Topic: Lebanese Civil War

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Lebanese stand-up comedian Shaden Fakih during her stage show in Beirut at the end of February 2022 (image: https://www.facebook.com/Shadyonshka)

Freedom of speech in Lebanon

Jail? Don't make me laugh!

In June 2022, Lebanese comedian Shaden Fakih was court-martialled for allegedly humiliating the security forces. She talked to Lena Bopp about coming out on live television, sexism on the comedy scene and the changes in her countryMore

Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobh: I'm not afraid for myselfLebanese author Elias Khoury: Beirut's ruling class – "The stupidest mafia there is"Qantara dossier: Comedy
Sudanese men brandish guns (image: AFP)

Sudan's ongoing hostilities

A disaster waiting to happen, says expert

Fierce fighting is continuing between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary RSF. With so many proxy interests playing into the current situation, the outcome of the conflict is wide open, says Marina Peter of the Sudan ForumMore

Sudan army versus the RSF: The generals' power struggleSudan anti-putsch protests: "We have to keep fighting"Sudan's coup puppetmasters: The UAE – pulling Sudanese stringsPolitical crisis: Sudanʹs deadly counter-revolutionary militia
Heavy fighting in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan (image: Marwan Ali/AP/picture alliance)

Sudan army versus the RSF

The generals' power struggle

Sudan's military and the RSF militia are fighting for power while the country's civilian population watches helplessly from the sidelines. The bloody events over the last few days can be summed up in one sentence: this is not a civil war. An analysis by Karim El-GawharyMore

Sudan's path to democratic transition: Will the Sudan deal hold?Sudan anti-putsch protests: "We have to keep fighting"Political crisis: Sudanʹs deadly counter-revolutionary militia
Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobh (image: IMAGO/Ex-Press)

Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobh

I'm not afraid for myself

In her latest novel, Lebanese writer Alawiya Sobhwrites about the failure of the Arab Spring and how religious bigotry and patriarchal structures are impacting people's health. Interview by Lena BoppMore

Interview with Alawiyya Sobh: Telling stories to surviveIman Humaidan-Junis: "B as in Beirut"Raschid al-Daif: Writing to combat memory loss
Lebanese author Rabih Alameddine (photo: Benito Ordonez)

Rabih Alameddine’s "The Wrong End of the Telescope"

We are all in search of a home

In “The Wrong End of the Telescope”, Rabih Alameddine draws us away from the headlines and into the personal story of one individual. Mina is complex, compelling and very real. By pulling us into her life and allowing us to see Lesbos through her eyes, the reality of the refugee camp comes alive. Richard Marcus read the bookMore

Christy Lefteri's "The Beekeeper of Aleppo": Escaping hell on earthGiuseppe Catozzella’s ″Don′t tell me you′re afraid″: The flame of OlympiaLGBTQ+ Pride: Being queer and Arab
"Love and Compassion", 1971, by Syrian graphic designer Burhan Karkutli (source: eyeondesign.aiga.org)

“A History of Arab Graphic Design”

Shaping collective memories

Bahia Shehab and Haytham Nawar's award-winning "A History of Arab Graphic Design" (2020) took ten years to produce. In interview with Marcia Lynx Qualey, Shehab talks about the project and the difficulties in compiling an Arab graphic design textbookMore

Tunisian calligrapher Nja Mahdaoui: Building the futureModern Arabic graffiti: Ancient calligraphy meets politicsContemporary art from Saudi Arabia: The Kaaba as a security zone
Jadd Hilal (photo: Lenos Verlag)

Jadd Hilal's debut novel

Women searching and yearning for home

In his debut novel, "Flügel in der Ferne" (Wings in the Distance), award-winning French author Jadd Hilal gives voice to four women from four different generations who tell the stories of their uprooted lives in Europe and the Middle East. By Volker Kaminski
 More

Amjad Nasser's "Land of No Rain": A milestone of modern Arabic literatureKhaled Khalifa’s “No One Prayed Over Their Graves”: The maelstrom of AleppoQantara dossier: Literature
Sri Lankan auto rickshaw drivers queue up to buy petrol near a fuel station in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 13 April 2022 (photo: AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Which country will be next?

Lebanon and Sri Lanka share economic collapse

Lebanon and Sri Lanka may be a world apart, but they share a history of political turmoil and violence that has led to the collapse of once-prosperous economies bedevilled by corruption, patronage, nepotism and incompetence. By Zeina Karam and David RisingMore

Lebanon's chronic medicine shortage: Zero state support, much Lebanese solidarityEaster Sunday bombings: How did Islamist terrorism take hold in Sri Lanka?Qantara photo essay: Sri Lanka – In search of a drop of petrol
Election poster in Lebanon (photo: Mahmoud ZAYYAT/AFP)

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 disasterMore

Lebanese thinker Martin Accad: "Lebanon's tragedy is political sectarianism"Lebanese protesters call for systemic change: What now for Beirut, once the Paris of the Middle East?Lebanon slips further into the abyss: The assassination of Lokman Slim – silencing no lamb
Lebanese thinker and theologian Martin Accad (photo: Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, Mansourieh, Lebanon)

Lebanese thinker Martin Accad

"Lebanon's tragedy is political sectarianism"

With no end to Lebanon's crisis of statehood in sight, Qantara.de met up with leading Lebanese thinker and theologian Martin Accad to discuss the country's current difficulties and explore ongoing efforts to find a way out of the morass. Interview by Erik SieglMore

Lebanese protesters call for systemic change: What now for Beirut, once the Paris of the Middle East?Lebanon: from amnesty to amnesia: Lacking a culture of remembranceLebanon slips further into the abyss: The assassination of Lokman Slim – silencing no lambLebanon′s education system: The problem with political Islam
Trying to be positive: a Christmas greetings billboard in Beirut's Martyrs' Square, near the Mosque of Mohammed al-Amin and the Maronite Cathedral of Saint George (photo: Jospeh Eid/AFP)

Lebanon

Santa closed: in Beirut, crisis snuffs out Christmas spirit

Beirut in December was once a shopping extravaganza, where day-long traffic jams clogged streets decked out with flashing Christmas lights and building-sized billboards advertising champagne and jewelleryMore

Beirut on the brink: Regardless of corona, Lebanon is at economic breaking pointA toxic combination of sectarianism and rentierism: Lebanon's perfect stormEconomic crisis in Lebanon: The subsidy quandaryQantara photo essay: Life in Lebanon – no electricity, no petrol
Etel Adnan, Lebanese American poet and artist (photo: Pierre René-Worms/RFI)

Etel Adnan, Lebanese American poet and artist

A woman full of questions and innocence

Etel Adnan, the artist who transcended the borders of culture and language, may have died in Paris, writes Lebanese author Elias Khoury, yet her death holds a mirror up to the stifling rhythm of what Beirut has become. Indeed, every death now seems a metaphor for the death of BeirutMore

Book review: Etel Adnan's "Conversations with my soul": Illuminating the obscureInterview with Etel Adnan: ''I react to what is happening in the world''Elias Khoury: "Lebanon has always rebelled against political repression"
Marwan Rechmaoui's "Beirut by the Sea", concrete, beeswax, copper on wood, 267.9 x 569.6 cm (photo: Sfeir-Semler Gallery Beirut/Hamburg)

Marwan Rechmaoui exhibition in Beirut

But the trees kept voting for the axe

The work of artist Marwan Rechmaoui is both minimalist and complex and embodies the faultlines of his home city. Some of his latest pieces are now on show at a leading Beirut gallery – its first exhibition since the explosion that rocked the city last summer. By Lena BoppMore

Author and critic Elias Khoury: "Lebanon has always rebelled against political repression"Lebanese cartoonist Bernard Hage: "I’m afraid you have Hezbollah"Beirut publisher Nadine Touma: Dar Onboz' cases full of exquisite Arabic picture booksInterview with Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf: Petrodollars proved stronger in the Middle East than cultural tradition
Monika Borgmann stands beside a memorial to her murdered husband Lokman Slim (photo: Lea Bartels)

The legacy of Lebanon's Lokman Slim

"His work lives on in all of us"

German filmmaker Monika Borgmann, widow of slain Lebanese activist Lokman Slim, is continuing the work they began together in Lebanon. By Lea BartelsMore

Author and critic Elias Khoury: "Lebanon has always rebelled against political repression"Lebanon after the explosion: Beirut's aftermath – shattering as 15 years of civil warOne month after the Beirut port explosion: "We sweep trauma under the carpet and carry on"Beirut on the brink: Regardless of corona, Lebanon is at economic breaking point
Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine (photo: Talal Khoury; source: edition-converso.com))

Chaza Charafeddine's "Beirut für wilde Mädchen"

Flashback from Beirut

A childhood and youth in Beirut, a life lived between Lebanon, Switzerland and Germany, and a unique voice in Arabic-language literature: "Beirut für wilde Mädchen" sees Lebanese author Chaza Charafeddine tell her country’s story from a highly personal perspective. Gerrit Wustmann read the bookMore

Book review ″Beirut Noir″: Chronicling life in the corrupt cityBook review: Hilal Chouman′s ″Limbo Beirut″: Hybrid livesNajwa Barakat on Arabic literature: Combating the desertification of Arab culture
Lebanese author Elias Khoury (photo: imago/ZUMA Press)

Author and critic Elias Khoury

"Lebanon has always rebelled against political repression"

For years the Arab intellectual elite looked to Lebanon, coveting its atmosphere of freedom. Feigning the non-existence of repression, Beirut welcomed intellectuals from across the region, published their works and celebrated them. Yet, even following the murder of Lokman Slim, the powers that be are incapable of controlling everything. An essay by Elias KhouryMore

Elias Khoury on the Arab Spring 2019: The re-birth of Tahrir SquareNovelist and critic Elias Khoury: The nightmare of reality″The Broken Mirrors: Sinalcol″ by Elias Khoury: A dizzying sense of displacementLebanon slips further into the abyss: The assassination of Lokman Slim – silencing no lambLebanese author Elias Khoury in interview: Beirut's ruling class – "The stupidest mafia there is"

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