Islamism | Political Islam
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Islamic mysticism
Understanding the Sufis
To understand Islamic mysticism, we must first clear up a number of misconceptions, as Marian Brehmer writes in his essay – part 1 of a new series on Sufism
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Salman Rushdie attack
Summoning up Ayatollah Khomeini's spirit
Thirty-three years after Ayatollah Khomeini first issued his "Satanic Verses" fatwa, the attempt to kill Indian-born British writer Salman Rushdie in the United States proves just how destructive the political instrumentalisation of Islam is, writes Loay Mudhoon
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Salman Rushdie attack in New York
Surge of interest in Rushdie's works
The shocking knife attack on author Salman Rushdie has fanned interest in his works – above all, "The Satanic Verses", which left him living for years under a looming death threat.
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One year of Taliban rule
How life has changed for Afghans
On 15 August 2021 the Taliban overthrew the government in Afghanistan and seized power. One year later, the country is facing multiple challenges that demand immediate global attention. Ahmad Hakimi reports
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Pakistan turns 75
Islamabad has serious issues
Seventy-five years ago, Pakistan emerged, along with India, from the British Raj. A country with potential – were it not for the ongoing tensions with India and many home-grown economic problems. Haroon Janjua reports from Islamabad
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Afghanistan: ‘One of the world’s worst humanitarian crises’
Since the Taliban took control on 15 August 2021, Afghanistan has been suffering a severe humanitarian crisis. UN figures show 95 percent of Afghans going hungry. The situation has been exacerbated by the U.S. decision to freeze the Afghan Central Bank’s assets and international sanctions that are crippling an already fragile economy.
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Hamas and Hezbollah
A new alliance in Lebanon?
The Palestinian militant organisation Hamas, with Hezbollah's help, is building up a military presence in Lebanon, the ultimate consequences of which could be devastating, writes Mohanad Hage Ali
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Referendum on a new constitution for Tunisia
Rolling back the achievements of the revolution
Tunisians are set to vote on a new constitution on 25 July. The prominent lawyer and women's rights activist Yosra Frawes fears the referendum could facilitate a return to dictatorship. This would also endanger progress on women's rights achieved since 2011. Interview by Claudia Mende for qantara.de
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Afghanistan
'My heart and body shake': Afghan women defy Taliban
Over the past six months, a network of dozens of Afghan women – former students, teachers, NGO workers, as well as housewives – has grown up, working in secret to organise protests against the Taliban. Challenging the new authorities may cost them everything: four of their comrades have already been seized. But those that remain are determined to battle on
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Egyptian army and the Muslim Brotherhood
Competitors in common
Sara Tonsy’s latest book "The Egyptian Army and the Muslim Brotherhood: Contemporary Political Power Dynamics" examines the long-standing rivalry between these two highly influential factions. In interview with Tugrul von Mende she focuses on the relationship between them and what it means for Egyptian society
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Elections in Lebanon
Despite public anger, Lebanese vote set to entrench status quo
Lebanon's elections on Sunday won't yield a seismic shift, say experts, despite widespread discontent with a corruption-tainted political class blamed for a painful economic crisis and a deadly disaster
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Turkey – past, present and future
After Erdogan, what then?
Casting his eye over one hundred years of Turkish politics in "Geschichte der Türkei. Von Atatürk bis zur Gegenwart", Maurus Reinkowski argues that, without its nationalist straitjacket, Turkey could be in a position to properly realise its potential. Stefan Plaggenborg read the book