Society

AfD election poster in Berlin′s Kreuzberg district (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Islamophobia in Germany

"We need a new debate about racism"

Why are people bothered when an academic wears a headscarf, but don't mind one worn by a cleaning lady? Extremism researchers are studying how and why attitudes towards Muslims are changing. The rise of the AfD is viewed as an important factor. By Kay Alexander ScholzMore

Europe, Germany and ″Abendland″ angst: In the name of Christendom Religious freedom in Germany: Constitutionally irrelevant Interview with Israeli historian Moshe Zimmermann: AfD's success comparable with the rise of the Nazis

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan stands next to Mahatma Gandhi (source: Creative Commons)

Pashtun freedom fighter Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Islam's forgotten "Gandhi"

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the founder of the world’s first professional non-violent army. Here in the West, the Islamic Gandhi is little known – but today his legacy is more relevant than ever. A portrait of the Pashtun "Badshah Khan" by Marian BrehmerMore

Abdul Ghaffar Khan: Pioneer of non-violence Islamic approaches to non-violence: In Gandhi's footsteps Jawdat Said: Islam as a violence-free religion

Iranian philosopher Daryush Shayegan (photo: AFP/Anne-Christine Poujoulat)

Obituary: Iranian philosopher Dariush Shayegan

The science of balance

On 22 March 2018, Dariush Shayegan, one of the Islamic world's foremost philosophers, died at the age of 83 in Tehran. Without ever pinning his colours to any one religious mast, Shayegan sought out the commonalities between Islamic, Indian and Far Eastern spirituality and Western philosophy. By Stefan WeidnerMore

French philosopher Henry Corbin: Wherever the spirit guides Philosophy in Iran: Between critical rationalism and Eastern wisdom Obituary: Mohammad-Ali Sepanlou: A master of contemporary Iranian letters

A Koca Sinan Camii mosque congregation member inspects damage to the mosque and Korans the day after a fire there the previous night, as a Turkish flag hangs nearby, on 11 March 2018 in Berlin, Germany (photo: Getty Images/Adam Berry)

Mosque attacks in Germany

A duty to protect

The recent spate of mosque attacks and a rise in hate crime has immigrants in Germany sounding the alarm. Community leaders are calling for more support and understanding from state authorities, including the police. By Astrid PrangeMore

Germanyʹs new Homeland minister: No to religious parity Muslims in Germany: The long road to acceptance Germany’s identity crisis: We are the people, too

Yasmine Zohdi, editor with Egyptʹs Mada Masr (source: Twitter)

Interview with Yasmine Zohdi, editor with Egyptʹs Mada Masr

"Censorship is the worst it has ever been"

Yasmine Zohdi is the culture editor for Mada Masr, Egyptʹs leading liberal online newspaper. In interview with Schayan Riaz, she talks about her work reviewing Arab cinema at this year's Berlinale and the increasing censorship felt by creatives and media professionals in EgyptMore

Egyptian video archive 858.ma: Nothing but the truth Repression and legitimation in Egypt: The world as al-Sisi sees it Societal repression in Egypt: The tentacles of autocracy

Religious nationalist Erdogan supporters during a demonstration in Istanbul (photo: ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Public debate in Turkey post-Afrin

"There are plenty of traitors"

Verbal attacks, death threats and hate speech are an increasingly common feature of public discourse in Turkey. And many think that this mix of nationalistic, pseudo-religious and discriminatory rhetoric is being stoked by the government. By Ceyda NurtschMore

Interview with Sanem Altan, daughter of Turkish detainee Ahmet Altan: ″The rule of law is disappearing″Turkey′s incursion into Syria:The Kurdish quagmire Closure of NGOs in Turkey: Forced to down tools

Young Turks holding placards join the opening of the new mosque in Duisburg-Marxloh, Germany on 26.10.2008. (photo: AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Muslims in Germany

The long road to acceptance

Most Muslims in Germany are well integrated and identify closely with the country. Yet some of the public continue to view them with mistrust, in part because of underprivileged urban areas like Duisburg-Marxloh. By Tonio PostelMore

Germany′s integration debate revisited: Piling on the pressure What it means to be German: Recognise the potential Germany’s identity crisis: We are the people, too

Abbasid Caliph Al-Qadir bestowing a richly decorated robe of honour on Mahmud of Ghazni in 1000 (miniature from Rashid al-Din’s "Jami' al-tawarikh", via Wikimedia Commons)

Ethnicity in the Muslim caliphates

To be a son of Quraish

The Ottoman Caliphate, which dominated the Muslim world for over thirteen centuries, was abolished on 3 March 1924 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, putting an end to one of the most significant political-religious powers in history. By Mohamed YosriMore

Guardians of Thrones: When women ruled the Muslim world History of the Caliphate: We are all caliphs!The Islamic reformer Ibn Tumart: The man who changed the course of Islamic history

View of the Kaaba in Mecca (photo: Reuters/Muhammad Hamed)

India′s new hajj policy

Empowering minorities?

While the Hindu-nationalist government led by Narendra Modi has withdrawn the hajj subsidy to Muslims, public grants to members of the Hindu majority making pilgrimages remain in place. By Ronald MeinardusMore

Interview with identity politics expert Mujibur Rehman: "Muslims feel deeply unsafe in present-day India"Muslims in India: Nothing like equal opportunities All-female madrassas: Of women, by women and for women

Film director Danya Alhamrani (left) and producer Dania Nassief (photo: Jordis Zahring)

Documentary: "A Silent Revolution"

Pioneering Saudi women

Thanks to the courage of a few, Saudi Arabian women are now managing companies and will soon be allowed to drive cars. The documentary "A Silent Revolution" showcases Saudi Arabia's female movers and shakers. Elizabeth Grenier talked to director Danya Alhamrani and producer Dania NassiefMore

Berlinale 2016: Interview with Saudi director Mahmoud Sabbagh: ″Testing the water... to make a change"Women′s rights in the Arab world: The key to change Saudi economic policy: How much reform?

Social unrest in Algiers at the beginning of January (photo: Reuters)

Social unrest in Algeria

Cranking up the pressure

For months now, Algeria's education and health system has been crippled by a wave of strikes. But despite vehement protests against the government's labour and social policies, it is categorically refusing to make any concessions to the strikers. By Sofian Philip NaceurMore

Algeria′s disillusioned majority: Desperately seeking voters Unrest in Algeria: Shaking the social foundations Europe and Algeria: The trust deficit

Berber villagers ride their donkeys through snow covered mountains in Tighanmin, a Middle Atlas village near Azilal, central Morocco, on 15 February 2018 (photo: AP Photo/Mosaʹab Elshamy)

Snow in Moroccoʹs Atlas mountains

Calling the King to account

This yearʹs bitter weather conditions, characterised by unusually heavy snowfalls in the Atlas mountains, merely highlight the Moroccan governmentʹs neglect of its poorest regions and the rural Amazigh community. By Matthew GreeneMore

Morocco′s Amazigh: The long road to recognition Mohammed Khair-Eddine: An intimate look at Berber culture Social unrest in the Arab world: Guilty of gross negligence

Police officer armed with a machine gun guards the Jewish Museum in Berlin (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Germany appoints an anti-Semitism commissioner

Moving in the right direction

The German Bundestag has voted to appoint a commissioner charged with combatting anti-Semitism in the hopes of quelling anti-Jewish sentiment and hate crimes in the country. But what is really needed, say critics, is a commissioner to combat racism in general. Ulrike Hummel has the detailsMore

Anti-Semitism debate in Germany: Time for objectivity Targeting the Muslim population: Presumed guilty Controversial documentary on anti-Semitism: "Bibi" TV

Muslim reads from the Koran (photo: picture-alliance/ANP/R. Koole)

Islamist ideology debunked

Getting past the abuse

Many efforts to provide counter-narratives for Salafist-jihadism are currently failing to address extremists′ abuse of religious scripture directly. Nevertheless, efforts to combat extremism through religious counter-narratives are expanding across the Islamic world. By Rachel Bryson and Milo ComerfordMore

Anti-radicalisation strategies in Egypt: Sheikhs on the beat Islam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology: If the cap fits Islam and violence: Self-proclaimed jihadists

Volunteer grave-digger Chemseddine Marzoug (photo: AFP)

Tunisia's ″Cemetery for the Unknown″

The gravedigger of Zarzis

Every year, the bodies of migrants who die trying to cross the Mediterranean wash ashore in Tunisia. Sarah Mersch met the man who holds funerals for the deceased, affording them the respect that was often lacking during their lifetimeMore

Interview with the Tunisian musician Anouar Brahem: ″Merely a staging-post for refugees″Hamza Meddeb on the "No Future" generation: Tunisia's ticking time bomb Photo essay: "Search and rescue in a sea of refugees"

Journalist holding a placard bearing the likeness of Ahmet Altan stands in front of Istanbul courthouse on 19 June 2017 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose)

Interview with Sanem Altan, daughter of Turkish detainee Ahmet Altan

″The rule of law is disappearing″

Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan has been sentenced to life in prison for ′violating the constitution′. In interview with Gezal Acet, his daughter Sanem Altan asserts that the verdict is a political decision aimed at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's opponentsMore

Turkey′s media crackdown: No freedom. No press.Press freedom in Turkey: Writing in a state of fear Erdogan′s Turkey: The repression goes on

Lebanese schoolchildren attend a political Islam school (photo: AFP/raseef22)

Lebanon′s education system

The problem with political Islam

Hassan Lama′a reports on the religious networks that exist within the Lebanese education system and how political Islam schools are still influencing new generations of studentsMore

Hezbollah in Lebanon: How Hezbollah is paralysing Lebanese politics Hezbollah and the uprising in Syria: Can the ''Party of God'' weather the Arab Spring?Civil society initiatives in Lebanon: "I am not a martyr"

Anti-Afrin offensive graffiti on the side of a DITIB mosque in Minden, Germany (photo: Ozturk)

Mosque attacks in Germany

The wrong target

Since the beginning of the Turkish military offensive in the northern Syrian enclave of Afrin, there have been repeated violent attacks on Turkish mosques in Germany. Foreign conflicts should not be imported to Germany, nor should the military conflicts of other nations be fuelled by weapons exports, says Armin LangerMore

Germany's arms exports controversy: When doves cry Turkey’s Afrin offensive: Wrong, but not unjustified Turkey′s incursion into Syria: The Kurdish quagmire

Al-Azhar sheikh chatting in a coffee house with young people in Cairo′s Sharabiya quarter (photo: Karim El-Gawhary)

Anti-radicalisation strategies in Egypt

Sheikhs on the beat

There are many opinions about the best way to combat Islamist extremism. For its part, Al-Azhar University in Cairo has decided to send its sheikhs out of the mosques and into the coffee houses of the city in an attempt to prevent radicalisation. By Karim El-GawharyMore

Islam and the modern age: Moving beyond dogmatic doctrine Islam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology: If the cap fits Islam and violence: Conservative Muslims refute the violence of IS

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"

Tolerance. Understanding. Coexistence: Oman's message of Islam

Oman's touring exhibition: ‘Tolerance, Understanding and Coexistence – Oman‘s Message of Islam’

"The aim of exchange is to reflect on the foundations of our thinking, a common morality and a common sense of justice," says Sheikh Abdullah al-Salimi, Omanʹs minister of religious affairs. "Only when we are aware of these similarities, while accepting cultural differences, will we and our children enjoy a peaceful future."More

Integration in Germany: The master barber of Berlin

A Palestinian barber puts his stamp on Berlin by transforming a rundown American school bus into a stylish barbershop on wheels. In this Al-Jazeera reportage, he reveals his recipe for real integration in Germany.More

Kumut Imesh: "Revenir", my flight revisited

On his flight from the Ivory Coast Kumut Imesh passed six countries before he reached Europe. Thirteen years later he set out to follow his route again – this time with a camera – to create the documentary "Revenir".More

The true nature of Germany's AfD

For four years Franziska Schreiber was the right hand of ex-AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry. According to Schreiber the AfD is a dangerous party dominated by "right-wing radicals".More

Project Syndicate: Deutsche Bank economist Elina Ribakova on the challenges of integration

Although integrating refugees and migrants has become a key policy priority in many countries, integration is rarely defined explicitly. But there are several indicators that can be used to gauge success, says EEMEA chief economist for the Deutsche Bank Elina Ribakova.More

The changing face of hijab: does the veil have a place on the runways?

Halima Aden, a hijab-wearing model from the United States, featuring a creation by designer Rasit Bagzibagli for Modanisa, an online retailer of modest fashion, poses for photographers, during a fashion show in Istanbul on 26 March 2018 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis)

The hijab and veil are gaining prominence on the runways, but should these religious symbols ever be looked at through the lens of fashion? Hijabi journalist Eman Mustafa Bare explores the topicMore

Al Jazeera: Breaking down stereotypes in Molenbeek

At a Brussels gym founded by Moroccan migrants, young boxers counter stereotypes that their neighbourhood Molenbeek is a “hotbed of radicalisation”.More

Chef Kamel Hashlamon bridges Israeli-Palestinian divide with food

Palestinian chef Kamel Haslamon at work (photo: Kamel Hashlamon; Facebook)

Palestinian chef Kamel Hashlamon’s life has been filled with challenges, starting with his birthplace: East Jerusalem. Yet his culinary career has been defined by his ability to bridge differences between Palestinians and Israelis with his food.More

Mesut Özil's retirement from international football

Mesut Özil at the FIFA Word Cup 2018 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Charisius)

In a trio of explosive tweets, Mesut Özil retired from international football and roundly attacked the German Football Association (DFB), its President Reinhard Grindel, and double standards in Germany's media and society. Özil's photo op with Recep Tayyip Erdogan was ill-advised, but the reaction to it, and his scapegoating by the German FA, is a sad tale of poor management with worrying xenophobic notes, writes Matt Pearson.More

Tunisian anti-litter activist takes up 300-km, 30-beach challenge

Mohamed Oussama Houij's Tunisian beach clean-up; here in El Madfoun, Hergla (source: Mohamed Oussama Houij's Facebook page)

27-year-old sanitary engineer and "long-distance activist" Mohamed Oussama Houij set out in July to walk a 300-kilometre stretch of coastline in northern Tunisia, cleaning up 30 beaches along the way.More

Afro.Germany - being black and German

"Where do you come from?" As an Afro-German, DW host Jana Pareigis was asked this question very often. In our film "Afro.Germany," she discusses with other people of color how they experience living in Germany.

Black and German: news anchor Jana Pareigis has spent her entire life being asked about her skin color. What is it like to be black in Germany? What needs to change?More

Forgotten stories: Muslims who saved Jewish people during the Holocaust

Muslims like Si Kaddour Benghabrit (shown here) saved many Jews from deportation (photo: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Even in the darkest times, there are heroes – though sometimes they may be the people we least expect.More

Helping erase IS terrorist ideology in Mosul

During the Islamic State group's rule in Mosul, radio stations were banned and replaced with broadcasts of extremist propaganda. Today, young Iraqis like Nour Tai are filling the city's airwaves.More

A modest place in the sun: Turkey's Muslim-friendly holidays

Guests enjoy the pool at Selge Beach Resort and Spa Hotel, a halal friendly holiday resort, in Manavgat near Antalya, Turkey 18 April 2018. (photo: REUTERS/Osman Orsal)

Turkey’s $26 billion tourism industry has been battered by security fears and political disputes in recent years but one corner of the market is quietly growing - beach holidays for conservative Muslims.More

Egypt's millennials turn to Sufism

Sufis celebrate the birth of Imam Al Hussain in Cairo's Sayeda Zeinab district (photo: DW/M. Hassanein Hamady)

In the fallout from Egypt's two most recent uprisings, and possibly in reaction to Wahhabist influence, young Egyptians are searching for spiritual fulfillment through a creed that has long been misinterpreted by mainstream IslamMore

Eminent Middle East historian Bernard Lewis dies at 101

Middle East historian Bernard Lewis (source: YouTube)

Bernard Lewis, a pre-eminent scholar of Middle Eastern history whose work profoundly shaped Western views of the region – including fears of a "clash of civilisations" – has died at the age of 101.More

The radicalising effect of prisons

Entrance to Vivonne prison, Poitiers, near Paris. The prison was the scene of a mutiny in autumn 2016 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/G. Souvant)

In overcrowded and dehumanising prison conditions, someone making a speech that is even the slightest bit comforting or inspiring can easily influence vulnerable minds, writes Jeremy Felkowski.More

Belgium: A model of integration

The town of Mechelen has blossomed into a model of integration in Belgium. The mayor's secret of success is more police and CCTV cameras along with more support for projects bringing migrants and Belgians together.More

Al Jazeera: The Muslims of Cuba

Al Jazeera's "Muslims of Cuba" feature (source: Al Jazeera)

How a new crop of neighbourhood entrepreneurs are helping spread awareness about a fledgling religious community.More

Ifa dossier: Flight and migration

"Solfar" sculpture by Jon Gunnar Arnason in Reykjavik (photo: Matt Lamers (CC0 1.0) via Unsplash)

Europe is still regarded as an eldorado by many seeking security and a better life. But what do those coming from Muslim countries expect of Europe? What hopes and dreams do they carry with them?More

New York Times: "Goodbye to the house my grandmother built"

Egyptian novelist Yasmine El Rashidi (source: YouTube)

Yasmine El Rashidi, author of "The Battle for Egypt: Dispatches from the Revolution" and "Chronicle of a Last Summer: A Novel of Egypt", writes about what it feels like to lose one’s childhood home, city and country.More

Goethe-Institut's Perspektiven: Generational conflict

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

FEMYSO: Fighting Islamophobia

The Forum of European Muslim Youth and Student Organisations works to promote the development, understanding and respect of human rights across Europe, focussing specifically on tackling Islamophobia in all its forms and raising awareness about this ongoing problem.More

The rise of "bad civil society" in Israel

Protest by supporters of nationalist civil society organisation "Im Tirtzu" (source: YouTube)

Mirroring broader social trends within Israel, Israeli civil society is facing a growing conflict between the rising conservative nationalist social forces (CSOs) and the dwindling liberal and humanist camp represented by human rights organisationsMore

Hamza Hamouchene's "Paradises of the Earth"

Hamza Hamouchene, producer of the groundbreaking web documentary "Paradises of the Earth", talks about the reasons that led him to embark on this amazing project.More

How the Muslim world lost the freedom to choose

Women in Kabul during the pre-Taliban era (source: amnesty.org.uk)

A brave new book describes how Pakistan unravelled – and provides a blueprint for understanding declining pluralism across the Middle East.More