Satire
All topics-
Interview with Firas Alshater
″Being a refugee is not my dream job″
″Who are these Germans?″ That′s the question Firas Alshater asks on his YouTube channel Zukar. Ula Brunner interviewed the Berlin-based Syrian filmmaker and refugee on acceptance and on what home and humour mean to him
-
Cartoon museum in Egypt
"Provisions" for travellers to Tunis Village
A cartoon museum in rural Egypt preserves a cultural heritage and opens up new prospects for the villagers. By Sameh Fayez
-
Interview with the Turkish author Baris Uygur
"Even we're lost for words sometimes"
With a circulation of around 80,000, ″Uykusuz″ is Turkey's most popular satirical magazine. Writer Baris Uygur is one of its publishers. Here he talks to Ceyda Nurtsch about satirical magazines in Turkey, getting around censorship regulations and the popularity of crime fiction
-
″Simplicissimus″ and the Palestine issue
Satire's timeless appeal
Although the barbed satirical content of ″Simplicissimus″ was widely tolerated by the German Empire, the editors went too far with their ″Palestine issue″ which featured a merciless send-up of Wilhelm II and his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By Christine Pfeilschifter
-
Abla Fahita: an Egyptian media phenomenon
The taboo-challenging puppet
The TV puppet Abla Fahita is causing a furore in Egypt. On her new show, "Live from the Duplex", she frequently and unashamedly addresses taboo topics – a fact that divides opinion in Egyptian society. Elisabeth Lehmann reports from Cairo
-
Exhibition of IS cartoons in Tehran
Iran battles its enemies with cartoons
Iran has embraced an unlikely medium in its psychological battle against Islamic State: the cartoon. However, despite this focus on its newest foe, Israel and the US are obviously still viewed as the Islamic Republic's arch-enemies
-
Bassem Youssef
All the world's a stage for Egyptian satire star
Half the country was glued to the screen whenever Egypt's political satirist Bassem Youssef was on TV. But in May of last year he cancelled his show – out of fear for his family's safety. Now he'll be performing to a huge international audience, presenting the International Emmy Awards. By Paul-Anton Kruger
-
Book review: Victoria Schneider's "Are you Charlie?"
A deeply divided country
A very topical and important e-book entitled "Are you Charlie?" was published on 25 February. Its author, Victoria Schneider, offers her impressions of France after the "Charlie Hebdo" attack and paints a picture of a divided society. Claudia Kramatschek read the book
-
After the Copenhagen attacks
"We are not afraid"
The Copenhagen attacks are being regarded as a copy of the attacks in Paris a month ago. In this commentary, Barbara Wesel writes that freedom of speech, the separation of church and state, and gender equality are not negotiable, and that Muslims and non-Muslims alike must conduct a more open and critical debate about political Islam
-
Interview with Karen Armstrong
Islamist violence is "in part a product of Western disdain"
Karen Armstrong, British scholar of comparative religion, finds that there is a long and inglorious tradition of distorting Islam in Europe. She criticises the notion that Islam is essentially more violent than Christianity and speaks about the genesis of Western disdain for the Arab world. Interview by Claudia Mende
-
Interview with Gudrun Kramer
Muslims must take a critical look at controversial passages in the Koran
The majority of Muslims are quite rightly resisting attempts by jihadists to co-opt their religion. Yet at the same, both jihadists and their opponents justify their arguments by quoting passages from the Koran. Ulrich von Schwerin spoke to the Islam Studies scholar Gudrun Kramer about the relationship between Islam and violence, the interpretation of the Koran and possible ways of combating jihadism
-
Interview with Harry Harun Behr
"I don't know how Mohammed can be offended"
The Muslim religious educator Harry Harun Behr promotes openness in theology. Stefan Toepfer spoke to him about violence, teaching Islam, the fight against radicalisation and the "Charlie Hebdo" caricatures