Essays

Hand-written edition of the Koran in Cairo (photo: Reuters)

Anti-Semitism

There is no tradition of anti-Semitism in Islam

Some are suggesting that Muslims are bringing anti-Semitism to Europe. However, it was in fact Europeans who took anti-Semitism to the Arab world in the first place. Diplomats in particular played an contemptible role. An essay by Professor Peter WienMore

Controversial manifesto against "new anti-Semitism" in France: Cutting Suras to suit Germany’s anti-Semitism problem: Jew, Israeli, Zionist The Abbas controversy: No excuse for anti-Semitism Muslim anti-Semitism: Pointing the finger

Anti-American graffiti on the occupied U.S. embassy in Tehran (photo: GFDL/CC-BY-SA/Phillip Maiwald)

U.S. policy on Iran

Middle East nightmare – made in Washington

According to essayist and media scientist Khaled Hroub, the United States may be talking to North Korea, but it is actively seeking war between Saudi Arabia and IranMore

U.S. policy on the Middle East: The imperial reflex U.S. politics in Syria: Trump, Syria – and the threat of regional conflagration The Israeli-Iranian nuclear crisis: Before the ears go deaf

Frauenparade pakistanischer Soldatinnen in Islamabad; Foto: AFP

Women in the Saudi military

It's a tough call

Saudi Arabiaʹs decision to allow women to serve in the military has been widely celebrated as a step forward for gender parity in the notoriously unequal kingdom. Yet the battle for real equality within the military is just beginning. By Quratulain FatimaMore

Political transformation under Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi Arabiaʹs perilous pivot Documentary: "A Silent Revolution": Pioneering Saudi women Woman in Saudi Arabia: ''A golden age for Saudi women''

Great guys, one and all? Front row, from left to right, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali next to Ali Abdullah Saleh, Muammar Gaddafi and Hosni Mubarak (photo: dpa)

Tyranny in the Islamic world

Keeping the tribe alive

In this essay, Libyan author Faraj Alasha explains how Arab autocrats use tribal logic to run institutions of state, turning political parties into family clubs and loyalty to the country into loyalty to the head of the ruling clanMore

Social unrest in the Arab world: Guilty of gross negligence Violence in the Arab world: Born of a barbaric state Political rule before and after the ″Arabellion″: Internal colonialism and counter-revolution Arab identity crisis: What is left of the Arabs?

U.S. President George W. Bush addresses the nation aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and declares major fighting over in Iraq on 1 May 2003, as it sails for Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California (photo: AFP Photo/Stephen Jaffe)

The Iraq War fifteen years on

"America destroyed my country"

Fifteen years ago, on 20 March 2003, the United States and its allies invaded Iraq. Iraqi novelist and poet Sinan Antoon describes the pain of watching his country disintegrate in the aftermath, made all the more acute since the perpetrators of this "colossal mistake" are still at largeMore

Murder and kidnapping in Iraq: An inexorable tide Sinan Antoon′s ″The Baghdad Eucharist″: Fading under fire Interview with Sinan Antoon: Using irony to tackle trauma

Iranian woman in front of graffiti bearing the message "And how do you like the protests, Sir?", the ʹSirʹ in this instance being Ayatollah Khamenei (photo: DW)

Neoliberalism and Iranʹs protest movement

It's the economy, stupid!

The protests in Iran, like those elsewhere, express the populationʹs grave socio-economic concerns and discontent over the regimeʹs reform plans. Report by Iranian sociologist Amin BozorgianMore

The Islamic Republic turns 39: At risk of Syrianisation?Protests in Iran: The spark that turned into a wildfire Economic policy in Iran: Rouhani′s inevitable failure

Muslim teacher Fereshta Ludin (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Headscarves and neutrality

"It′s our decision!"

Teacher Fereshta Ludin was the first to complain about the headscarf ban in German schools. Here, she writes about her anger and disappointment over what has happened since – and what hasn’tMore

nterview with Fereshta Ludin: "The decision for or against the headscarf is wholly a matter for the woman herself"Discrimination in schools: Better marks without a headscarf Qantara dossier: "The Headscarf Controversy"

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (photo: Reuters)

Mohammed bin Salman′s political agenda

The Saudi parable

Recently, every report on Saudi Arabia′s erratic foreign policy seems to end up concluding that the Kingdom is simply battling it out with Iran for dominance of the region. All this does is wrap the incomprehensible in pseudo-plausibility. By Charlotte WiedemannMore

Saudi Arabia's foreign policy: Catalogue of political failures Reform in Saudi Arabia: Progress or megalomania?Power play in Saudi Arabia: Charting a seismic shift

Aya Hijazi, founder of a non-governmental organisation that looks after street children, sits in a holding cell of a Cairo courthouse on charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors and using children in protests, 23.03.2017 (photo: Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

Societal repression in Egypt

The tentacles of autocracy

The process of repression is outsourced to the citizenry who indirectly secure absolute power for the regime. Taking Egypt as an example, Maged Mandour describes this vicious circle, in which the masses are both the victims and the beneficiariesMore

Repression and legitimation in Egypt: The world as al-Sisi sees it Police co-operation with Egypt: Is Germany an "accessory to repression"?Egypt′s repression of academics and journalists: The Regeni murder fallout

Protests in Tunis against President Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (photo: Reuters)

Arab response to Trump's Jerusalem decision

Walking a fine line

A little-noticed subtext to furious protests across the Middle East and North Africa against US President Donald J. Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is simmering anger at Arab governments. An essay by James M. DorseyMore

Trump's Jerusalem decision: Unleashing a new wave of radicalisation?US foreign policy: Donald Trump versus Middle East peace Social unrest in the Arab world: Guilty of gross negligence

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, speaking (photo: dpa/picture-alliance)

Saudi Arabia's foreign policy

Catalogue of political failures

The world of the Arab states is in dramatic decline. In this time of crisis, Saudi Arabia has stepped into a leadership role. According to Stefan Buchen, it is not up to the jobMore

Anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia: The harder they fall?Death of Yemeni ex-dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh: Caught in no-man's land Power play in Saudi Arabia: Charting a seismic shift

Demonstrators burn an Israeli flag in Berlin-Neukölln (photo: imago/snapshot)

Muslim anti-Semitism

Pointing the finger

In the wake of Donald Trump's declaration that he would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, enraged Muslims took to the streets in Germany, some of them chanting anti-Semitic slogans. German politicians swiftly responded, outdoing each other with each condemnation. In this essay, Stefan Buchen explains why this should not be let pass without commentMore

Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe: Targeting the Muslim population Translating "Mein Kampf" into Arabic: Hitler's paperchase Interview with historian David Motadel: Hitler's Muslim stop-gaps

Far-right demonstrators in Germany (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Thissen)

Right-wing populism in Europe and the USA

Those who cry wolf

In our populist age, right-wing ideologues manage to move in high circles, muting their overt racism and disguising their bigotry beneath a lot of smart patter. But they also benefit from the lofty disdain of the liberal elites, which validates their narrative of victimisation. Commentary by Ian BurumaMore

U.S. immigration policy: Damn those cosmopolitans Right-wing populism in the USA: Trump's deplorables Right-wing populism in Europe and the USA: The politics of Islamophobia

Demonstration for freedom and democracy in Bahrain in September 2012 (photo: Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)

Political discourse in the Arab world

Last ditch democracy

In this essay, Lebanese journalist Karam Hilo asks whether it is possible to apply the Western concept of democracy – as is – to the countries of the Arab world. Or does the unique political culture of this corner of the globe call for a certain degree of adaptation?More

Arab identity crisis: What is left of the Arabs?Political discourse in the Arab world: Defaming democracy Political transformation in the Arab world: Forget the people

Right-wingers at Berlin′s main station demonstrate against Muslims and Angela Merkel (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Europe

Targeting the Muslim population: Presumed guilty

Ascribing a presumption of guilt to all Muslims on the issue of anti-Jewish sentiment is nothing more than a strategy successfully deployed by right wing groups in their anti-migrant campaigns, argues Ingrid ThurnerMore

When anti-Semitism and Islamophobia join hands: The racist vortex The rise of right-wing populism in Europe: A continent divided Islam the bogeyman: Tarred with the same brush

Imams pray on the Champs Elysees in Paris as part of the trans-European "Muslims Against Terror" march, July 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kunigkeit)

Islam in Europe

An appeal to Muslims: Call out the terrorists!

Muslims in the West need to shoulder some of the burden when it comes to combatting extremism, otherwise they themselves may well fall under the wheels of the proverbial bus. Commentary by Mousa BarhoumaMore

Islamist terrorism in Europe: Besting the beast Muslims and the Paris attacks: European Muslims must speak as one Terrorism debate: The distortion of Islam

Syrian writer Widad Nabi (photo: Heike Steinweg)

Syrians in Germany

Writer Widad Nabi: ″Integration is the search for common ground″

Faced with war and death in my home country I fled to Germany, no longer a writer but a refugee. For me it′s the chance to start over and find my way in this wonderful country. Essay by Widad NabiMore

Birthing a literature of refuge: A question of mutual interest Syrian literature in times of turmoil: An author on standby Syrian author and poet Ra′id Wahsh: Who ate the sky?

Celebrating victory against IS in Mosul (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/K. Kadim)

Middle East

Ending Iraq′s humanitarian crisis: Trust the people

Provided its leaders correctly reassess the changing regional and domestic dynamics and agree to allow all Iraqis, regardless of their sect and cultural orientation, to choose their own political and civil structure, the country can still overcome the horrors of the past 14 years. Essay by Alon Ben-MeirMore

Islamic State: Down but not necessarily out Arab nationalism and political Islam: Secularism – ″the other option″?Arab identity crisis: What is left of the Arabs?

Women at prayer in a Berlin mosque (photo: imago)

Germany

Headscarf debate: How Islamophobic is feminism?

Feminists who want to ban headscarves for girls are betraying the cause – and playing into the hands of the right-wing populists. An essay by Meredith HaafMore

Women′s rights in Islam: Can feminism be Islamic?Islam and feminism: Go forth and create role models! Qantara dossier: The headscarf controversy

Libyan man passes billboard of Gaddafi′s face and the Arabic tag ″God is great″, Tripoli 2009 (source: AP/Ben Curtis)

Arab nationalism and political Islam

Secularism – ″the other option″?

In his essay, Syrian publicist and writer Hammud Hammud debunks conventional Islamist prejudices regarding the concept of secularism and examines the ambivalence of political Islam and Arab nationalismMore

Violence in the Arab world: Born of a barbaric state After the coup in Egypt: A dark chapter in Egyptian liberalism Essay by Adania Shibli: Recalling Edward Said's thought today

The people who shaped Islamic civilisation

A reproduction of Muhammad al-Idrisi’s world map in the Book of Roger (1154)

Chase Robinson's new book "Islamic Civilisation in Thirty Lives" is an elegant digest of the many colourful, creative and technologically innovative manifestations that the Prophet Muhammad inspired from his seventh-century oases in the Arabian peninsula, reminding us that Islam is less a nihilistic creed than a global civilisation.More

Qantara dossier: Islamic State

IS fighters in Iraq (photo: AFP/Getty Images/Safin Hamed)

What are the ideological goals of "Islamic State"? And what recruitment and media strategies does the terror militia use in the Islamic region and in the West? In our dossier, we provide information about these strategies through numerous interviews, analyses, background articles and videos.More

Neheda Barakat: Let's banish the term 'Arab world'

A women walks past Egyptian army tanks in downtown Cairo (photo: dpa)

Labelling 381 million people from 22 countries as monolithic ‘Arabs’ is misleading and inaccurate. With conflicts raging on in Syria, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq and a diaphanous calm in the rest of the Middle East, the language we use is not only hindering our understanding of the issues in the region, it is also misguiding strategic policies.More

Online magazine Jadaliyya

Featuring contributions by writers from the Islamic world, the independent online magazine "Jadaliyya" is published by the Arab Studies Institute.More

Sadiq Khan speaks out against Islamist terror: "You will not divide us"

On Saturday, Mayor Khan addressed an audience of thousands at London′s 11th annual Eid ul-Fitr celebration in Trafalgar Square for the first time since taking office. He called for peace, unity and an embrace of religious freedom and diversity, describing this as one of London′s great strengths. He pledged zero tolerance of hate crimes, reports of which have risen in the wake of the EU leave vote, and he denounced ″criminals who do bad things and use the name of Islam to justify what they do″.More

Muslims: in defence of religious freedom and the German constitution

Muslims in Germany have launched a petition calling on all citizens of Germany to support the German legal system, especially the German constitution and its protection of religious freedom.More

Fethullah Gulen: from partner to arch-enemy

Fethullah Gulen (left), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) (photo: picture-alliance/Zaman/Reuters/M. Sezer)

Moderate or radical? Fethullah Gulen's followers inside Turkey were once widely regarded as a critical force in aiding Erdogan and his moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party in bringing the military firmly under civilian control and in weakening the firm barrier between mosque and state.More

The first colour photos of the Middle East

A Palestinian herdsman at the end of the nineteenth century

These images of Middle Eastern cities, towns and attractions were taken during the 1890s. Colour was added manually to the black and white negatives using the Photochrom technique pioneered by Photoglob Zurich AG.More

Bosnia Herzegovina: Mosque of hope

It is over twenty years since the end of the war in Bosnia, yet many Muslims in Bosnia still feel alienated. A mosque destroyed by the civil war reopened recently.More

Jihad and homosexuality: a history of entanglement

"The Snake Charmer", by Jean-Leon Gerome (1824–1904), used on the cover of Edward Said's seminal work "Orientalism"

At the heart of jihadist political violence are specific conceptualisations of gender and sexuality. Jihadism imagines a glorified militant masculinity that protects the Muslim world from the European threat and purifies its societies of internal decay.More

D+C Development and Cooperation

Development and Cooperation (source: D+C)

D+C Development and Cooperation is a website and a monthly print magazine that seeks to provide a credible forum of debate, involving governments, civil society, the private sector and academia at an international level. It contains interesting articles and reports on politics and society all over the world.More