Topic: Jihad

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People with bloodstained clothes (image: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/picture alliance)

Afghanistan

The Taliban’s "War on Terror"

In their battle against the Islamic State's Afghan cell, the Taliban have appropriated the tactics of their former enemy: the Afghan government and its U.S. backers. They, however, are more likely to receive support from regional actors. Analysis by Emran FerozMore

Development aid: Despite the Taliban, Afghanistan deserves helpAfghanistan under the Taliban: Back to the pastAfghanistan: Emran Feroz' chronology of a disaster
Life-size red letters and a heart spell out "I love Sinjar" on a street in the city of Sinjar, Iraq (photo: Birgit Svensson)

Yazidis in Sinjar, Iraq

The deep scars left by IS terror

For centuries, the Yazidis lived in the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar. In 2014, the region was overrun by the so-called "Islamic State", which committed genocide against the Yazididi population. This brutal chapter in Yazidi history has left deep and lasting scars. To this day, the community in Sinjar is still picking up the pieces. By Birgit SvenssonMore

Slaves of Islamic State: The fight to find the missing YazidisThe abduction of women by IS: Traded like cattleThe culture and faith of the Yazidis: Demonised and eternally misunderstood
Security forces in Peshawar on 31 January 2023 (image: Faridullah Khan/DW)

Resurgence of Pakistan's Taliban

Terror returns with the TTP

When the Taliban swept back to power in Afghanistan just under two years ago, analysts warned that their return would also mean a return of the threat posed to neighbouring Pakistan by offshoot Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). By Mohammad LuqmanMore

Afghanistan and its neighbours: Is the Taliban takeover still in Pakistan's interest?Pakistan turns 75: Islamabad has serious issues Khan attack aftermath: Pakistan in turmoil
Construction site of St. Tahira Church in Mosul (image: Philip Breu)

Reconstruction of Mosul in Iraq

"The city will be stronger in future"

The fortunes of the city of Mosul are an illustration of Iraq’s long and arduous path out of destruction and back to regular life: years after the offensive against Islamic State, parts of the city are still in ruins. But there is hope. By Karin A. Wenger (text) and Philipp Breu (photos)More

20 years Iraq War: Farewell to the old world order20 years after the U.S. invasion: Iraq's wounds are slow to heal The Iraq War fifteen years on: "America destroyed my country"
Iraqis leave the city of Basra after the U.S. attack (image: Nicoletti/dpa/picture-alliance)

20 years Iraq War

Farewell to the old world order

It is 20 years since the USA began its invasion of Iraq. Alongside the countless dead Iraqis and U.S. soldiers, it was the West’s credibility in the Arab world that would fall victim to this war. As Karim El-Gawhary argues, this loss is still having consequences two decades laterMore

The Iraq War fifteen years on: "America destroyed my country"Tony Blair and the Iraq war: A case of smoke and mirrors Depleted uranium munitions in Iraq: Deadly dust falls in silence
Baghdad Reading Festival on the Tigris (image: Birgit Svensson)

Iraq's art and literature scene

Culture boom in Baghdad

Frustrated with their politicians, young Iraqis are turning their backs on politics and throwing themselves into cultural life. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

Protests in Iraq: The streets speak for themselves!Reform in Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr must court the political eliteFrom Basra to Baghdad: Young Iraqis rise up for a life worth living
Whirling dervishes in Konya, Turkey (image: Marian Brehmer)

The future of Islamic mysticism

Is Sufism under threat?

Sufis today are under attack from fundamentalists and modernists alike. At the same time, a new form of Sufism is emerging in the West. By Marian BrehmerMore

Sufism in Egypt: Cairo's mystic revivalMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just Muslim
Turkish fighter jets have been flying attacks against Kurdish positions in northern Iraq and northern Syria for days (photo: Eren Bozkurt/AA/picture alliance)

Turkey, Iran – and Iraq's Kurds

Days of reckoning

The Kurds are under attack from two sides: from Turkey, and from Iran. The situation in their territories in northern Iraq is becoming increasingly desperate. Birgit Svensson reports from ErbilMore

Kurdistan's decline: Iraq's beacon shines no moreThe Kurdish YPG and the future of northeastern Syria: Assad smiles from the sidelinesThe future of a people: Good Kurd, bad Kurd"We came from fire": A tribute to the Kurds
Cover of Gudrun Kramer's "Der Architekt des Islamismus. Hasan al-Banna und die Muslimbrüder" (published by C.H. Beck)

Hasan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood

Who was the architect of Islamism?

Renowned scholar of Islamic Studies Gudrun Kramer has just published the first well-founded biography of Hasan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Joseph Croitoru read the bookMore

Egyptian army and the Muslim Brotherhood: Competitors in commonMuslim Brotherhood texts: Once valued, now proscribedEgypt′s Muslim Brotherhood: The seed of violence
Antoine Leiris played by Pierre Deladonchamps with his son (photo: Komplizen Film/Tobisfilm)

Paris Bataclan attack, 7 years on

You will not have my hate

Antoine Leiris lost his wife in the Islamist terrorist attack on the Bataclan club in Paris. German director Kilian Riedhof has made a film of his book "You will not have my hate". By Philipp JedickeMore

France and terrorism: No time to healAfter the Paris attacks: The emotional helplessness of MuslimsParis terrorist attacks: A terrible case of deja-vu
Sufi shrine to Mustafa Devati in Istanbul (photo: Marian Brehmer)

God's love for all

Sufism is not just Muslim

Sufism has fluid boundaries. Just like Islam, Sufism is inconceivable without its late antique roots. Then again, it has also exerted an influence on Hinduism. Moreover, the Sufic doctrine of divine love exists independently of Islam. By Stefan WeidnerMore

Islamic mysticism: Understanding the SufisIslam in Pakistan: The land of the SufisWomen and Islamic studies: Annemarie Schimmel’s pioneering take on Islam Qantara dossier: Islamic mysticism | Sufism
Irpin is only 20 kilometres from Kyiv - the city has recently been the scene of fierce fighting (photo: Getty Images)

War in Ukraine and the West

Putin's fight and our illusions

Faced with Russia's war against Ukraine, "the West" is once again getting tangled up in its own propaganda, invoking the threat of a clash of civilisations when it comes to the question as to which side Ukraine belongs. An essay by Stefan WeidnerMore

Ukraine war: The deep desire to declare a state of emergencyAfghanistan: Victim-blaming – a trope of the West's failure in Afghanistan/11 twenty years on: How the 'War on Terror' destabilised the Middle EastRepercussions of 9/11: The West and the Islamic world – mutually radicalised?
Woman wearing a niqab walks along a rubble-strewn street in Nablus, Mosul (photo: AFP)

Middle East

Iraq: IS returnees met with tolerance – and distrust

In Iraq, returning families of IS fighters have to turn to local initiatives for help, as there is no official path home. Judit Neurink met with families on the groundMore

"Women of the Islamic State": Prisoners of a barbaric systemA new start for jihadists? Tunisiaʹs bid to rehabilitate its returneesAnti-radicalisation strategies in Egypt: Sheikhs on the beatIslamic State′s destruction of Mosul: Razed to the ground
Iraq Mosul | Visit of Pope Francis (photo: Andrew Medichini/AP/picture-alliance)

The papal visit to Iraq

The blessing of Pope Francis – "Salaam, salaam, salaam"

The Pope’s journey to the "land between the rivers": places of terror and a dialogue to promote hope and optimism. His meeting with Shia Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was a milestone in the history of Christian-Islamic dialogue. Birgit Svensson reports from BaghdadMore

The politics of the Pope in Iraq: Pope Francis and Ayatollah al-Sistani, meeting in faithThe Pope in Iraq – "We are all brothers": Can Pope Francis save Iraq's Christians from extinction?Qantara photo essay: Pope Francis' visit to Iraq's biblical sitesChristians in Iraq: Between the frontsChristians in the Middle East: Between coexistence and suppression
Heightened security in Somalia following the murder of a French agent (photo: Mohammed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images)

From failed state to fragile state?

Somalia and the rocky road towards greater stability

With elections on the horizon and an altered African Union mission, Somalia was meant to enter a new phase of stabilisation in 2021. But both have been postponed, and the present government seems ill-equipped to shoulder the country's considerable challenges. It is time for external stakeholders to name their terms, says Annette WeberMore

Islamism in eastern Africa: Not immune to terrorGunfire echoes at election delay protest in Somali capitalMigration pact with Africa: The EU′s paper tigerThe Somali Islamist group Al-Shabab: Striking terror in the Horn of Africa
Journalist Souad Mekhennet (photo: imago/Muller-Stauffenberg)

Interview with Washington Post correspondent Souad Mekhennet

Speaks with jihadists

German-born Mekhennet has focused her investigative career on diving into militant Islamist networks. She spoke to Sabine Kieselbach about her job's dangers and why it is important to speak to jihadistsMore

Interview with the social scientist Edit Schlaffer: Mothers Schools challenge extremismIslamist ideology debunked: Getting past the abuseAnti-radicalisation strategies in Egypt: Sheikhs on the beat

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