Education
All topics-
Islamic education in India
All-female madrassas: Of women, by women and for women
A new breed of women-only Islamic seminaries in India are making the rarefied area of higher studies in Islamic theology accessible to girls, while introducing an eclectic blend of traditional religious studies and modern secular education. By Muhammed Nafih Wafy
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Interview with migration researcher Aladin El-Mafaalani
Integrating refugee children: Don't make them wait
Many schools in Germany still struggle with the task of integrating refugee children, although the majority are highly motivated. In interview with Nicole Sagener, migration researcher Aladin El-Mafaalani explains why this is – and what could be improved
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"Wiki Gender"
The first Arabic online lexicon for gender issues
"Wiki Gender" is a collectively-run Internet lexicon. The activists behind it hope to create a digital and participatory knowledge platform that not only provides freely accessible information to the public, but above all serves to initiate discourse. By Sofian Philip Naceur
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Controversial study about Muslim kindergartens in Vienna
The unwelcome glare of publicity
According to a report in the Austrian weekly ′Falter′, Professor Ednan Aslan is said to have allowed civil servants working for the Austrian Foreign and Integration Minister Sebastian Kurz to manipulate his findings for political ends. Allegations he vehemently denies. A commission has now been set up to investigate. By Canan Topcu
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The future of the Middle East
How about a Marshall Plan?
If we are ever to break the modern Middle East′s cycle of crises, we must not lose sight of the future. Across the Arab world four trends are already brewing a new set of problems for the coming decade. By Tarek Osman
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Iran and Saudi Arabia
Chalk and cheese
Iran and Saudi Arabia are more than just two regimes, they are also two societies. And these are fundamentally different. Charlotte Wiedemann assesses the differences, from their fundamental attitude to life, to the pace and scale of modernisation
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Negotiating with the Taliban for girls′ education
Treading carefully
More than 16 years after the fall of their government, the Taliban say they are willing to allow girls to study, but residents on the ground say the group has done little, if anything, to re-open girls′ schools in areas under their control. Ali M. Latifi reports from Afghanistan
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Women and Arab-Islamic education
The doyennes of learning
The first university in the world was founded by a Muslim woman. One of the Arab world′s most prestigious and oldest universities was also founded by an Arab princess. Women had a remarkable role in building schools and patronising the sciences throughout Islamic history. By Tharwat Al-Batawi
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Emancipation in Afghanistan
Breaking down cyber barriers
By teaching girls programming and computer literacy, two sisters in Afghanistan have triggered something of a digital revolution. Report by Jennifer Collins and Storay Karimi
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Algerian cartoonists at the cutting edge
Licensed to draw
In a country like Algeria, where press freedoms are restricted, cartoonists with their subtle criticism of the regime often have a far more subversive impact than mere words.
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Islam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology
If the cap fits
Whenever a country is the target of a terrorist attack, the issue of whether the perpetrators were linked to Islam rears its head. As Assem Hefny argues, questions regarding the relationship between Egypt′s Al-Azhar mosque and university, terrorism and ideological extremism – though hurtful – should not be dismissed out of hand
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Science in Iran
Headscarves and nanotech
In recent years Iran has been gripped by a pioneering spirit: under the pressure of sanctions, the nation transformed itself into a powerhouse of innovation. But the rift between religion and high-tech is ever present. Patrick Illinger reports from Tehran