Education
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College of Islam opens in Osnabruck
Germany finally gets its own "home-grown" imams
On 15 June, the "Islamkolleg" in Osnabruck officially launched its new training programme for imams in German. The college is intended to prepare Islamic theologians for their work in mosque communities and thus further the integration of Muslims in Germany. By Christoph Strack
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COVID-19 fallout in Morocco
Tangiers' economic boom – few winners and many losers
Business in the Moroccan city of Tangiers is booming due to its location at the nexus of global trade routes. But many locals are failing to reap the benefits. What they crave most is the resumption of international tourism and the attendant influx of revenue. Stefanie Claudia Muller reports from Tangiers
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BBC Radio 4
Covering Edward Said – 40 years of Islam, media and the West
Author and columnist Nesrine Malik explores the legacy of Edward Said's "Covering Islam", published forty years ago – and his views on the relationship between Islam and the media.
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Literary power politics
Spotlight on the UAE's 30th Abu Dhabi Book Fair
They’ve already got the Louvre; they’ll soon have a Guggenheim Museum as well – and now the Emirates have added literature to their quest for cultural supremacy in the Arab world. Stefan Weidner reports from Abu Dhabi, from the first book fair of this year to take place in person
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Moroccan kids get a taste of surfing freedom
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Moroccan kids get a taste of surfing freedom
In a small fishing town in Morocco's south, wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the Sahara, a group of idealistic young surfers are teaching local children to brave the crashing waves. By Imane Djamil
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COVID-19 and the double mutation
At the heart of India's coronavirus firestorm
India hits record numbers of COVID-19 infections worldwide for the sixth day running, as health systems buckle under the pressure, and shortages of medical oxygen and hospital beds lead to more deaths. In the worst-ever outbreak, the country has been logging over 300,000 cases since 22 April, surpassing the previous highest one-day spike of around 300,300 cases in the USA in January 2021
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Afghanistan and civil society
Ban on Afghan girls singing dropped after activist outrage
Afghanistan's government distanced itself from a recent plan to ban girls from singing in public after women's rights activists slammed education officials for promoting a "Taliban-like" policy. By Nasim Saber
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Turkish graduates in Europe
Turkey's best and brightest flee in brain drain
As Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his crackdown on dissent, increasing numbers of Turkish graduates and young professionals are seeking new lives and better prospects abroad. Germany is their No.1 destination. By Sinem Ozdemir and Daniel Derya Bellut
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Turkey’s failing economy, COVID vaccines and the Uighur issue
Coronavirus less dangerous than Erdogan's politics
Turkey launched its nationwide vaccination campaign with a Chinese vaccine in January. But the public focus is more on the desolate economic situation. Turkish politicians have failed to create real awareness of the dangers posed by coronavirus, writes Marion Sendker in her report from Istanbul
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IT in the Occupied Territories
Software developers at coding boot camp in Silicon Wadi
A German IT company has started an academy to train Palestinians in software development. Despite the pandemic's challenges, it has managed to run its first boot camp in Ramallah in the West Bank. Tania Kraemer reports
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Book review: Kim Ghattas' "Black Wave"
The rivalry that completely transformed the Middle East
In "Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the rivalry that unraveled the Middle East", Dutch Lebanese journalist Kim Ghattas describes the past 40 years in the Middle East and North Africa as a struggle for hegemony between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Throughout the book, she focuses above all on the societal dimension of this rivalry. Daniel Walter read the book