Islamism | Political Islam
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Iran protests 2022
Shirin Ebadi: "Iran will be democratic one day"
Despite the protests, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi is optimistic about the future of her country. For young Iranians, such a future necessitates the downfall of the Islamic Republic. By Elizabeth Grenier
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Turkey's headscarf debate
The politics of hijab
In Turkey, the secular opposition is seeking to enshrine the right of women to wear a headscarf in law – scoring an own goal that plays straight into President Erdogan’s hands. Yet again, men are arguing about women's clothing. By Burak Unveren
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2022 Iran protests
Can the Iranian system survive?
Political scientist and German-Iranian Ali Fathollah-Nejad discusses the protests in Iran and the long-term prospects for post-revolutionary political order. Interview by Michael Young
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Confessions of an ex-jihadist
What makes someone a jihadist?
Charting his own descent into extremism, former Moroccan jihadist Adil El Hasani reveals how he was ultimately able to extricate himself from the grasp of those peddling religious illusions. Mohamed Taifouri read the book
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Protests in Iran
On the eve of a new world era?
Just as the Islamic Revolution fundamentally changed Iran 43 years ago and had an impact far beyond the country's borders, the current wave of protests sweeping the country is set to change more than just Iran. The era of political Islam is coming to an end. By Ali Sadrzadeh
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Hadis, Minoo and Ghazaleh
The women victims of Iran's crackdown
"I am really hoping that in some years from now, after everything has changed, I will be happy to have been involved by taking part in this protest," Iranian woman Hadis Najafi, 22, said in a self-recorded video as she prepared to take to the streets
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Sufism in Morocco
A cure for extremism?
Morocco's Sufi traditions go back centuries. Now King Mohammed VI is trying to use them to combat extremism. His programme of reforms includes the promotion of Sufi movements and moderate Islamic thinkers. By Marian Brehmer
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Islam and tolerance
Albania's Bektashi Muslims
In Albania, where most Muslims live a pretty secular life, it would seem that praying and drinking go hand-in-hand. Nevertheless, over a hundred Albanians still went to fight for Islamic State. By Karin A. Wenger with photos by Philipp Breu
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Islam in Pakistan
The land of the Sufis
No country in the Islamic world is influenced as strongly by the traditions of Sufi culture as Pakistan. Yet the Sufis there have been under attack from Islamic hardliners for years. By Marian Brehmer
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Saudi Arabia’s divided anti-Houthi coalition
Rescuing the state of Yemen
United Yemen’s future looks increasingly doubtful. August 2022 saw fierce fighting between members of Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi coalition forces in the southern Yemen governorate of Shabwa. By Stasa Salacanin
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Khaled Hroub on Hamas
"A project of resistance"?
Hamas' influence may be on the rise, but as yet the movement has failed to assume national leadership. Palestinian political analyst Khaled Hroub examines the factors at play with Michael Young
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Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art
Iranians flock to see Western art
For the first time in decades, contemporary Western artworks, from Donald Judd to Christo, are on public display in the Iranian capital. They had long been locked away so as not to offend Islamic values. By Suzanne Cords