Topic: Art

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Osman Kavala (photo: Kerem Uzel/dpa/picture-alliance)

Turkish activist Osman Kavala

"We have a strong political opposition"

The Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala has been imprisoned in Turkey since 2017. Erdoğan's government considers him an enemy of the state. In this interview, Kavala tells Linda Vierecke why he still has hope in spite of it all.More

Osman Kavala and Turkey's travesty of justice: Exploiting the fog of warInterview with jailed Turkish human rights activist Osman Kavala: "Nonsensical accusations"Turkey: the Osman Kavala case: A crucial test for EU–Turkey relations
Lebanese stand-up comedian Shaden Fakih during her stage show in Beirut at the end of February 2022 (image: https://www.facebook.com/Shadyonshka)

Freedom of speech in Lebanon

Jail? Don't make me laugh!

In June 2022, Lebanese comedian Shaden Fakih was court-martialled for allegedly humiliating the security forces. She talked to Lena Bopp about coming out on live television, sexism on the comedy scene and the changes in her countryMore

Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobh: I'm not afraid for myselfLebanese author Elias Khoury: Beirut's ruling class – "The stupidest mafia there is"Qantara dossier: Comedy
Curator Linda Komaroff discusses the work "Be Colorful #2" by Iran-born artist Shadi Ghadirian at the press preview for the exhibition "Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond" (image: AFP/Robyn Beck)

"Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond"

LA art exhibition on Middle East women opens

An exhibition of work by 42 female artists on women in the Middle East has opened in California. Challenging stereotypes about the region, it depicts what curators say are the personal and universal stories of women in Islamic societies.More

Suspended Territories exhibition: Beyond the veilPortrait of Iranian artist Shirin Neshat: Imaginary OrientWomen in Iran: The daughters of Khomeini's silent revolution
"Girl in a Cemetery" (detail) by Raoof Haghighi c/o A Gallery, London, UK

Art and the Iran protests

"Painting is like breathing for me"

Iranian artist Raoof Haghighi's latest exhibition, including works in support of the women of Iran, presents an intriguing range of styles and media. From stark, striking pencil sketches to lush portraits in oils, the art show from 7-16 April promises to be visually, intellectually and emotionally stimulating. Interview by Richard MarcusMore

Iranian artist Farzaneh Khademian's "Peephole": Women living "life without a life"Portrait of the Egyptian artist Soad Abdelrasoul: Creating her own universeGraffiti artist Shamsia Hassani: Giving voice to Afghanistan's oppressedPortrait of the Iranian artist Shirin Neshat: Imaginary Orient
Udo Steinbach at an event in Cafe Shabander on Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad (image: private)

Udo Steinbach on Europe and the Gulf

Let's have none of the old arrogance

Middle East expert Udo Steinbach has been advocating closer relations with the Gulf states for years. Genuine interest in regional development, however, needs to look beyond the stereotypes. Birgit Svensson spoke to him in BaghdadMore

FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022 Qatar critics and their blind spotsQatar 2022 and the Arab world: 'It’s our World Cup'Germany and the Gulf: Balancing ethics and economics
Online portal "Islamic Art", homepage, (source: National Museums in Berlin, Museum of Islamic Art)

Berlin Museum of Islamic Art

"Islamic Art” goes digital

The Berlin Museum of Islamic Art’s new online portal is the first digital platform in the German-speaking world to present Islamic cultures in an innovative and entertaining way. By Ceyda NurtschMore

No Europe without Islam: "Europe's history is rooted in migration"Europe's ''Judeo-Christian heritage'': The fiction that it always wasInterview with historian Michael Borgolte: "Islam was always part of Europe"
Baghdad Reading Festival on the Tigris (image: Birgit Svensson)

Iraq's art and literature scene

Culture boom in Baghdad

Frustrated with their politicians, young Iraqis are turning their backs on politics and throwing themselves into cultural life. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Protests in Iraq: The streets speak for themselves!Reform in Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political eliteFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living
The Prophet Muhammad, depicted as an inscribed and radiant disk, during his celestial ascension, Nizami, Makhzan al-Asrar (Treasury of Secrets), text transcribed in western India in 1441 and painting inserted subsequently, Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul.

Blasphemy, iconoclasm, Islamophobia?

Islamic art – understanding the richness of the Muslim world

How is one to convey the history of Islamic images of Muhammad freed from today’s polarised politics? What are the challenges and pinch points of this particular academic endeavour?More

Art historian Wendy Shaw: What is Islamic art, when the primary sensory organ is the heart?Islamic art: Iconoclasm: the counter-narrative"I am a stranger: a stranger twice over": Contemporary art meets early Islamic high culture
German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar (image: IPON/IMAGO)

Eye-witness on Iran protests

Exiled artist Forouhar: 'A country in turmoil'

Visiting the country of her parents, murdered by the Iranian regime in 1998, German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar finds a changed society: hopeful, strong and courageous, despite all the repressionMore

Iran protests 2022: Tehran fatally oblivious to social changeAsef Bayat on the Iran protests: "A movement to reclaim life"How feminist are the protests in Iran? The struggle for self-determination German-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar: What it means to be Iranian these days
Still from Sarvnaz Alambeigi's documentary "1001 Nights Apart" (source: YouTube)

"1001 Nights Apart"

Dancing for freedom in Iran

Ballet performances are prohibited in Iran. In her film "1001 Nights Apart", director Sarvnaz Alambeigi documents the history of dance in the Islamic Republic. By Fahimeh FarsaieMore

How feminist are the protests in Iran? The struggle for self-determination Iran protests 2022: Tehran fatally oblivious to social changeGerman-Iranian artist Parastou Forouhar: What it means to be Iranian these days
Naomi Campbell at the opening of Virgil Abloh's exhibition "Figures of Speech", Doha, Qatar, 4 November 2021 (photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images)

Qatar

How Qatar turns its cash into foreign policy power

For years, Qatar has pursued a "soft" foreign policy that helped make international friends and influence the powerful. It includes spending billions on everything from fashion, art and sport, to charities and industry. By Cathrin SchaerMore

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Qatar critics and their blind spotsWomen's rights in Qatar: Driving emancipation forwardHypocrisy and human rights: Qatar World Cup and Western double standards Qatar and FIFA World Cup 2022: The limits of liberalisation
Sufi shrine to Mustafa Devati in Istanbul (photo: Marian Brehmer)

God's love for all

Sufism is not just Muslim

Sufism has fluid boundaries. Just like Islam, Sufism is inconceivable without its late antique roots. Then again, it has also exerted an influence on Hinduism. Moreover, the Sufic doctrine of divine love exists independently of Islam. By Stefan WeidnerMore

Islamic mysticism: Understanding the SufisIslam in Pakistan: The land of the SufisWomen and Islamic studies: Annemarie Schimmel’s pioneering take on Islam Qantara dossier: Islamic mysticism | Sufism
Two of the four steel slabs of US artist Richard Serra's "East-West/West-East" installation in the Qatari desert (photo: Mustafa ABUMUNES AFP)

Richard Serra sculpture in Qatar desert

4WD pilgrimage to acclaimed installation

Deep in the Qatari desert, security guards have a lonely time keeping 24-hour watch over one of the world's most isolated artworks, created by renowned U.S. sculptor Richard SerraMore

Qantara photo essay: Qatar's new national museum – a rose in the desertThe Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar: Can Mathaf restore a pan-Arab artistic identity?Art Dubai: A new world of art
Arab women mobilise: the superheroine Qahera frees political prisoners, much to the displeasure of those in power (photo: Deena Mohamed)

Cartoonists in the Arab world

Children of the revolution

How are comic book artists in the Arab world responding to the political situation in the region? Lena Bopp talks to illustrators Lina Ghaibeh and George Khoudry about young artists' collectives and feminist superheroesMore

Cartoonists in the Arab world: Swimming against the tide"A History of Arab Graphic Design": Shaping collective memoriesMarvel comics: New Muslim superheroine
Hagia Sophia: a monument spanning two world religions, Christianity and Islam (photo: Getty Images)

No Europe without Islam

"Europe's history is rooted in migration"

Like Christianity, Europe's history is one of migration. Both have strong roots in the Orient and in cultures thousands of years old. Cultural historian Bernhard Braun invites us on a journey of discoveryMore

Europe's ''Judeo-Christian Heritage'': The fiction that it always wasIslam debate in Germany: The Jewish-Christian tradition is an inventionIslam for the 21st century? Look no further than Goethe
Spectacular light show at the Soundstorm Festival in Saudi Arabia (photo: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images)

Sex life in Saudi Arabia

Lifting the veil

Wild parties and a freewheeling sex life are part of everyday life in many places in the world today. Saudi Arabia is not one of them. Discreetly, however, those who want to hook up and party under the radar have been networking there for a long time. Johannes Sedak went on a search for clues in RiyadhMore

Shereen El Feki's ''Sex and the Citadel'': Exploring a Sexual MinefieldMona Eltahawy: "Why do you hate us so?": The Middle East needs a sexual revolutionSex education in the Arab world: Let's talk about sex, habibi!

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