Qantara.de - Dialog mit der islamischen Welt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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