Pegida
All topics-
The post-Pegida period
Pegida may be running out of steam, but its ideas live on
The Pegida activists' winter fairy tale is drawing to a close. We owe this not only to the movement's internal disputes and confused agenda, but also to a large number of counter-demonstrations. Civil society is apparently united in opposition to right wing demonstrations. All's well that ends well? Answers from Stefan Weidner
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Interview with Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole
"There is a collective will to live together"
Prominent Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole is a leading authority on Islamic identity and urban Muslim women. In an interview with Ceyda Nurtsch, she explains why freedom of speech is not sacred and why a new society in Europe is inevitable
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After the Paris attacks
The dangerous "alliance" between Islamism and Islamophobia
There can be no excuse for the recent attacks in Paris. However, one possible way of understanding them is to take a closer look at the bipolar "alliance" between Islamists and Islamophobia, which can be viewed as the root of these terrorist acts. Moreover, in the wake of the attacks, we must ask ourselves what freedom of speech is, what its boundaries are and who really represents it. A commentary by Atef Botros
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The psychology of Pegida
The craving for an enemy
There are hardly any Muslims in the German state of Saxony. But this is precisely what makes it possible for people there to create an image of Islam as the enemy. The Pegida movement is marching out of fear of something that exists in their imagination. An essay by Byung-Chul Han
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Resistance to Pegida
"Intolerance must not be tolerated"
Against the backdrop of the Pegida protests, politicians in Germany must finally recognise that Islamophobia is a form of racism. Unfortunately, most decision-makers in this country are still a long way off doing that, says Armin Langer, co-ordinator of the Salaam-Shalom initiative in the Berlin district of Neukölln
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The Muslim world and the West
Europe is not under threat
Muslims today are grappling with each other, not with the West. In this essay, Charlotte Wiedemann argues that the conflicts, battles and wars being fought in the Islamic world are principally waged among Muslims and not against the West
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The perception of Islam as the enemy
When fear creeps in
The sudden rise of the Pegida movement in Germany has shown that many people here obviously have a deep-seated fear of Islam. Khola Maryam Hubsch wonders what it is that makes people fear a threat that doesn't actually exist
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The sudden rise of Germany's Islamophobic Pegida movement
"The product of a nervous society"
In the past week, there have been a number of well-attended marches against the "Islamisation of the West" in German cities. These marches were organised by supporters of Pegida (Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West). Why has the Pegida movement in Germany grown so much so fast? In this interview with Dennis Stute, sociologist Oliver Nachtwey says that political parties are a key factor and warns against the wrong knee-jerk response
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Muslims in Germany
Blocked integration
The case of the cancelled event against homophobia at the Sehitlik Mosque in Berlin is not evidence of the "backwardness of Islam", as many so-called "critics of Islam" are claiming. It is solely an illustration of the fact that conditions in Germany make it incredibly difficult for Muslims to be a self-determined and equal part of our society. By Armin Langer