Islamism | Political Islam
All topics-
Boualem Sansal's essay on Islamisation
Fighting Islamists with conspiracy theories
Bitter disappointment at the outcome of the Arab Spring oozes from every page of "Allahs Narren. Wie der Islamismus die Welt erobert" (Allah's Fools. How Islamism is Conquering the World) by the Algerian writer and winner of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade Boualem Sansal. Joseph Croitoru read the polemic work
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Interview with Hélé Béji
"Ennahda has an unbelievable capacity to adjust"
Hélé Béji is an independent Tunisian writer and literary scholar. She is related to Habib Bourguiba, the founder of the Tunisian republic and its first president, and is part of a rather progressive intellectual scene. Béji has been watching the Islamists closely since they took power two years ago and is one of the few people who considers Ennahda capable of learning and becoming a major democratic people's party. Christina Omlin spoke to her about recent developments in Tunisia
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Fighting in the Iraqi province of Anbar
"Maliki is the new Saddam!"
The images coming out of the Iraqi province of Anbar shocked the world: masked fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were seen patrolling the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, waiting to take them over. Baghdad's central government seems to be losing its grip on the country's largest province. From Birgit Svensson in Fallujah
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Georges Corm on the conflicts in the Arab world
Forget religion!
In his new book, the Lebanese historian Georges Corm criticises the tendency in the West to see the conflicts in the Arab world almost exclusively in a religious context. In reality, he says, the struggles in the states of the Arab Spring are for the fair distribution of economic power and democratic participation. By Kersten Knipp
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Wahhabism and Salafism
Shared foundation – different methods
Wahhabis and Salafists are often named in the same breath. Yet these two ultra-orthodox faith movements do differ in a number of aspects, writes the doctor of Islam Studies Mohammad Gharaibeh
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Guido Steinberg on German Islamist Terrorism
Trend towards "Individual Jihad"
Guido Steinberg is Germany's foremost specialist on Islamist terrorism in Europe. In this interview with Paul Hockenos, he talks about the specifics of German Islamist terrorism and al-Qaeda's change of strategy
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Protestes in Egypt
Army Opponents Break Their Silence
Egypt's Islamists demonstrated for months against the army. Now, secular activists are out in the streets to protest the co-opting of their revolution. But, the military government has a propaganda machine on its side. By Markus Symank from Cairo
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Hezbollah after the Beirut Attacks
A Battle on Many Fronts
In Syria, Hezbollah is backing the Assad regime in the fight against the rebels, as a way of defending the Iran-Syria-Hezbollah alliance. This has been met with great hostility at home in Lebanon, and is provoking reactions on the Salafist front. Background from Juliane Metzker
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Al-Qaeda's New Strategy
Turning away from the Distant Enemy
In contrast to their earlier tactics, militant jihadists are increasingly turning away from attacking the West to concentrate on more local and regional targets. Albrecht Metzger reports on the current change of strategy in the activities of Al-Qaeda and its allies
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Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
Limited Options
The world's oldest Islamist organization has apparently failed in its strategy of confrontation with the ruling military. It is now proving difficult for the movement to make a fresh political start. Karim El-Gawhary reports from Cairo
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Interview with the Algerian Writer Boualem Sansal
"Take Islam back from the Islamists!"
Are Europe's democracies too weak to curb Islamism? Controversial Algerian writer Boualem Sansal sounds a warning. The time for political debate has passed, he tells Aya Bach
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Egypt's Former President Morsi on Trial
A Test of the Justice System
Are Egypt's courts using different standards when it comes to the trials against former dictator Hosni Mubarak and former president Mohammed Morsi? Karim El-Gawhary in Cairo says it's not impossible that the trials will end up with Mubarak a free man and Morsi in prison