sectarianism
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Sufi music under attack in Pakistan
As the sea of love recedes
In parts of modern Pakistan, being a qawwali musician is now a high-risk occupation. By intimidating those who play, listen or even dance to this devotional music, puritan hardliners in Pakistan are insulting and violating an indigenous culture that for centuries has celebrated love both earthly and divine, says Jurgen Wasim Frembgen
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The future of the Middle East
How about a Marshall Plan?
If we are ever to break the modern Middle East′s cycle of crises, we must not lose sight of the future. Across the Arab world four trends are already brewing a new set of problems for the coming decade. By Tarek Osman
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The Sunni-Shia debate
For clarity′s sake
It has been said that ignorance is the fuel of animosity. Indeed, over the years the historical rift between Sunnis and Shias, heightened by various misconceptions relating to a number of key Shia tenets, has served to exacerbate existing tensions in the Middle East. In his article, Mohamed Yosri attempts to de-bunk some of the myths
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Recycle Beirut and Lebanon′s rubbish crisis
Green awakenings
With Lebanon's rubbish crisis in its second year, ordinary citizens are taking the problem of the ever-growing piles of trash into their own hands. This shift in consciousness represents a new reality for the government. By Alice Kohn in Beirut
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US Middle East policy under Donald Trump
A recipe for further catastrophes?
Trump's election is also being seen as a caesura in the Middle East. Many fear a return to a simplistic way of thinking, which would make his presidency a nightmare for the region, says Loay Mudhoon
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Solving the conflicts in the Middle East
Tracing the fault lines
Simmering for decades beneath the surface of autocratic repression, conflicts such as the Sunni uprisings in Syria and Iraq, Shia unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, not to mention the rancour of the Kurds and Palestinians, are ongoing. The West is partly to blame. By Ishac Diwan
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Pakistan′s struggle with sectarianism
Enough is enough
In recent years, Pakistan, a country with a rich and varied multi-ethnic and multi-religious history, has become a hostile place for minorities. Aurangzeb Qureshi, writer and political commentator, examines how Pakistan might quell its burgeoning sectarianism
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Reconstruction of Aleppo
″Others destroy and we rebuild″
The battle-torn city of Aleppo lies in ruins. Nonetheless, former residents of the city and experts located in Budapest are already working towards the reconstruction of the 5000 year old metropolis. By Iris Mostegel
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Iran-Saudi conflict
Playing the sectarian card
Iran and Saudi Arabia are stoking the denominational conflict between Sunnis and Shias. Both sides are attempting to exploit an inner-Islamic conflict that has been raging for more than 1,300 years. And yet, as Andreas Gorzewski reports, it′s not always about religion
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Volker Perthes: "The end of the Middle East, as we know it"
The end of Sykes-Picot?
Almost a century ago, France and Britain carved up large swathes of the Middle East between them. Now the order imposed by the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 appears to be disintegrating. In his new essay, Volker Perthes outlines the reasons for this development and suggests potential scenarios for the region. A review by Anne Allmeling
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Lebanon's "You Stink" protest movement
Rubbish knows no religion
Triggered by a waste disposal crisis, a new movement has formed in Lebanon. Yet the "You Stink" campaign is more than an initiative against unsolved rubbish problems; it is also a rebellion against Lebanon's family clans and confessionalism, a system that divides up political power among the country's religious communities in proportion to their percentage of the population. By Karim El-Gawhary
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The Syrian conflict
The illusion of a political solution
There is much discussion in the West about a political solution to the conflict in Syria. But the reality is that the world is looking the other way, continuing to nurture the illusion that something is being done at international level and that the Syrian people have not been abandoned. A critical contribution to the debate by Burhan Ghalioun