Photo Essays

Part of the community: Sabriye Sinaic and her family work as farmers and labourers in their village and the surrounding area. She doesn′t know about her ancestry, but believes they came to Turkey from Damascus, Syria. Until the establishment of the Afro-Turk association she said, "I didn′t know there were others like us, then I saw there are many spread around"

Turkey′s African roots

They are descendants of Africans brought to the Ottoman Empire as slaves and domestic workers and said to number up to 100,000. Bradley ...More

How successful is linguistic integration? Three quarters of German-born Muslims grow up with German as a first language. Among immigrants, only one fifth claim that German is their first language. The trend of language skills improving with successive generations is apparent across Europe. In Germany 46 percent of all Muslims say that their national language is their first language. In Austria this is 37 percent, Switzerland 34 percent

Muslims in Europe: Integrated or not?

In the week preceding Germany's general election, we take a look at how integrated Muslims are in Europe. By Aasim SaleemMore

Multicultural: Kashmir is well-known for its cultural and linguistic diversity. The Kashmir Valley has a Muslim majority. Hindus are predominant in Jammu while Ladakh is primarily Buddhist. But interminable violence has damaged the very fabric of society

The real Kashmir

Poets call it one of the most beautiful places on earth. Analysts consider it to be one of the most dangerous areas in the world. But what ...More

Stuck in the Aegean: European funding for NGOs responding to the migrant crisis on the Greek islands came to an end in August. Since then the Greek state alone has been responsible for dealing with the asylum-seekers. But there was no clear transition plan and gaps in humanitarian services have become apparent across Lesbos

What migrants face on Lesbos – and why it's getting worse

Asylum-seekers stranded on the Greek island of Lesbos can expect things to continue to deteriorate: numerous NGOs that provide health, ...More

Seeking refuge: a series of co-ordinated attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces in the north of Myanmar's Rakhine State triggered a crackdown by Myanmar forces that has sent a stream of Rohingya villagers fleeing to Bangladesh. About 400 people have been killed in the clashes in Buddist-majority Myanmar

The flight of Rohingya: Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh

UN Security Council Resolution 242, 1967: United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed on 22 November 1967, called for the exchange of land for peace. Since then, many of the attempts to establish peace in the region have referred to 242. The resolution was written in accordance with Chapter VI of the UN Charter, under which resolutions are recommendations, not orders

The Middle East 'peace process': A slogan to mask the marking of time

"Sometime in the mid-1970s the term peace process became widely used to describe the American-led efforts to bring about a negotiated ...More

'Rise from the Ashes': in the Western world, traditional Afghan clothing is often associated with war – images of Islamist fighters donning turbans, drooping cloaks. But the attire is basically part of the rich Afghan culture. In his latest Amsterdam show, "Rise from the Ashes", Afghan-Dutch designer Nawed Elias attempted to alter the Western perception

Remodelling Afghan identity through fashion

Amsterdam-based fashion designer Nawed Elias wants to reclaim Afghan identity from terrorists. With his innovative designs, he wants to ...More

Look like a real Jedi: they look like two wooden rockets, but fans will recognise the moisture vaporators in use on planet Tatooine: they were left behind to show that this was once the location of the spaceport of Mos Espa, a "Star Wars" settlement. Visitors can take pictures of themselves wearing an "original Jedi cloak" – at least that's what the souvenir sellers claim they are

A pilgrimage through 'Star Wars' filming locations in Tunisia

Terror attack: witnesses in Barcelona said a van zigzagged down one of city's busiest tourist avenues, Las Ramblas, mowing down pedestrians and leaving bodies strewn across the ground. Police confirmed it was a terrorist attack

Terror attacks in Spain – what we know

Birth of two nations: in 1947, British India was divided into two countries – India and Pakistan. Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his All-India Muslim League party had first demanded autonomy for Muslim-majority areas in the undivided India and only later a separate country for Muslims. Jinnah believed that Hindus and Muslims could not continue to live together, as they were distinctly different "nations"

Partition of India: The way forward

On 15 August 1947, British India split into two nations – Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The two countries continue to ...More

Egypt from above: today, Cairo is Africa's largest city and home to nearly 23 million people. The sprawling metropolis is host to a quarter of the whole nation's population and is expected to grow by another 500,000 this year. Surrounded by desert and salt water, the city and its citizens need all the green they can get

Cairo's Al-Azhar Park

It's a wonder of human ambition and engineering set in the middle of Cairo. Al-Azhar Park was built on a 500-year-old rubble heap and is ...More

Turkey′s critical cartoonists

With Turkey′s free press increasingly muzzled, how far do cartoonists dare to go? A new exhibition at the Caricatura Gallery in Kassel, ...More

Protesters call for justice: tens of thousands of protesters make their way to Istanbul. The march is in response to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ongoing purges following last year's failed coup and was sparked when opposition party MP Enis Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The march kicked off three weeks ago in Turkey's capital Ankara and is headed to the prison in Istanbul where Berberoglu is held

On the road with Turkey's march for justice

Ongoing purges and the jailing of elected officials recently spurred tens of thousands to march hundreds of kilometres from the Turkish ...More

The need for real freedom in Egypt: the book opens with Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian physician, author and well-known women′s rights advocate. She explains why Middle Eastern women have so far failed to make a breakthrough in their fight: "Women can′t be liberated under the patriarchal, imperialistic and militaristic system that determines our lives now. We are governed by power, not justice; by false democracy, not real freedom"

Uncensored: Muslim women on women′s rights

A new book "Usensurert" (Uncensored) by Norwegian non-fiction writer and journalist Birgitte C. Huitfeldt takes a look behind the veil of ...More

Breaking with tradition: this also means challenging perceptions. Feminist issues are less the focus of the exhibition than a questioning of the relationship between body and space. The works especially deal with the exploitation of history and identity in a globalised world

Beyond the veil: Bold art by Persian-Arab women

Super heroes, mythical female figures in the desert: the Suspended Territories exhibition at the Marta Herford museum shows contemporary ...More

For the farmers of Alaba, decorating their houses – both inside and outside – is a long established tradition. The style is truly unique, depicting the home owner′s likes, his life, his religion or his dreams

Ethiopia: the murals of Alaba

Alaba in southern Ethiopia, just a two-hour drive from Addis Ababa, has yet to be discovered by tourists. Those who do pass through the ...More

Mount of Olives then: if it weren't for the ancient Ottoman city wall and the shrine in the background, viewers might not realise this is the same site. The picture was taken on 7 June 1967, when the peak was this brigade's command post at the height of the Six-Day War, or Arab-Israeli War

Jerusalem in 1967 and 2017

This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Six-Day War. In less than a week, Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai ...More

Free meals are distributed to the needy in many Muslim countries during Ramadan. The giving of alms forms one of the "five pillars of Islam" – alongside the declaration of faith, daily prayers, the pilgrimage to Mecca and fasting. Followers of the faith refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk. When evening comes, many meet in mosques, on public squares or in marquees such as in this picture from Cairo, to celebrate the breaking of the fast, known as "Iftar"

From Jakarta to Cairo – Ramadan around the world

For Muslims all around the world, Ramadan begins on 27 May. The period of fasting that always takes place during the ninth month of the ...More

October marks the beginning of the seven-month bony fish season when over Iranian 10,000 fishermen brave the cold water and unforgiving Siberian High to fish Caspian kutum, using traditional ″pareh″ or beach seine nets. Kargar Co-operative in Farhabad, about 350 kilometres from the capital Tehran, is one of 122 active fishing co-operatives in northern Iran

Traditional livelihood under threat on Iran′s Caspian coast

For generations the fishermen in northern Iran have depended on the abundance of the Caspian Sea, catching caviar-producing sturgeon, ...More

Refugees' daily lives: a picturesque moment is captured on camera. Photographer Herlinde Koelbl took this photo in Sicily, where thousands of refugees, many from Africa, had just been assisted after arriving. Some rested in makeshift initial reception centres, while others waited in buses. The media hubbub had already passed as this man headed to the toilet. Koelbl happened to be standing nearby and captured the image

The reality of life in Europe's refugee camps

Photographer Herlinde Koelbl travelled to refugee camps in Europe in 2016 looking for images that the world had not yet seen. The result ...More

'Rock the Casbah': filmmaker Laila Marrakchi became famous in Morocco with her 2005 work "Marock," which depicted a controversial romantic relationship between a Muslim and a Jew. In the French-Moroccan drama "Rock the Casbah" (2013), a three-day mourning period after a father's death allows estranged sisters and a mother to deal with conflict issues and uncover secrets within their family

Women in Moroccan cinema

Included in the Moroccan Film Festival now taking place at the Babylon Cinema in Berlin, these movies feature the stories of women or were ...More

These precious finds, now on show for the very first time outside Iran, were once bound for illegal auction in the West. At the very last moment, police succeeded in intercepting the cultural relics and arresting the smuggling ring

Exhibition: "Iran. Ancient cultures between water and desert"

Idyllic gardens, legendary princesses and mythical beasts: ancient artefacts that show 8000 years of early Persian history are now making ...More

Economy or security? China routinely denies pursuing repressive policies in Xinjiang and points to the vast sums it spends on economic development in the resource-rich region. James Leibold, an expert on Chinese ethnic policy says the focus on security runs counter to Beijing's goal of using the OBOR initiative to boost Xinjiang's economy, because it would disrupt the flow of people and ideas

China's Uighur heartland turns into security state

China says it faces a serious threat from Islamist extremists in its Xinjiang region. Beijing accuses separatists among the Muslim Uighur ...More

Fake hair: in the self-portrait, "Covered" (2009), Anna Shteynshleyger is wearing two different wigs – an everyday head covering used by religious Jewish women. Through the end of the 17th century, Jewish women wore a "tichel", a headscarf to cover their hair. Once wigs were in fashion, they became the perfect alternative for the "scheitel", the traditional head covering worn by Orthodox women

How religious women cover their heads

The population of Pamir is predominantly Ismaili, a branch of Shia Islam that follows the precepts of the Aga Khan, but some areas are controlled by conservative Sunnis who insist on the wearing of the burka. Moderate Afghanis have dubbed them the "long beards″, a veiled reference to the Taliban

Afghanistan without the Taliban

There is one region in Afghanistan where the Talibans have never really been able to impose their rule. Inhabited by yak-herding nomads ...More

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Land of nomads and desert: Mauritaniaʹs extremely hot and arid climate explains its very low population density. In 2009, the country had just 4 million inhabitants spread over 1 million square kilometres. The Adrar plateau, located in the north of the country near Atar, is known for its gorges and dunes

Mauritania, land of desert and contrasts

Mauritania straddles the transition between the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa, its population is equally divided between Africans and Arabs. Berber women carefully veil themselves with colourful 'melhafas', their feet decorated with henna, while Wolof women show off their beautiful skin glistening with shea butter. By Pascal Mannaerts (www.parcheminsdailleurs.com)

Qantara dossier: European travellers in the Orient

(photo: Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung im Hausarchiv des Bankhauses Sal. Oppenheim)

Our dossier contains a selection of interesting biographies and reports on renowned European travelers to the Orient from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.More

Goethe-Institut's Perspektiven: Generational conflict

Goethe-Institut Perspektiven logo (source: Goethe-Institut)

Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon… six young women and men from six different countries put their individual views and experience with the generational conflict into words for this dossier.More

Top 10 books about Muslims and Islam by Saadia Faruqi

Media stereotypes and misinformation about Muslims are nothing new. In post-election America, Muslims are finding more allies who often want to help but don’t know much about Islam. More and more non-Muslims have questions and are seeking answers.More

An eye-catching tableau for resistance: graffiti art in Bethlehem

The trailblazer: in 2005, the legendary British street artist Banksy visited the West Bank and left behind nine stencilled graffiti images on the wall and on private buildings in and around Bethlehem. His satirical and critical commentary on Israel's occupation policy marked the start of an onslaught of international and Palestinian graffiti artists – amateurs and professionals alike – who have adorned the wall with their political and personal messages.

An eye-catching tableau for resistance: graffiti art in Bethlehem

In 2002, the then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon approved the construction of a barrier wall that would run along the ceasefire line of 1949 with the intention of separating Israeli territories from the Palestinian West Bank. In Bethlehem, graffiti artists have started using the wall as a canvas for political protest and socially critical art. By Laura Overmeyer

Female Kurdish singer rallies the troops

Kurdish singer Helly Luv (photo: Getty Images/Safin Hamed)

Iraqi Kurdish singer Helly Luv was in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, filming the video to her latest hit. Luv is aiming for international fame as she releases her new English song 'Revolution', calling for action against terrorism and violence.More

Syria's Cultural Heritage in Danger

Over four millennia, Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman influences crossed paths in Syria. Today, precious cultural sites from these eras are being damaged as the Syrian civil war takes its toll on the country's cultural heritage. This week, the United Nation's cultural organization UNESCO made fresh reports about damage to Syria's historic sites.

Syria's Cultural Heritage in Danger

The civil war in Syria, which has taken the lives of thousands since 2011, is becoming increasingly brutal. Valuable cultural sites are also being destroyed in the fighting. UNESCO has now provided reports on the damage.

"The Crusades: Holy War"

Dr Thomas Asbridge (source: BBC.co.uk)

In this three-part documentary by BBC 2, Dr Thomas Asbridge presents a revelatory account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land.More