Islamism | Political Islam
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Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis
Can the Taliban avert a food crisis without foreign aid?
In view of the catastrophic supply situation in Afghanistan, UN authorities are sounding the alarm. Inflation and growing poverty are exacerbating the situation. The Taliban reportedly have an emergency programme to combat the crisis. By Shabnam von Hein
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Islamic scholar Mathias Rohe on the muezzin call
"Traditional religious practice is not political Islam"
Since the German city of Cologne launched a two-year model project to allow Muslim communities to perform the call to prayer, there has been much heated public debate on the issue. Islamic scholar and law professor Mathias Rohe examines the arguments
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Afghanistan
Taliban size up the threat from a tenacious IS-K
As the Taliban shift their focus from insurgency to government, their most formidable rival is the Islamic State's regional chapter, which has staged a string of bloody attacks in recent weeks.
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Afghanistan
Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan
One prominent narrative relating to the defeat of the western-led military intervention in Afghanistan is that it was a mistake to try to build a modern democracy in a society steeped in "mediaeval traditions" and "tribal attitudes". Hans Dembowski condemns this self-serving and condescending standpoint, which persists in ignoring the serious flaws in the West's engagement, while blaming the victims for its failure
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Mohammed VI and the Arab Spring
What happened to Morocco's 2011 constitution?
Morocco's 2011 Arab Spring constitution has been hijacked by the deep state, which is asserting its own authoritarian interpretation and turning the clock back decades. Analysis by Mohamed Taifouri
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Mohammed VI's coefficient swindle
Moroccan elections will be about maths, not change
The country's national election on 8 September will likely bring new government. But neither experts nor locals expect it to bring long-promised change, writes Cathrin Schaer
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Afghanistan between defiance and despair
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Islamic law in Afghanistan
Sharia – nightmare or ticket to salvation?
The Taliban, Islamic State, al-Qaida – for most Muslims their understanding of sharia is a nightmare. But what is sharia law really? Answers by Mathias Rohe
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Turkish foreign policy
Ankara – new guarantor of stability on the Hindu Kush?
Ankara's foreign policy apparatus is currently running at top speed. While politicians in the West busy themselves with evacuating Kabul and analysing the chaos, which not even optimists would term effective crisis management, Erdogan's Turkey seems to be one step ahead. By Ronald Meinardus
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The art of the deal
Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy behind the Taliban's return
If one individual could bring peace to Afghanistan, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad touted himself as the man for the job. In the end, however, the seasoned diplomat has overseen the demise of the republic he so painstakingly assembled.
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Taliban in the ascendant
Joe Biden and America’s withdrawal of choice
The swift fall of Kabul recalls the ignominious fall of Saigon in 1975. Beyond the local consequences – widespread reprisals, harsh repression of women and girls, and massive refugee flows – America’s strategic and moral failure in Afghanistan will reinforce questions about U.S. reliability among friends and foes alike. By Richard Haass
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The West's failure in Afghanistan
Authors of 'War on Terror' in denial to the bitter end
How could the Afghan government and its institutions collapse so quickly? That things were going wrong in Afghanistan had been obvious for a long time, yet the West preferred to look the other way, writes Emran Feroz