchen series by Golrokh Nafisi (source: scenearabia.com)

Iranian artist Golrokh Nafisi has started a series of sketches, "Quarantine Kitchen", documenting the daily scenes and stories of Iranians' newfound time in the kitchen during quarantine.More

Dissident Iranian filmmaker wins top prize at Berlinale

The prestigious Golden and Silver Bears have been handed out at the Berlin Film Festival. Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof was awarded the Berlinale’s top prize, the Golden Bear, for his film 'There Is No Evil'.More

Female Arab directors: 11 films that you need to see

Still from Algerian director Narimani Mari's "Bloody Beans" (screengrab)

Western critics too often overlook the contribution of Arab women behind the camera. The following 11 titles – in no particular order – are an introduction to the vast pool of Arab women directors whose films are estimated to constitute half of all independent films produced in the region today.More

CNN's Amanpour interviews 2019 Man Booker International prizewinner Jokha Alharthi

"Celestial Bodies" is the first Arabic novel to win the Man Booker International Prize. Amanpour speaks with Omani author Jokha Alharthi and translator Marilyn Booth.More

Arabic literature to be published in translation in 2020

In recent years, the number of Arabic books – both fiction and non-fiction – available in translation has been on the rise. The ArabLit team has put together a list of titles scheduled for publication in 2020.More

The rise and fall of Egyptian Arabic

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi delivers a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September 2018 in New York City (photo: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images); Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser addresses the Egyptian people on 31 March 1968 (photo: STF/AFP/Getty Images)

Once the lingua franca of the Arab world, Egypt's dialect is in decline along with the country's cultural and political leadership, says The EconomistMore

Arab music down the decades

Iranian-Saudi acappella artist Alaa Wardi and Anghami have combined 42 of the most popular Arabic songs, dating back to the 1900s, in a video that gives a whole new meaning to music in the digital age.More

Mirna Bamieh delves into Palestinian cuisine

Mirna Bamieh, artist and cook, is fighting the appropriation and disappearance of Palestinian cuisine by reviving old food practices and forgotten dishes.More

Kurdish artist Shanaz Jamalʹs robe for religious co-existence

Iraqi Kurdish artist Shanaz Jamal, 40, embroiders a robe decorated with religious symbols of communities of Iraq's multi-ethnic north, in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region, on 27 March 2019 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/S. Hamed)

On the long white fabric of Shanaz Jamalʹs lovingly embroidered religious robe, the cross faces the crescent and the three-branched wing of the Zoroastrians to the nine-pointed star of the Bahais: with her embroidery, Jamal aims to reconcile the multi-ethnic north of Iraq recently ravaged by jihadistsMore

Harvard Law School's "Words of Justice" include Koran Sura

Included in Harvard Law School's Words of Justice exhibition, Verse 135 of Sura Al Nisa adorns the entrance hall: “O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both".More

Arabic literature and the African other

Poster advertising the second Annual Arabic Novel Conference hosted by La Maison du Roman in Tunisia, its focus "Black-skin issues" (source: La Maison du Roman)

Racist, anti-black stereotypes persist in Arabic literature. It reveals a racial anxiety and othering of Africa among celebrated Arab authors, writes Mona Kareem.More

A photographic tour of Europe's mosques

Prayer hall of the Pasha Cammii, in Tetovo, Macedonia (photo: Ahmed Krausen)

Mosques have been part of the European landscape for centuries, as this photo essay by Ahmed Krausen demonstratesMore

Albukhary Gallery of the Islamic World: "A soaring miracle of art"

It goes without saying that The British Museum's 4-million piece collection of historical objects is one of the most unparalleled in the world. But for the last four years, the museum has been working hard on one project in particular: a brand new gallery dedicated exclusively to the Islamic world.More

Modern art and antiques on show at Lebanon cube museum

Lebanon's Nabu Museum (source: nabumuseum.com)

Named after the Mesopotamian god of wisdom, the Nabu Museum opened in late September to showcase the cultural wealth of an ancient region devastated by conflict.More

New publication: ArabLit Quarterly

Cover of the first edition of ArabLit Quarterly (published by ArabLit.org)

The ArabLit Quarterly officially made its debut on 15 November 2018. This latest publication is the work of the award-winning literary website ArabLit.org., founded and edited by regular Qantara reviewer Marcia Lynx Qualey.More

Archaeological discovery sheds light on Islam's Early Golden Age

DCT Abu Dhabi's archaeologists recently discovered the UAE's oldest mosque in Al Ain. The excavation of the 1000-year old mosque along with a network of falaj dating back to the Abbasid Caliphate, is expected to shed new light on UAE’s history at the dawn of Islam.More

A.B. Shawky's "Yommedine": a coming-of-age comedic road trip

A Coptic leper and his orphaned apprentice leave the confines of the leper colony for the first time and embark on a journey across Egypt to search for what is left of their families.More

Pre-Islamic "ruin poetry" has a message for today

Imruʹ al-Qais, an exiled poet-king, is credited as the originator of the "ruin poetry" form – one of his poems is said to hang in the Kaaba at Mecca (source: The British Library)

The ruins that inspired pre-Islamic poets hold new meaning for today’s Arabic writers, writes Paul CooperMore

William C. Chittick lectures on Ibn Arabi

"It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature" - Ibn Arabi, Futuhat al-MakkiyyaMore