Politics

Photo: Nelly Youssef

Interview Nabil Abdel Fatah

Egypt – Hopelessness, Frustration Spawning a New Generation of Terrorists

The recent terrorist attacks in Cairo have raised many questions about the motivations of the assassins. Nelly Youssef speaks with Nabil Abdel Fatah, a scholar at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in CairoMore

Amira Hass (photo: © Babelmed.net 2005)

Amira Hass: Diary from Palestine

"Tomorrow Will Be Worse"

Amira Hass is the only Israeli journalist living in the Occupied Territories. Over a time span of five years, Hass sent her diary entries to the Italian newspaper "Internazionale". Now, these entries have been published in a monograph. Catherine Cornet reportsMore

photo: Deutsche Welle

Cem Özdemir

"Democracy and Islam Are Two of a Kind"

Cem Özdemir, Member of the European Parliament, suggests that Turkey's accession to the EU will help Turkish immigrants overcome problems they have faced integrating into current member states.More

photo: AP

Turkish Penal Code Comes into Force

"Reforms Are Not Easy, But Necessary"

Turkey's new penal code brings Turkey almost completely into line with EU standards on human rights. Among other changes, the law increases penalties against human rights abusers and torturers. Erik Campano reportsMore

Amien Rais - PKS official candidate for the presidential election 2004, photo: AP

The "Prosperous Justice Party" PKS in Indonesia

No Contradiction between Islam and Democracy

The successful new centrist Islamic party PKS is a moderate alternative to radical Islamism and has won respect for its disciplined campaigns and a reputation for clean politics. Elizabeth Fuller Collins and Ihsan Ali Fauzi reportMore

The supremacy of law seems to be the priority foundation upon which a pluralistic democracy can be build, argues Khoury

Pluralistic Democracy in the Arab World

Judicial Reforms Must Underpin Wider Arab Change

There is currently a trend of increasing government transparency and openness in the Middle East. Rami G. Khouri has spoken with experts in various fields to determine what must be the next step to ensure a revolutionary change in the regionMore

With the arrest of four prominent figures of the opposition the "spring of Damascus" soon came to an end, photo: AP

Interview Ali al-Atassi

"There Is a Need for Pressure from Inside of Syria"

After the withdrawal of the Syrian troops from Lebanon many experts assume that the events will have a political impact on Syria. Bernhard Hillenkamp spoke with Mohammad Ali al-Atassi, Syrian civil society activist and journalist of the Lebanese daily "an-Nahar"More

The commander-in-chief of the German army, Wilhelm Keitel, signs the capitulation on May 8, 1945 (photo: DPA)

The Third World in WWII

"Our Victims Don't Count"

During Europe's commemoration of the sixtieth anniversary of the end of WWII, the war's victims from the former colonies scarcely found a mention. A new book, "The Third World in WWII," tries to fill the gap. Goetz Nordbruch has been reading itMore

France's Muslims are just as evenly divided on the "Oui" for the constitution as the rest of the population (photo: AP)

France's EU Referendum

Muslims Divided on EU Constitution

The outcome of France's referendum on the EU constitution is yet unpredictable. Still conservative Muslims in particular seem to find the charter more acceptable than France's emphatically secular political culture. Bernard Schmid reportsMore

Georges Corm (photo: Georgescorm.com)

Georges Corm

"Laicism Should Not Be Seen as a Specifically Western Doctrine"

Georges Corm, economist and former finance minister of Lebanon, doesn't spare the Islamic world criticism, but he also says that the West is far less rationalist than is commonly believed. By Alexandra SenfftMore

Gold bracelets (photo: Larissa Bender)

Civil Society in Turkey

Asterix of Bergama's Struggle against the Authorities

As the leader of a grassroots movement against the planned mining of gold reserves, Oktay Konyar has been fighting for over ten years. So far, he and his fellow activists have been able to halt the highly toxic mining practices. By Susanne GüstenMore

Photo: DPA

Presidential Elections in Iran

Hashemi Rafsanjani – The Least Common Denominator

Out of a lack of alternatives, even reformists are pinning their hopes on Hashemi Rafsanjani to shore up the moribund political system, running on a platform of despotism combined with economic liberalism. An analysis by Faraj SarkohiMore

photo: AP

EU Dialogue with Islamists

Hamas and Hizbullah Key to Mideast Peace?

In mid-April, the EU Foreign Ministers decided to resume dialogue relations with Islamist organizations. Rightly so, argues Islam expert Michael Lüders, stressing it would be shortsighted to view Hamas and Hizbullah only as terrorist organizations.More

Every time a plot of land is sold to Israeli Arabs, the state must replenish the lost land reserves – but it is not clear how (photo: AP)

National Land Policy in Israel

Jews and Palestinians Protest Jewish National Fund

Israeli and Arab human rights activists see Israel's land policy as a form of discrimination against the Palestinian minority. Now they are going to Israel's Supreme Court to sue for equal treatment. Joseph Croitoru has the storyMore

Protestors in Kyrgyzstan (photo: AP)

Central Asian Republics

A Balancing Act between Democracy and Islam

What role does Islam play in the Central Asian republics? What progress has been made in the democratization process and how does the EU fit into the picture? An interview with Reinhard Krumm, director of the Central Asian Office of the Friedrich Ebert FoundationMore

Tired of Arab and Islamic pressures from the north: Refugees from southern Sudan, photo: AP

Analysis Fred Halliday

Sudan between War and Politics

In Khartoum, Middle East expert Fred Halliday of the London School of Economics assesses the future of an Islamic regime relieved by peace in southern Sudan, pressed by the International Criminal Court over Darfur, and seeking a political road beyond revolutionMore

News stand in Morocco (photo: Larissa Bender)

The Press in the Maghrib

Between a Rock (Censorship) and a Hard Place (Prison)

From Mauritania to Egypt not a day goes by without journalists being harassed because of their work. To mark the International Day of the Freedom of the Press, the Algerian journalist and author Hamid Skif sums up the situation.More

Aleppo 1915 (photo: AP/Armenian National Archives)

Turkey and Armenia

"This Is None of Europe's Business"

The Armenian Genocide has increasingly become a factor in Turkey's EU accession talks. In Turkey, even high-ranking officials say the EU position is a typical attack of Western arrogance on Turkish national pride and honour. Dorian Jones reportsMore

Fareena Alam (photo: private)

Fareena Alam

Five Principles for Islam's Future

Islam can move beyond its association with oppression and violence by being true to itself and its past, says Fareena Alam. In her article, she argues for a promotion of spirituality and morality, and for the separation of state and churchMore

Yusuf al-Qaradawi (photo: Qaradwi.net)

The International Association of Muslim Scholars

Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the Foundation of a "Global Muslim Authority"

The International Association of Muslim Scholars aims to be an alternative to the global network of radical Islamists. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, often referred to as the most influential contemporary Sunni scholar, is one of the founders. Bettina Gräf reportsMore

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Most Recent Photo Essay

When all you feel is cold: at the end of October, Vucjak refugee camp got a foretaste of winter. Temperatures in Bosnia plummeted to well below ten degrees Celsius. Most migrants are not equipped for the cold and therefore depend on donated clothing and blankets. Some do not even have proper shoes

Winter approaches in Bosnia's Vucjak camp

Vucjak refugee camp in the northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina has existed since the summer. The conditions there are unacceptable: it is filthy, unhygienic, lacking in everything. And now the winter is approaching. From Uta Steinwehr

Graffiti of Sudan's revolution: murals depict struggle to bring change

Revolutionary graffiti in Sudan

A look at the street art from Sudanese youth during the uprising against former president Omar Hassan Al Bashir.More

Divided over narratives: The new fault line in the Arab World

Flags are pictured before a preparatory meeting between Arab foreign ministers ahead of the Arab summit in Tunis, Tunisia, 29 March 2019 (photo: Reuters/Z. Souissi)

The narratives that divide the Middle East today are no longer predominately about Sunni versus Shia, Arab versus Persian, or Muslim versus Jew; instead, they are about pluralism versus authoritarianism, Islamism versus “counterterrorism”, civilian rule versus military rule, and civil society empowerment versus civil society regulation.More

Our women on the ground: Essays by Arab women reporting from the Arab world

"A stirring, provocative and well-made new anthology edited by the Lebanese-British journalist Zahra Hankir," writes Dwight Garner, book critic for the New York Times.More

How Egypt's Sisi hands out justice

A man walks in front of a banner reading, "Yes to the constitutional amendments, for a better future", with a photo of Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi before the approaching referendum on constitutional amendments in Cairo, 16 April 2019 (photo: Reuters/M. Abd El Ghany)

Since 2014, when President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi took power, Egyptian courts have sentenced some 3,000 people to death according to the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, an independent organisation that documents human rights violations in the Middle East and North Africa. Innocence or guilt no longer appears to play a role.More

Chatham House reports on conflict economies in the Middle East and North Africa

Burnt-out vehicles are seen at a gas station after it was hit by an air strike in Yemen's northwestern city of Saada 16 April 2015 (photo: Reuters/Str)

Analysis of the violence that has struck the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) over the past two decades has focussed predominantly on ideological and identity-based factors. This report expands the discourse by incorporating approaches adopted from the literature on the political economy of war to examine the conflict economies of Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen.More

Assad regime co-opts aid to serve loyalists

The Syrian government is co-opting humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance, Human Rights Watch said on Friday, urging donors and investors to ensure that funding is going to the right place.More

NYT: How the UAE-Saudi axis of autocracy is ruining Sudan's chance at democracy

A Sudanese protester gestures as he walks past a burning tyre near Khartoum's army headquarters on 3 June 2019 after security forces broke up a weeks-long sit-in (photo: Getty Images/AFP/E. Hamid)

Since the Arab uprisings of 2011, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have used their considerable resources to promote authoritarian governments run by military strongmen in the region. By Iyad el-BaghdadiMore

BBC Radio 4: Spyware in the wrong hands

Pegasus spyware spread (source: CitizenLab 2018)

BBC Radio 4's "File on Four" reveals how surveillance software designed to track drug-dealers and terrorists is being used by Gulf states to spy on journalists, human rights activists and lawyers carrying out legitimate activities.More

NYT: The most powerful Arab ruler isn’t M.B.S. It’s M.B.Z.

Saudi Defence Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (left) meets Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (right) during the GCC Defence Ministerial summit in Riyadh on 20 April 2016 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/B. Algaloud)

Prince Mohammed bin Zayed expanded the U.A.E.’s power by following America’s lead. He now has an increasingly bellicose agenda of his own. And President Trump seems to be following him.More

Human Rights Watch: Egypt's war crimes in North Sinai

A recently published Human Rights Watch report based on two years of investigation documents crimes including mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial killings and possibly unlawful air and ground attacks against civilians in the North Sinai.More

International Crisis Group: Toward dialogue with Mali’s jihadists

Jihadists of the MUJAO movement stand guard at Gao airport in Mali on 7 August 2012 (photo: Ollo Hien/AFP/Getty Images)

Against a background of growing intercommunal violence in central Mali, the International Crisis Group published a report this week encouraging the government to explore the possibility of talks with the jihadist insurgents.More

Torture: India’s instrument of control in Kashmir and Jammu

Cover of "Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir" (source: jkccs.net)

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) have released the first comprehensive report on torture in Jammu and Kashmir. Using 432 case studies, the report charts trends, patterns and impacts of torture since 1947. Since the Indian armed forces enjoy legal impunity, not a single prosecution has ever taken placeMore

The hidden sources of Iranian strength

Lebanon's Hezbollah help out with flood protection measures in Iran (photo: MEHR)

Iran’s ties with its proxies are far deeper than the Trump administration understands. Historically, the connections between Iran, Iraq, and the Levant go back generations. But that's only half the story, writes Narges BajoghliMore

SWP: The “Deal of the Century” for Israel‑Palestine

White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner listens as President Donald Trump makes an announcement in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, 1 October 2018 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. Martinez Monsivais)

While the details of Donald Trumpʹs "deal of the century" to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remain a well-kept secret, the U.S. administration’s record to date suggests the initiative will prioritise Israeli interests over Palestinian rights, ignore fundamental principles of international law and steer well away from the idea of two sovereign states.More

Sri Lanka: A preview of IS' future

Three people light candles in Colombo in memory of the victims of the Easter Day bombings (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Swarup)

Terrorism has long been a crucial promotional tactic for IS. This won’t change just because the organisation, which tried to build a proto-state on territory it held in Iraq and Syria, was militarily defeated earlier this year.More

POLITICO: France’s double game in Libya

French President Emmanuel Macron, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and General Khalifa Haftar, commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA) during a press conference after talks aimed at easing tensions in Libya, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, near Paris, France on 25 July 2017 (photo: picture-alliance/C. Liewig)

In backing a warlord, Paris may be dealing itself a losing hand. "Macron was misadvised into thinking that Libya could be a quick win for his charisma," says Tarek Megerisi, researcher at the European Council on Foreign Relations.More

Is the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group?

Cairo's Tahrir Square at the height of the January revolution in 2011 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

President Trump wants to designate the Muslim Brotherhood, an international Islamist movement, as a terrorist organisation. The designation would impose sanctions on the group and those who do business with it.More

SWP: Libya’s conflicts enter a dangerous new phase

Libyan National Accord Government troops clash with eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar's troops in Wadi al-Rabie area located at south of Tripoli, Libya on 10 April 2019 (photo: picture-alliance/AA/H. Turkia)

Owing to General Khalifa Haftar's attack on Tripoli, the national conference on Libya planned by the UN has been cancelled. In view of recent developments, we recommend reading Wolfram Lacher's commentary published by SWP.More

Sisi's Egypt: development dictatorship, Mubarak 2.0, or rapid collapse?

Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (photo: Imago/Zuma Press)

A referendum on a constitutional amendment is to be held in Egypt at the beginning of May, which would enable President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to continue governing after the end of his current term. In the face of massive repression, approval seems certain. But how will this regime develop in the future? By Stephan Roll and Luca MieheMore

Iran is committing suicide by dehydration

Mother and child look down on the dry Zayandeh riverbed from the bridge of 33 arches in Isfahan, Iran (photo: IRNA)

The Islamic Republic’s corruption is draining the country of its most precious resource: water.More

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

Human Rights Watch: IS child suspects subject to arbitrary arrest and torture

In its latest report, Human Rights Watch reveals that Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Government authorities have charged hundreds of children with terrorism for alleged Islamic State affiliation. The prosecutions are often based on dubious accusations and forced confessions obtained through torture.More

Tania Georgelas: My journey out of extremism

Tania Georgelas met her husband John, an American convert to Islam, online and they connected over their Islamist views. After John moved Tania and their children to Syria, she decided to escape. Now she wants to dedicate her life to countering extremism and rehabilitating ex-jihadists.More

SWP: Libya’s conflicts enter a dangerous new phase

SWP logo (source: swp-berlin.org)

Wolfram Lacher argues that the UN’s ongoing attempts at brokering a political solution in Libya are being undermined by the recent advances made by Khalifa Haftar’s “Libyan Arab Armed Forces” in the south of the country.More