'Islamic State' | IS | Qantara.de - Dialogue with the Islamic World

Topic: 'Islamic State' | IS

Iraqi writer Nahidh al-Ramadhani (photo: private)

Book review: Nahidh al-Ramadhani's "The Hope Vendor"

A successive shattering of dreams

Mosuli author and playwright Nahidh al-Ramadhani provides a brave account of Iraq's modern history. From the borders of Kuwait to the Kurdish mountains, from Saddam's battlefields to Gaddafi's schools, the book traces developments political, economic and personal, driven by Ramadhaniʹs own writing ambitions. By Gilgamesh NabeelMore

Shahad al-Rawiʹs "The Baghdad Clock": Romance and sanctions in ʹ90s Iraq Sinan Antoon′s ″The Baghdad Eucharist″: Fading under fire Iraq post-IS: Mosulʹs cultural comeback Orhan Pamuk: Istanbul – Memories of a city

Grief for more than 300 victims of the attacks in Sri Lanka (photo: Reuters/A. Dave)

Easter Sunday bombings

How did Islamist terrorism take hold in Sri Lanka?

How active are Islamist groups in Sri Lanka? Could they have launched multiple, well-coordinated terrorist attacks in different parts of the country without the support of global jihadist organisations? By Shamil ShamsMore

Islamic State claims responsibility for Sri Lankan bombings Islam in Sri Lanka: Peaceful prospects for the Moors

A Syrian child displaced from eastern Ghouta with his family watches from the window of their shelter in the village of Horjelli in the Damascus countryside, Syria, 13 April 2018 (photo: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Ammar)

Marianne Gasser, former head of the Red Cross delegation, on Syria

Healing a broken land

International donors have pledged aid to Syria as the conflict there enters its ninth year. Marianne Gasser, former head of the Red Cross delegation in Syria, knows how vital immediate help is from personal experienceMore

Rebuilding Syria: Who should foot the bill for Assad?Non-fiction: Rania Abouzeidʹs "No turning back": The humans behind the headlines War reporting: Facts must be respected – even in Syria!

The entryway to the synagogue in Mosul's Jewish Quarter is blocked with bars to prevent looting (photo: Eddy van Wessel)

Iraq post-Islamic State

The surprising survival of Mosulʹs Jewish quarter

Mosul's Jewish quarter miraculously survived three years of occupation by the Islamic State terror group and the battle to evict it. Judit Neurink and Eddy van Wessel went there to find out howMore

Islamic State′s destruction of Mosul: Razed to the ground "Baghdad, yesterday - The making of an Arab Jew": A multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society Traces of Jewish life in Iraq

Libyaʹs General Khalifa Haftar emerges from a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, November 2016 (photo: Reuters/M. Shemetov)

Russian involvement in Libya

Backing Haftar to the hilt?

The rumours that Libyan General Khalifa Haftar has Kremlin support are as consistent as his advance on the country's capital. In Syria, Russia has flexed its military muscles – but it isn't yet showing its cards on Libya. By Emily SherwinMore

Civil War in Libya: What is Russia really up to?Internecine struggles: Libyaʹs free for all Khalifa Haftar's role in the Libyan civil war: The fight against political Islam

The 28-year-old accused is led before the court just one day after the terror attacks on two mosques in Christchuch (photo: Mark Mitchell/SNPA/NewZealand Herald POOL/AAP/dpa)

Post-Christchurch debate on religion and terrorism

Who is responsible for the violence?

The question of whether religious texts are interpreted in a tolerant or a hostile way is closely tied to the historical context in which the interpretation takes place. The responsibility for terrorism lies first and foremost with people and not with the religious texts themselves, says Assem Hefny, a lecturer at Al-Azhar UniversityMore

Germany post-Christchurch: Showing a stunning lack of solidarity After the massacre in New Zealand: Breaking the cycle of violence Terror attacks on mosques in New Zealand: A rupture in our civilisation

The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (photo: Issam Hajjar)

The "Syrian Heritage Archive Project"

Syria's cultural landscape lives on – in Berlin

Countless cultural assets were destroyed by the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project in Berlin contributes to preserving their memory with an exhibition showing what has been lost – and what remains. By Christina KufnerMore

"Syrien – ein Land ohne Krieg": Syria, as it once was Aleppo soap: Balsam from a war zone Reconstruction of Aleppo: ″Others destroy and we rebuild″

A boy stands in a line of niqab-wearing women near Baghouz, Syria, 05.03.2019 (photo: Reuters/R. Said)

Slaves of Islamic State

The fight to find the missing Yazidis

Islamic State is fighting its endgame with Yazidis waiting anxiously. Angered by Iraqi government silence following reports that IS killed 50 of their women, they are pushing for real action to find 3,000 of their own. By Judit NeurinkMore

Nadia Murad: One woman's fight against Islamic State Dunya Mikhailʹs "The Beekeeper": Rescuing the stolen women The abduction of women by IS: Traded like cattle

Militia supporter in Syria burns an IS flag in Raqqa (photo: picture-alliance/AP/dpa)

The end of the "Islamic State"

Entering a new chapter in Syria

The appeal and the peculiarity of Islamic State always lay in its claim that it already existed as such, not that it was a work in progress. But the capture of the last IS bastion on the Euphrates must now represent the final nail in the coffin for the jihadistsʹ state-building project. By Ulrich von SchwerinMore

The Kurdish YPG and the future of northeastern Syria: Assad smiles from the sidelines White House: Trump, Erdogan seeking 'negotiated solution' on Syria Trump’s Syria withdrawal: A chance for peace?

Michael Blume and Zehra Tayanc (photo: Rahel Taubert)

One interfaith couple's story

Our three weddings – civil, Muslim, and Christian

On Christmas Eve 2014 Michael Blume asked his wife Zehra whether he should help a thousand women and children, victims of IS violence, leave northern Iraq. After all, sheʹd been known to say yes to all kinds of questions in the past. Andreas Malessa recounts the story of their unusual relationshipMore

Interfaith partnerships in Germany: Cultural diversity as an enrichment Muslims and inter-religious marriages: Negotiating religion and social identity Interview with a mixed-faith couple: Experiences in a Christian-Muslim marriage

The ruins of Raqqa following the defeat of Islamic State (photo: Getty Images/AFP/B. Kilic)

Returning IS fighters

Expatriation hardly an option

How should Germany deal with IS returnees from Syria? Can Berlin deny them the right to return? And would expatriation even be possible? By Nermin IsmailMore

Europe's treatment of IS returnees: Eroding the constitutional state Interview with the French anthropologist Dounia Bouzar: Lecturing the radicalised won′t help A new start for jihadists? Tunisiaʹs bid to rehabilitate its returnees

The Taliban at the Moscow talks on 09.11.2019 (photo: picture-alliance/Sputnik/Astapkovich/dpa)

Negotiating peace with the Taliban

Any deal will do

The tension among Kabul's political elite is palpable. Washington has been conducting negotiations for a peace deal with the insurgent Taliban in the Gulf emirate of Qatar for quite some time now, and the government in Kabul feels side-lined. Yet regardless of who is sitting around the negotiating table, almost all players in Afghanistan agree: the need for peace is urgent. By Emran FerozMore

Taliban take centre stage as Kabul cut out of peace talks Interview with Thomas Ruttig: Afghanistan's democracy in reverse gear Radical Islamism: Negotiating with jihadists?

Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism for England and Wales Sara Khan (photo: Nermin Ismail/DW)

Interview with the UKʹs Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism Sara Khan

"Weʹre living through an era of extremism"

In a bid for more dialogue, Sara Khan, UKʹs Lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism, calls on individuals to challenge extremism and on countries to ensure they defend and promote equality, human rights, pluralism and diversity. Interview by Ismail NerminMore

Interview with extremism researcher Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck: "Being part of a ʹcommunityʹ transcends everything"Cameron's counter-extremism strategy: Cause for concern or necessary evil?Interview with the social scientist Edit Schlaffer: Mothers Schools challenge extremism

U.S. President Donald Trump gives a speech at the White House in Washington (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Trump’s Syria withdrawal

A chance for peace?

Trump's withdrawal from Syria could indeed be a dangerous prelude to an expanded regional war. Yet with imagination and diplomacy the withdrawal could also be an important step on the difficult road to peace in the region, argues Jeffrey D. SachsMore

U.S. politics in Syria: Trump, Syria – and the threat of regional conflagration Battle for Syria: Trump's constructive ignorance War in Syria: Ending America′s disastrous role

Russian President Vladimir Putin (photo: picture-alliance/dpa)

Civil War in Libya

What is Russia really up to?

Over the last few months, Russian diplomatic and political engagement in Libya has triggered many speculations over Russia's agenda in this war-torn North African country. Moscow's alleged increased military presence in eastern Libya sparked international controversy and even led some western observers to conclude that Russia is aiming to repeat the Syrian scenario in Libya. By Stasa SalacaninMore

Khalifa Haftar's role in the Libyan civil war: The fight against political Islam Internecine struggles: Libyaʹs free for all Interview with Libyan author Hisham Matar: "You can't turn back the clock"

Still taken from Mohammed Ben Atiaʹs "Dear Son" (distributed by BAC Films)

Mohamed Ben Attiaʹs "Dear Son"

O Sami, my son, my son

Of the many books, plays and films inspired by the story of the Islamic State movement, "Dear Son" by Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia offers something different. Far from the drama of the battlefield, he focuses on the anguish of the family that the fighter leaves behind. By Schayan RiazMore

A new age dawns for Tunisian cinema: Press reboot!Raed Andoni's "Ghost Hunting" at the Berlinale: The ghosts that lurk Interview with director Tamer El Said: "In the Last Days of the City": Between light and dark

Topic: 'Islamic State' | IS

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