The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has been active in Syria for two years now. It currently has around 5,000 fighters there – and the numbers are growing. Aron Lund, who has written studies on Syria's fighter landscape for the Swedish Institute for International Affairs, explains the terrorist organisation's strategies to Mona Sarkis More
Iraq is in the grip of a devastating inner-Islamic religious war. The conflict has an inherent dynamic that cannot be stopped by presidential wishful thinking or a hurried visit to Baghdad by US foreign minister John Kerry. Stefan Buchen commentsMore
Hamed Abdel-Samad's book "Der islamische Faschismus" (Islamic Fascism) is not a serious analysis, but a platitude-laden polemic against political Islam. Ironically, the book shows that its author has more in common with the people he is criticising than he realises. By Daniel BaxMore
In terms of politics, economics, religion and culture, the paths of the Arab states diverge. The once proclaimed unity between them has been consigned to the history books. Only one thing still binds them together: the Arabic language. By Kersten KnippMore
A new six-volume work entitled "A History of the World" is the high point of a historiographical boom in the discipline known as "global history". The project attempts to overcome the eurocentrism of traditional writings of history. By Andreas PflitschMore
In this interview with Anna Alvi and Alia Hübsch, Prof. Angelika Neuwirth says that the claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age old cliché, and that it is pride in the Enlightenment that continues to lead people to believe that Western Culture is superior to IslamMore
Why does classical Oriental poetry still sound so ornate to western ears? Blame the translations. These are still following the model of the eighteenth century, when the myth arose that Islamic poets were sentimental geniuses in the realm of emotion and romance. An essay by Stefan WeidnerMore
In his book, Alexander Flores confidently clears the decks of received wisdom on the Muslim faith. Flores limits his monograph to essential information and in doing so, avoids both apology and polemical discourse in equal measure. By Stefan WeidnerMore
Youssef Ziedan is a bestselling Egyptian author, philosopher and scholar of history. He is also director of the Manuscript Division of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria. In this interview with Susanne Schanda, he says that being revolutionary is also about asking questions of authorityMore
The civil war in Syria is not only causing human suffering, it is also endangering the nation's historic legacy. Most recently, extensive damage was inflicted on Aleppo's ancient bazaar. Björn Zimprich discusses the consequences of this destruction with Stefan Knost, who took part in historic excavations in Aleppo several years agoMore
More than two decades after the end of the civil war and with fresh fears that the conflict could erupt again at any time, many people in Lebanon think it is still too soon to start trying to make sense of the country's history. Also, as Sonja Hegasy reports from Beirut, the upheaval in the region is having an effect on this debateMore
How does a wine goblet find its way into an Islamic art collection? In "The Culture of Ambiguity", Thomas Bauer describes the wide boundaries of Muslim culture and asserts that in the West cultural goods are often considered to be "Islamic" when they're actually notMore
A French-Senegalese author has raised his voice in protest. Tidiane N'Diaye accuses Arabs of not acknowledging their responsibility for the slave trade. He demands an explanation, yet sheds very little new light on the situation himself. A review by Moritz BehrendtMore
The Berber village Matmata in southern Tunisia is famous for its quaint underground houses and cave dwellings, which are pleasantly cool in summer and comfortably warm in winter.
The German Islam Scholar Lamya Kaddor
Why I as a Muslim Woman Don't Wear a Headscarf
Jordan and the influx of refugees
The true Samaritans
Muslims in Liberal Democracies
Why the West Fears Islam
The Decline of Islamic Scientific Thought
Don't Blame It on al-Ghazali
The Media and ''The Innocence of Muslims''
Against the Islamisation of Muslims
Junaid Jamshed
"I Was a Sinner for Years"